Hugh Riah
Reynolds
James Marion Reynolds,
Wesley
Blassingame Reynolds, Joseph Pleasant Reynolds
Table of Contents
Richard Randolph Reynolds b. Aug 20, 1842, Lauderdale County, Alabama, m. Oct 6, 1872, Roxanne Griffin, b. 1856. Richard died Apr 2, 1926, Wayne County, Tennessee, buried: Iron
City, Tennessee. Children: i George Litton Reynolds b. 1873, m. Bessie Ferguson. George died 1960.
Children:
i Eldred Reynolds ii James R. Reynolds b. 1877, d. 1883. iii William Price Reynolds b. 1880, m. Mary Olive. William died 1950. iv Edwin Theophilus Reynolds b. May 26, 1882, Alabama, m. Dec 16, 1904, in Lawrence
County, Tennessee, Nora E. Walker. Edwin died Dec 16, 1955, Tennessee. v Virgil Floyd Reynolds b. Mar 1, 1885, d. Jul 2, 1955. vi Janie Myrtle Reynolds b. Oct 18, 1887, m. Jan 19, 1910, Ray Delano. Janie died
Aug 5, 1966.
Children:
i Mae Delano m. Al Dennis, d. 2002.
ii Ray Delano, Jr. vii Pearl Dee Reynolds b. Oct 11, 1890, m. Jan 19, 1910, in Iron City, Tennessee,
Raymond O'Dell Burch b. Apr 1, 1886, d. Nov 27, 1943. Pearl died Feb 25, 1985.
Children:
i Raymond O'Dell Burch, Jr.
ii Randolph Reynolds Burch m. Doris Nell Augustine.
iii Lois Burch m. Samuel Cooke.
iv Dorothy Dee Burch m. Arthur James Richards, Jr. viii Mary Vernon Reynolds b. Mar 17, 1893, m. (1) Clyde Crawford Hardison b. Aug 22, 1888,
d. Apr 14, 1938, m. (2) William Danley. Mary died Nov 15, 1970.
Richard Randolph Reynolds and with wife, Roxanne Griffin
Richard Randolph Reynolds Family
Roxanne Griffin
Roxanne Griffin and Richard Randolph Reynolds
with grandaughter, Dorothy Dee Burch
Roxanne Griffin with daughters, Janie Myrtle, Mary
Vernon, and Pearl Dee Reynolds
and Mary Vernon, Janie Myrtle, and Pearl Dee on the right
Richard Raldolph Reynolds' Children and Grandchildren
A large part of the Richard Randolph Reynolds family
Front Row: Mrs Robert Townsend, Mrs. Wm Binkley, Dorothy Dee
Burch Richards, Pearl Dee Reynolds Burch,
Mrs. C. A. Myers, Mrs. L. A. Stutts, Mrs. Ruby Wingo, Mary Vernon Reynolds Danley,
Miss Jennie Wade,
Eliza Jane Whitson Reynolds, Janie Myrtle Reynolds Delano, and Mrs. Nina McDowell.
Second Row: Bill Binkley, Robert Lee Townsend, Robert Townsend, William Binkley,
Dr. B. W. Danley,
Ben Wingo, Floyd Wade, and L. A. Stutts.
Ray and Mae Delano
children of Janie Myrtle Reynolds and Ray Delano
George Litton Reynolds
1873 - 1960
George Litton Reynolds with wife and sisters
Eldred Reynolds and Family
Pearl Dee Reynolds
with children, Raymond O'Dell and Dorothy Dee Burch
Randolph Reynolds Burch and sisters, Dorothy Dee and Lois Burch
Randolph Reynolds Burch today
James Richards in arms of mother, Dorothy Dee Burch,
Raymond O'Dell Burch, Jr, Eliza Jane Whitson, and Mary Vernon Reynolds
Mary Vernon Reynolds and Clyde Crawford Hardison
And Years Earlier
"Van Leer Hotel, Iron City,
Tennessee, R. R. Reynolds, Prop., Special
attention given to Traveling People and Tourists, a noted summer
resort."
This picture and legend are on a postcard that was used
for advertising
back in the days when Iron City was a thriving little "city."
Richard's Van Leer Hotel
Drawing of Van Leer Hotel
by James Richards
Excerpts from “More Grit Than Iron” by Louise Davis,
published in The Nashville Tennessean Magazine, July 30, 1961.
"A knobby little town, wild as Wuthering Heights and twice as rugged, the Lawrence County community..... got its name from the ore under its craggy bluffs ….."
"Nobody had wanted to desert the town then, and now, the ties were even stronger. Citizens loved every bumpy inch of the place--converted saloons, deserted hotel, old scandals and all--as dearly as if every bootlegging hollow held its own columned manor.”
"The fact is that Iron City never had had any mansions, unless you counted the old Reynolds Hotel, built on the edge of a bluff as a resort hotel in the 1880s and still standing disdainfully with its back turned on the town that grew up at its back door."
