Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

BY JOE PENZA

City Archivist

Amazing events have occurred all throughout the history of Elizabethton and Carter County. In this monthly column, we look at some celebrated episodes from our past, but also dig up some lesser-known events that might surprise you. For this month, we remember some medical and educational history as well as the foundations of our wonderful public library. All of this history awaits you at the Archives of the City of Elizabethton at the Elizabethton-Carter County Public Library. If you’re interested in anything related to local history please contact the archives at 423-547-6360 or at jpenza@cityofelizabethton.org. We can discover something new about our past together!

 

JANUARY:

Friday, January 25, 1918: All public schools and non-essential businesses across the state are ordered closed for three weeks to conserve fuel as the state’s supply runs dangerously low.

Wednesday, January 3, 1940: The City of Elizabethton donates the lot across from the Post Office on Sycamore Street to the Business and Professional Women’s Club for the construction of a public library. The Club had been maintaining a free public lending library downtown since 1929 but had outgrown its space.

Sunday, January 17, 1988: Sycamore Shoals Hospital’s Dr. Richard Reece announces the facility’s first CAT Scan machine is available for use diagnosing patients and will reduce the need for exploratory surgeries as well as decrease the length of patients’ hospital stays.