“Blue Hills” was built before 1800 by the Earthman family. The original logs were covered with clapboard. William S. Whiteman bought the house and had a stone paper mill built in 1849.
William S. Whiteman was a name given to four generations in the Whiteman family. The first owned paper mill in Philadelphia, PA. His son moved to Knoxville and had a paper mill that closed prior 1854. The third W. S. Whiteman was born September 4, 1808 in Knoxville, Tennessee and died August 26, 1889. He had three paper mills, one near Cumberland, the one on Whites Creek Pike, and Old Stone fort in Manchester. He was one of the wealthiest men in Davidson County with his worth being documented as $150,000 in the 1860 Federal Census. His son, Jr., was born in 1840 in Davidson County, Tennessee and served in the Confederacy in the Civil War. The fourth W. S. Whiteman was born in 1872 in Nashville Tennessee.
The Whites Creek mill was a two-story brick structure built in 1849 eight miles northwest of Nashville. Rags rather than wood pulp were used to make the paper. Whiteman put ads in the local paper saying that they would buy rags from anyone for this use. This became a problem as a steady supply of rags could not be guaranteed.
Old Stone Mill
The third Whiteman was an avid Confederate. He offered to give a rent-free house to any person who would sign up to fight in the war. The paper mill was closed in 1862. With paper supply being available in Richmond, it is not feasible that any paper was manufactured and shipped out to make Confederate money as has been believed.
The two-story brick stream powered paper mill was converted to a barn after Whiteman’s return from the war. It still stands along with the original log and frame house at 4700 Whites Creek Pike, Whites Creek, Tennessee.
Information from Donald B., Louisville, KY
Article written by D. Ball, “Paper Mills on the Confederate South” can be found in Ohio Valley Historical Archeology Volume 17, 2002, page 11.