"By the time Iron City was incorporated in 1887, traveling salesmen were mapping their trips so they could spend the night at the big Reynolds Hotel, which happily abandoned its grander resort dreams for commercial trade."
"Bicentennial Bits" by Geneva S. Wise from The Democrat Union, Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, September 15, 1975.
Many interesting tales, this old hotel could have told, as it stood on the hill above the town for more than three quarters of a century.
I talked to "Weevie" Reynolds Augustin (Mrs. Karl) who grew up in the hotel. She has many happy memories of the beautiful building and the people who were a part of the life there. First there were all the cousins who played in the hallways and up and down the balustrade that rose through the center of the structure. There were seventeen grandchildren of Grandfather Reynolds who had purchased the hotel from the original owner. Sooner or later, they all came to play or to stay a while, so they never lacked for playmates.
Then there were the throngs of people who came and went--the railroad people who made the runs in and out of the town and the families who came for their health. The latter came from Alabama and Nashville and many other places to spend the week at the sulphur springs.
Many are the tales Weevie can tell about the good times they had as children there. Especially interesting are the stories that were told to the children to either keep them out of mischief or out of danger, or both.
There is so much fascinating history surrounding this old imposing structure it is impossible to tell it all. However, one thing everyone tells is that the hotel faced away from the town. It seems they expected the town to grow on Shoal Creek but it was built in the opposite direction.
But during the day, what a time they had! What hair-raising tales they were told and the hotel had its share of them. This seems reminiscent of yesteryear when children were told tales to keep them out of mischief or out of danger.
There was the haunted room, that dark room upstairs that they scooted past, especially on a rainy day, because the ghost lived there. Of course that was only "Old Betsy", grandma's dress form, fully clothed and standing in the corner. But it served its purpose of keeping the children downstairs and out of the way of the guests.
Another horrifying tale was the one concerning the spring at the foot of the hill that was so deep it had no bottom. It had even swallowed a pair of mules and a large farm wagon and they had never been seen again. Needless to say, the children walked the long way around before they would go near that spring.
And then there was the witch that lived in the cave at the back of the hotel. The cave went all the way under the hill and came out at the big cut above town. They knew for sure the witch lived there, stirring her cauldron. They could see the steam from her kettle as it came wafting from the cave on cool mornings!
Looking back, these stories make fond memories but when children they were enough to strike fear to the very core.
"Weevie" tells how the seventeen grandchildren played and lived in and around the old Van Leer Hotel. They were given the sulphur water to drink to "purify the blood" along with the many hotel residents who came from near and far for their health.
In the evening the children were gathered into the parlor to listen to the fine music of the clarinet, the violin, and the piano. This was the highlight of the day so the children would develop a taste for the finer things of life.
Dorothy Burch Richards, daughter of Mrs. R. O. Burch, reminiscences with her cousin, "Weevie", about the good old days. She adds that there were two tennis courts where tennis was played night or day. Red tennis balls were used at night, so they would be seen. There were always tennis and croquet games being played by the guests. Spectators sat on boards that had been nailed between the trees.
Dorothy remembers especially the beautiful workmanship of the old building. She mentions the shutters with the porcelain knobs and the ornate banister with carved knobs. The hotel seemed to be a work of art throughout.
The Southern Normal College was established in 1879 for the training of teachers. Shortly after this, Iron City was considered one of the prized educational centers of northern Alabama and southern Tennessee.
Iron City was also considered a railroad center with three regular lines of trains running through. The depot was the center of the town's activities. Iron City was on the way to becoming the Pittsburgh of the South. But iron ore was discovered in the Lake Superior region and iron industry began its downward trend.
Iron City is still a picturesque town nestled among the hills of Southwestern Lawrence County. I'm sure you would enjoy the scenic drive down there and you are very likely to pick up some interesting bits of history if you stop and chat.
The old hotel was torn down by Virgil Campbell in 1964. Virgil can tell some interesting things about the construction of the building. He says it was very well built, put together with pegs. There were thirty-five rooms and about twelve fireplaces which had openings both upstairs and down. The porch extended more than halfway around the building. All the rooms on the west and south opened onto the porch.
The rooms were sealed with yellow pine, standing up endways and every room was sealed on each side. He hauled away five loads of yellow poplar floor joists that were 2” x 10” and 22' long. On one load of 75 joists, the lumber was so perfect he found only one knot in the entire load and that was only as big as a half dollar. He says it was the best lumber he ever saw.
Virgil has the top of the old cistern in his
yard at New Prospect on the Pulaski Highway. This is a fine
piece of craftsmanship on a huge round blue flint stone.
The top is chiseled out where the wastewater could drop and run
off. He has placed it on a circular foundation with his
birdhouses, dinner bells, and log cabins. You might enjoy
going by his place to see some of the interesting things he has,
and to listen to some of the tales this fascinating old-timer can
tell, about old buildings and other old "junque" he has
run across. But that is another story!
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Submitted by: Linda Mayfield Vestal
897 Lakemont Drive
Nashville, TN 37220
