On July 26, Joan Schwarzenberg (genealogical relative of John Hendrix) and L. D. Strader went to Oak Ridge to research a monument dedicated to Mr. John Hendrix.
In the book “City Behind A Fence” written by Charles W. Johnson and Charles O. Jackson, a story about Oak Ridge, Tennessee 1942-1946, Chapter 2 is a description of said John Hendrix:
“Resting beneath a forlorn marker near one boundary of the Manhattan reservation was the grave of John Hendrix, until his death in 1903 a self-appointed prophet in this area of Tennessee. Periodically he returned from trips into the deep woods with newly obtained visions. These were passed along to whomever might be willing to listen, perhaps his wife or frequently neighbors who stopped in the nearby crossroads general store. Surely his most grandiose vision was the future he predicted for the two small farming communities near his weather-beaten home, Scarboro and Robertsville. There would be a railroad in the area and the valley would be filled with great buildings and factories. Thousands of people would work in the valley, and there would be a city on the Black Oak Ridge. “I’ve seen it, it’s coming,” he would utter and then perhaps stalk off toward the woods again. Those who paused to listen to Hendrix would often laugh at these ramblings. For residents of the area in 1942 that vision might seem just as unreal, but they were no longer in a laughing mood.
When the “strangers” first showed up with their transits and survey rods, local people assumed they were simply more TVA men. But by early fall it was all too clear that this was not the case…”
The memorial stone is located on the private property of Mr. Bobby Ledford, and he was very gracious in giving permission for us to enter his property to photograph this stone.
