Historic Mulberry, TN: John Whitaker



Pleasant Garden

 The unincorporated town of Mulberry is located within Lincoln County, Tennessee and was initially settled by some of the county's first settlers. Of these pioneers, John "Peg-leg" Whitaker came to the area from Kentucky in 1809. John and his brother Mark were militia soldiers within North Carolina's Salisbury district during the Revolutionary War. The two men left their home of Rowan County, North Carolina and moved to Kentucky in 1784, and are believed to have accompanied Daniel Boone's brother, Squire along the Wilderness Trail into the newly formed state. Upon their arrival in Lincoln County, John immediately set to work establishing Lincoln County and its seat of Fayetteville. Along with a committee of other pioneers, John was appointed by the Tennessee General Assembly to locate and purchase land upon which to establish the town of Fayetteville in 1809. The committee succeeded in their mission by purchasing 100 acres from Ezekiel Norris within the same year. As a result, Lincoln County was established late in 1809 and officially recognized by the state of Tennessee during the General Assembly's early 1810 meeting.
While tackling his civic accomplishments, John was also busy at home. In 1809, land deed records show that John Whitaker purchased some 1,155 acres in the area that was to later become Mulberry. His vast land holding was purchased from Thomas Eastland of Bedford County. When John purchased the land, the area was still officially part of Bedford County; however, shortly thereafter Lincoln County was created and enveloped the Mulberry community. According to the Whitaker family, John immediately built a dog-trot style cabin on his land in order to house his wife and children. Moreover, as a deeply religious man, John held church services in his home until a proper place of worship could be established. This church came into existence in 1813 and will be discussed in greater detail in later posts.
John Whitaker's dog-trot cabin was later encompassed within his Neo-Classical style home which he named Pleasant Garden (pictured here). The original Pleasant Garden was almost certainly constructed of brick; however, a fire in the late 1860s or early 1870s burned Pleasant Garden to the ground. John then rebuilt his beautiful Pleasant Garden as the wooden framed structure we see today. Interestingly, Pleasant Garden has remained within the Whitaker family for more than a century and remains so even today.
John Whitaker was a successful farmer, and spent many years serving the community as a spiritual leader. He greatly helped to plant the seeds of settlement in both Fayetteville and Mulberry. He died in 1837 and is buried in the Mulberry Cemetery. In later posts, I will discuss in greater detail John's church and its service as a community center, bringing various businesses and people into the area. Also, John's son Newton will be discussed as his beautiful brick home stands as a testament to the elegance and functionality of Tennessee plantation architecture.