TENNESSEE WHISKEY ORIGINS
East Fork Mulberry Creek at the Lincoln County Line, Lincoln County, Tennessee
Here’s what we know…
The Mulberry Creek valley is blessed with ample springs and some of the best farmland in the State. Considered the frontier in the late 1700s and early 1800s, it is where the first European settlers migrated into Lincoln County. It is also where the people of Lincoln County first developed their own style of making whiskey, celebrated as the "Lincoln County Process" and now known worldwide as "Tennessee Whiskey". This picture is where Mulberry Creek now crosses into Lincoln County and sits within a few miles in all directions of where over a dozen legal distilleries operated in Lincoln County some as early as 1814.
Early map of Lincoln County circa 1833
One can see what is the East Fork Mulberry Creek running into “Linchburg” and the West Fork Mulberry Creek extending north.
Modern Stream Map of NE Lincoln County and W Moore County
What is shown is roughly that portion of Moore County that was carved out of Lincoln County in 1871 (Moore County to the East of the dotted yellow line). Note the large portions of both the East and West Forks of Mulberry Creek that remain in Lincoln County today. Also note the plethora of streams in general.
Lynchburg is hidden by “Fork” where it says “East Fork”
Excerpt of “The History of Moore County” published in the local paper “The Moore County News” in 1961.
Samuel Isaacs and John Silvertooth built their distillery in 1825 on “German Branch” (which was probably near where Price Branch runs into the East Mulberry, though the name “German Branch” is no longer used today). Isaacs then soon built a second distillery over 3 miles south of Lynchburg which (if the correct distance) would have necessarily been at the headwaters of Louse Creek, and most likely where the Dan Call farm is located (entirely in Moore County after 1871). The Call family who were known distillers in North Carolina (Dan Call’s father and uncle operated separate distilleries in Tennessee after moving from NC around 1830.
Alfred Eaton also started in the early 1820s. This article says “2 miles below Lynchburg” , however, an in-depth article published 65 years earlier in 1896 (see references following) states that Alfred Eaton operated out of the cave spring in Lynchburg. Local lore always recognized that Alfred Eaton was not the first distiller to operate out of the cave spring nor the first in the county, but that he was the originator of the “Lincoln County Process”.
This 1961 article is also incorrect about the establishment of Jack Daniel’s at the Cave Spring in 1876. Earlier reported accounts and records show that Jack Daniel’s company didn’t move to the Cave Spring until 1881. He operated out of the Dan Call farm facility until that point (see following articles).
Article (pt. 1) in the “Lynchburg Sentinel”, published March 23, 1877. What is important to note is the designation of the number of each distillery’s “establishments” under the “Dis.” column. This is the number of stores and bars that carry their whiskey, so it is a good indicator of who was succeeding in business at the time and how long they had been in business. Note that the Daniel & Call distillery only listed 16 retailers but were producing a good number of barrels as indicated by the amount of Bushels of grain used. Because the Daniel & Call Distillery didn’t go into business until 1874 (see following articles and from tax records), it is understandable that they only had a few customers for what would have been very young whiskey. It is also worthy to note that the tax increase and burden this meeting was called to address is what put nearly all of these distilleries out of business.
It was common conversation that the distillery tax collectors shifted focus to the bushels of grain used versus the alcohol output and that the larger producers were not able to stay in business, whereas Jack Daniel was able to survive through savvy marketing and his livestock business.
Article (pt. 2) in the “Lynchburg Sentinel”, published March 23, 1877. C. H. Bean was elected chairman of the meeting. The Bean distillery was at Marble Hill SE of Lynchburg over the ridge and in a different watershed (Coffee Creek and Short Creek). Note that this is a meeting of the 4th District Distillers that included Lincoln County, Moore County, Bedford County, and Marshall County. However, the majority of these distillers were operating in Lincoln County before Moore County was formed, some, like JM Stone were still operating in Lincoln.
It is also worthy to note that neither Jack Daniels nor Dan Call were mentioned as participating nor appointed for any duties, which makes sense because theirs was a new business compared to most of the others (as indicated by the number of retailers each had).
The Hughes Distillery was also on Louse Creek and had operated there prior to the formation of Moore County. Mr. Hughes was one of the most respected men in the area and a civic leader.
Published by “The Nashville American” (now “The Tennessean”) on Sunday Morning March 8, 1896, article entitled “Lynchburg and Moore County” by R. Christopher.
So now we do some easy math to establish a timeline that has been too often distorted. It’s early March 1896 and they are reporting on one of the most prominent men in the State as well as the United States, but who lives in a small town of less than 1000 people. It’s hard to imagine that the reported dates are misrepresented. Jack Daniel started his company shortly after Moore County was founded (“nearly as old as the county”) being “in the distillery business twenty-two years”. 1896 minus 22 equals 1874, which origin date for the business aligns with the tax records. Next, “the present plant being built fifteen years ago”: 1896 minus 15 equals 1881. So it’s 1881 that Jack Daniel’s Distillery began operations at it’s current location, not 1866, heck he wasn’t even in business yet and was only 16 years old in 1866 (see census reports of 1860 and 1850 which confirm his age).
NOW! for the elephant in the room! Jack Daniels as a company has never distilled a drop of whiskey in Lincoln County, the company was initially formed in 1874 at Dan Call’s farm distillery on Louse Creek Road which is in Moore County and then moved in 1881 to the Cave Spring where it is still in operation, also in Moore County.
Why is this important? It matters because too often the origin story of Jack Daniels as a company and the origin story of the Lincoln County Process as a style of whiskey are confused, sometimes callously misrepresented, and sometimes carelessly reported. There is no doubt that the man Jack Daniel, and the company Jack Daniels should be admired for their history of making great Tennessee Whiskey and business success. There is also no doubt that the man Nearest Green should be celebrated for his role in leadership of production and helping a young Jack Daniel learn the art of making whiskey. Most importantly the friendship and respect between the two men should be celebrated, especially considering the racially charged times they lived in and the disparate backgrounds they overcame to form their bond of friendship and confidence.
So what is the origin of the Lincoln County Process?
“It matters because too often the origin story of Jack Daniels as a company and the origin story of the Lincoln County Process as a style of whiskey are confused, sometimes callously misrepresented, and often carelessly reported.”
The author (Christopher) of this article for “The American” (now published as “The Tennessean”) made special note to thank the Hon. James J. Bean for his assistance and recognized his “untiring and zealous” work for Lynchburg. It is hard to imagine a more accurate accounting of the origin of Tennessee Whiskey and the Lincoln County Process than this published account which is based on living memory at the time of the zenith of Jack Daniels onto the world stage. The Hon. JJ Bean served Tennessee as the State Treasurer and was the son of CH Bean whom you will note had the largest distribution of whiskey in 1877 out of Lincoln and Moore Counties according to the report cited above. A better source more familiar with the distilling business and notable as trustworthy would not exist.
Sooooo…., Where did the confusion start?
