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Oakdale is located in Morgan County,
Tennessee, a rural area of the eastern section
of the state. Approximately two miles
northeast lies the sleepy little town of Oakdale
that gave the school its name. An emerald
green river, the Emory, snakes its way along
side a set of railroad tracks that make a path
from northern points in Ohio to southern
points in Louisiana. Oakdale, the first
incorporated town in the tenth district sits at
the bottom of Walden's Ridge, a foothill of the
Cumberland Mountains.
Oakdale had its beginning in the 1880's when
Cincinnati, Ohio, built a railroad route through
the mountainous terrain and started a hotel
for its railroad workers. The railroaders called
the mountain inn the Babahatchie, which was
the river's name, and meant "babbling
waters." As many as 1000 meals and 1500
beds were prepared daily to accommodate
railroad crews and passers through.
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For years after the turn of the century, Oakdale
continued to grow and prosper because of the
railroad. When stories about Oakdale are told,
listeners are surprised to learn that Oakdale
once had a bottling plant , a fresh meat and
produce market, a bank, a large furniture
store, several lawyers’ offices, a large railroad
company store, eating places, several
boarding houses, drugstores and the
notorious "Hole-in-the-Wall Saloon."
Young people also skated in the skating rink
which was located under the old People's
General Store, the present site of Helton's
abandoned gas station. They also find it hard
to believe that a theater where nightly “moving
pictures" were shown sat at the west end of
the bridge. After the 1929 Flood, the city
officials closed the theater because the flood
weakened the foundation and they felt it
unsafe. Most of what was once familiarly
known as Oakdale is no longer and second
generations pass on their stories telling what
they remember, knew and loved.
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Few people also know that Oakdale was
originally known as Honeycutt, named after
Allen Honeycutt who was the great
grandfather of Oakdale resident the late
Sewell Honeycutt and great-great grandfather
of former major league pitcher and current
Los Angeles Dodgers’ pitching coach Rick
Honeycutt.
Allen Honeycutt was born in 1805 in North
Carolina but came northwest to Tennessee
and staked out a claim on a track of land
consisting of 3,000 acres in Morgan County,
Tennessee. A hunter and a farmer, Honeycutt
learned about the railroad wanting to come
through, so he gave Cincinnati all the rights
to approximately 200 acres of his land for the
right of way for the railroad and terminal yard.
The railroad then named the town Honeycutt,
but that title lasted less than a decade and a
mining operation near Elverton in nearby
Roane County, Tennessee, was the source for
the present Oakdale name.
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Records show that the first post office in
Oakdale was established when Oakdale was
called Honeycutt. Residents put the post
office in the Andrew Jackson Store which was
located above the passenger depot. A History
of Morgan County lists 1891 as the date when
Oakdale's post office was called Honeycutt.
Oakdale was chartered by the State of
Tennessee in 1911. A mayor and board of
aldermen were appointed at that time.
At its height, Oakdale was a bustling railroad
town. More than 3500 lived in the town, and
hundreds of men worked around the clock for
the railroad. With the evolution of the diesel
engine, railroad jobs were eliminated, and
many of the townspeople moved away to find
work.
As the years passed, the railroad jobs became
fewer and fewer. The last two men assigned to
work the Oakdale section of the railroad were
transferred to the Emory Gap section in the
early 1980s. However, both men were
considered "Oakdale workers" until their
retirement and/or deaths.
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Today, Oakdale's population within the city
limits has dropped below 200. A new bridge
spanning the Emory River was completed in
1999, and the old bridge was brought down in
an implosion that shook the town. People no
longer have to wait for trains to clear the
crossing to get across the river. The only
viable business remaining is Wendell's
Market, located at the top of the hill leading
into town.
The Methodist Church remains an icon on the
Oakdale skyline. With its red bricks and
stained-glass windows, the stately structure is
the only reminder of the town that once was.
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In the late 1970s, a city park was developed,
and tennis courts were built. The post office is
now located across from the site of the old
school (which was burned by arsonists in
1969). The First Baptist Church is next door to
the post office, having moved to its present
site after a devestating flood damaged the old
church structure in the mid-1970s.
The land that once supported the
second-largest YMCA in the United States is
covered in kudzu, hiding any proof that the
building once existed. Piles of bricks hidden
under the kudzu along Piney Road are the only
remnants of the company houses that once
dotted the hillside on the eastern side of the
railroad.
Even though the once great town has faded
away with time, the memories of the bustling
rail center lives forever in the people who
grew up in Oakdale.
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Original story by Vera Scarbrough
Additional information by Regina Headden
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