Early Cannon Co. Stores and Shops.
James L. Cawthorn's Gun shop
Around 1861 to 1865
James L Cawthon or “Jimmy Cawthon” as he was known to all that knew or did business with him ran a gun manufacturing shop on the headwaters of Brawley's Fork in the Hollow Springs Community of Cannon Co. Tennessee.
This area was also known as the Bradyville area at that time. The shop was located off Mill Bluff Road which was a wagon road that turned off the old Lumley Stand to Lebanon Rd. that ran thru the area at that time. Traces of the old road can still be found today just south of the Dickens Hill or Gilley Hill Rd.off the Hollow Springs road.
Jimmy and his sons William “Bill” and Pleasant ran the shop from the late1830's until after the end of the Civil War. The shop was well advanced for it's time. A barrel boring machine was set up for boring and rifling the barrels near the shop at a water fall that supplied power for the boring process. This was known as The Boring Works to most people who lived near the area.
When the Civil War broke out Jimmy and his sons were told that they would have to join the Confederacy or do something to help in the war. He and his sons were against the uprising but Jimmy agreed to make guns for the Confederacy to stay out of the war.
His sons joined the union army and his youngest son James was killed before he got signed up near Murfreesboro.
One of Jimmy's employees took a contract for 100 Mississippi Styled rifles which they completed. The Confederates then wanted another 100 rifles of which about 60 were completed when Fort Donelson fell which led to the end of the war.
They were paid with Confederate money which became worthless after the war ended. They were never able to recover the loss of the guns which was about $20 each at that time.
Jesse N Gilley worked as a marksman at the gun shop as a teenager during the war.
Cawthon was stamped or engraved on the barrels of the rifles.
Times became rough as the war wound down.
Because of his union beliefs Jimmy had to go behind Union lines after a couple of attempts on his life by roaming Confederate solders. He closed the gun shop and left the farm in care of his wife and friends. He suffered a lot of personal losses because of the war.
Jimmy's sons were captured toward the end of the war but were later released. Bill stayed in for about a year and David remained in for about 2 more years as the war wound down. Pleasant returned home.
James filed a claim with the govt. for personal losses because of the war but the claims were denied. The gun shop probably fell on hard times in the early 1870's as James and his sons turned to farming,sawmill and blacksmith work in later years.
(It is unclear if any of these rifles are still in existence.)
James L's grandson Lee later opened a mill near the location of the old gun shop at another nearby waterfall which became known as The Mill Bluff. He ran this for several years in the early 1900's. Lee lived on a small tract of land near the bluff.
A lot of thanks must go to J.T. And Jerry Sissom, and Willard Reed for much of this info and the location of the gun shop and mill.
By :
Ronnie Cawthorn
