Michael Tuomey and the Survey Behind Blount County’s Coal and Iron
Michael Tuomey was born September 29, 1805, in Cork, Ireland, to Thomas and Nora Tuomey. He left home at 17 […]
Geology & Industry
Quarries, lime kilns, coal, and the industrial side of the county's history.
History
1937-1940
Bangor Cave: America’s Only Underground Nightclub
Bangor Cave, about four miles northeast of Blount Springs, was once billed as “the only underground nightclub in America.” The […]
1910-1916
Mont Eyrie Orchards & the Fight With the Railroad
Beginning around 1903, Edward J. Bryan assembled roughly 2,600 acres around Reid’s Gap into Mont Eyrie Orchards - “an apt […]
1901-1905
Oil Fever at Reid’s Gap
A well drilled at Reid’s Gap around 1891 had sat plugged and abandoned for a decade - the original prospectors […]
1954-Present
Rickwood Caverns State Park
Discovered by a Boy Scout troop in the 1950s, opened as a state park in 1974, and reconnected to a much older railroad story in 2026.