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The Basket of Chips quilt block
is copied from a quilt pieced by Frances Leona Crumley,
mother of the current owner of Homestead Farm (formerly Lone
Pine Farm). Born in 1909, Mrs. Crumley pieced and quilted
by hand over 100 quilts. After retiring from Johnson City
Eye Hospital, she spent 20 winters quilting. Summers were
busy with gardening and farming.
Although a portion of the agricultural and
timber land has been converted to busy roads
(I-26 and State
of Franklin), the 7th generation of the family
still farms 87 acres of the original tract. The pasture
fields and landscape echo the peaceful tranquil era of the
late 18th and early 19th centuries.
Homestead Farm dates back to a 1784 North
Carolina State Land Grant to William McBee. John Carr,
Revolutionary War soldier, bought the 132-acre land grant
from McBee in 1788. John and his wife, Louvisa, are buried
in the cemetery on the farm. The property passed to their
son, William, and was later sold to Michael Krouse in 1818.
James Crumley moved to Washington County at
the time of his second marriage to Elizabeth Caroline King
in 1852 and purchased 154 acres from the Michael Krouse
heirs on Knob Creek. He was a farmer, blacksmith and served
as an enrolling officer for the Confederacy. Homestead
carries with it the Civil War story of Confederate soldier
Alfred J. King (1839-1865) and brother of Elizabeth King
Crumley, and Union soldier, Lafayette Miller (1841-1865) who
were both killed at this site. A party of Union men was
sent to arrest and bring to justice Mr. King and Jim Crumley
for “committing some acts of misdemeanor.” Mr. King was
being guarded by Lafayette Miller while the remainder of the
party was searching for Crumley. Unexpectedly, King
wrenched the pistol from the hands of young Miller and “shot
him dead upon the spot.” Friends of Miller heard the pistol
and reached the place in time to see King trying to escape
at full speed. They fired upon him, killing him. The story
is recorded in Brownlow’s Knoxville Whig, on microfilm in
the ETSU Library. James Crumley, his wife and five of his
children are also buried in the cemetery.
The original log cabin, located on the front
lawn, has been restored. The barn was built by the great
uncle of Frances Leona Crumley, Jacob G. Crumley, (son of
John Crumley; grandson of James Crumley). The corn crib and
grainery were built in 1880.
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