Workman’s Grocery was located in the heart of downtown Palmersville, on the lot currently hosting the Palmersville Fire Department.
Owned by Carmon and Eva Workman; the left side of the building was used for the grocery and the right was the location of an upholstery shop, which we believe was operated by Mrs. Eva during the early years.
Workman Grocery, or Carmon’s, as many referred to the store, carried a variety of groceries and hardware such as milk, bread, sandwich meats even nails and hunting supplies.
Carmon’s, was a gathering place for locals, who gathered on winter days around the pot-bellied stove that stood in the center of the store, where patrons (old men) exchanged stories of summer garden crops and tales who caught the biggest fish or who grew the biggest watermelon that previous summer.
It is unknown exactly when Workman’s Grocery closed for business. Carmon and Eva Workman both passed during the early 1990s leaving behind a legacy of an invaluable contribution to the community and having build a successful Palmersville business through years of hard work and determination.
Story By (and special thanks to): Robert G Reynolds, Palmersville, TN News
Shown is West Tennessee’s first cheese factory, located on the left hand side of the Palmersville School driveway loop. The factory was built close to 1923, the Nashville Tennessean newspaper wrote that the factory would be on display at the Palmersville Fair during that same year. During 1933 the Tennessean again published a story telling that Bates Pentecost, who was Pres of the milk organization, had announced of an upcoming expansion plan for the factory, we assume he was referring to the addition seen on the left of the building in this rare 1939 photograph found in Atlanta Ga at the National Archives. It is unknown when the factory stopped producing cheese but it had been a great benefit for local farmers who sold milk to the factory for years to produce grade A cheese. The cheese factory’s dilapidated building remained on the school loop until the 1970s, efforts to save it for historical purpose failed because of its poor condition. (photo courtesy of the US National Archives) Story By (and special thanks to): Robert G Reynolds, Palmersville, TN News
Palmersville’s Minida Normal College (at left) served the community from 1891 to 1912. Recently, a reader, David Stephenson, contacted us saying he is “proud to own” his grandfather’s Certificate of Graduation. What a rare find.
The Stephenson family lived on Boydsville Road, just down from Fairview Cemetery, where many members of the family have been laid to rest, including David’s grandfather Charlie P Stephenson, grandmother Mary Mitchell Stephenson, and uncle Thomas Mitchell Stephenson.
Charlie Patterson Stephenson graduated from Minida in 1894. Though the ink has faded considerably and it’s quite difficult to make out the hand-written text, we are very pleased to present this part of Palmersville’s history.
The only fatality to occur at the Palmersville Community Fair happened in October of 1931.
In the 1930s, the Palmersville Fair was held on the first Saturday in October. Events at the fair included the beginning season (high school) basketball game. In 1931, the school did not have a gymnasium; basketball games took place on a dirt court beside the school building. Basketball games at the fair drew large crowds and were an exciting time for the entire community.
During the fair, spectators would line the court cheering for each team as the game was being played, among the hundreds of people watching the game in 1931, was Mrs. Ella Smethwick, (64), and her family. During the game, Smethwick, like many others, was sitting in a chair enjoying the afternoon with family when she was struck by a vehicle from behind. Smethwick and her daughter-in-law Naomi both suffered injuries. As the crowd rushed to their side it was determined Naomi was only slightly injured but Mrs. Smethwick had suffered life-threatening injuries, she was then rushed to the Martin hospital where she would succumb to her injuries.
The person operating the vehicle during the accident was Mr. Seymour Buckley, who reported to authorities that his vehicle had malfunctioned as he was planning to back away from the parking area, but the vehicle had lunged forward instead striking Smethwick and her daughter-in-law. Buckley was overcome with grief and had to be treated for an existing heart condition. No charges were filed.
Ironically, in 1901, this same Ella Smethwick had suffered yet another tragic accident in Palmersville at the age of 31. Smethwick and her family had been attending a graduation ceremony at Minida Normal Collage in Palmersville in which a crowd of over 500 people were in attendance. Shortly after arrival a feud between two unrelated families broke out in the crowd. Several shots were fired between brothers of the Vaughn and Stephenson families striking Ella Smethwick in the leg and injuring several other innocent bystanders. As a result, Dave Vaughn, who was one of the brothers of the feuding families, was killed during the shootout. Mrs. Smethwick fortunately recovered from the injury she had sustained during the unexpected gun battle.
Ella (Stewart) Smethwick was the wife of Joe Alexander Smethwick and was the mother to seven children, she was laid to rest in the Blooming Grove Cemetery just outside of Palmersville. At the time, her family resided on today’s Barber Road.
June Kay (Smethwick) Kemp, great granddaughter of Ella Smethwick, was instrumental in providing the photo and information related to the story. June Kay (Smethwick) Kemp is an officer of the Palmersville Historical Society.
Palmersville c.1900. The people of the community came together to build a neighbor’s barn, a practice that was common throughout the south at the turn of the century.
The Palmersville branch of the Weakley County Bank opened its doors for business on September 23rd, 1976. First branch manager was Junior Harris along with Carol Ann Smith as the assistant, Harris retained the position until 1977. Smith was promoted to the manager position upon Harris’ retirement. Brenda Donoho was hired as the assistant during 1977.
The bank operated under the name of Weakley County Bank for the next twenty years until First State Bank acquired the holdings of WCB during 1997. Carol Ann Smith retired as manager during 1999 and the position was filled by Stephanie (Donoho) Kemp. Throughout the years many people held positions at the bank, such as Marilene (Finley) Mayse, Karen Reynolds, and Kelli Moubray to name a few.
The banks closing date is unknown, the Palmersville bank was a valuable asset to the community, as Palmersville had been without a bank since the 1930s when the branch opened in 1976. The bank was a source of employment for many employees throughout the years and was a reliable trusted institution that many customers relied on.
Today the building is home to the Palmersville Historical Society who serves the community with the history of Palmersville and the surrounding area.
(Many thanks to Carol Ann Smith for providing a portion of information)
Palmersville’s 
Palmersville Historical Society 