Since it is my birthday, I decided to write about my birthplace and the historic sign at its site: the old Ailor Mill on Route 144, Ailor Gap Road. Of course, this is not really my birthplace, but as a four-year-old I did believe my father when he said that it was. My real birthplace was in a 1958 Chevrolet in Claiborne County, but that's another story. It may not have been that mill on that site, but simply a barn constructed there after the old mill was torn down. Regardless, I believed it to be true and now a historic marker commemorates the site.
Union County does hold many historic markers that people may not see or simply ignore. As a history teacher and lover of all things historic, I do pay attention to them. In fact, I have a few books dedicated to historic markers and their locations. One of my favorites is "Tennessee Historical Markers," compiled by the Tennessee Historical Commission. This guide gives the text on these markers and their locations. It is very easy to use and seems easy to find the location of these historic markers. Markers are defined by county, topic, and/or roadway.
Union County, according to the 1996 edition of the book, has four of these Tennessee historic markers. One of these is dedicated to Samuel Smith, an ex-slave and blacksmith. Another gives an overview of Captain John "Racoon" Miller, an early pioneer, who immigrated to this area as early as 1777. The other two markers celebrate more contemporary Union Countians: one for Roy Acuff near the courthouse in Maynardville and another for J. Will Taylor, Congressman from Lead Mine Bend in Sharps Chapel.
There are other markers erected by the county or individuals. An example would be the one dedicated to the Wilson family and their ancestry at Wilson Park in Maynardville. Regardless of who erected them, or who they are dedicated to, in order to appreciate our history, we need to stop, slow down, read and absorb the content of these signs. If we do that, we just might learn something.