Since its settlement in 1791, Knoxville has been the most-important town in central East Tennessee.

Primary Area of Welsh Settlement Area in Knoxville Region

Welsh people who live in the region have always had ties to the city in one form or other from their first migration here.  As many Welsh immigrants and their descendants settled in the surrounding region, however, as made their home in the city.  They were happy here: the terrain reminded them of Wales, and it also gave them an opportunity to create small "pockets" where the Welsh could live together in the comfort of their culture.

The eminent Welsh immigrant-advocate, Reverend Robert David Thomas, wrote of the Welsh in Tennessee in 1872:

This state is located between the states of Kentucky and Alabama.  It is bounded on the southeast by North Carolina and Virginia, and on the West by the Mississippi river.  It is divided by the Cumberland Mountains and the Tennessee River "Eastern, Middle, and Western Tennessee."  It is hilly territory, but eastern Tennessee is excellent for grazing; central Tennessee is less hilly; western Tennessee either is level or wavy mountain pasture land.  It is possible to raise wheat and good Indian corn in many parts of it, but it is better for raising and nurturing animals and making butter and cheese.  It has enough mines of coal, iron, etc.  Its climate is temperate and its water is healthful.

"Our beloved old friend, the Rev. Samuel Roberts (S. R.) and his brother, Mr. Richard Roberts, and others, made a good choice of valuable land in a temperate and healthful climate -- but at a disadvantageous time -- at the beginning of the war and before the abolition of slavery. They also were disappointed when they looked at the title deeds of many of their lands in Scott and Montgomery [sic (should be Morgan)] counties in East Tennessee.

"Immigrants ought to be very careful to get a good title for the lands that they buy in any state, and especially in the southern states).  S. R., his brother and his dear wife and their kind daughter suffered a great deal in Tennessee, and they ought to get more sympathy and support instead of scorn and persecution.  After all their trouble, sadness, suffering, and losses, they unfortunately had to leave Brynffynon in Scott Co. and return to Wales in the summer of 1870.  I wish consolation and success to them there, and believe that their lands in Tennessee still will be of great value to their relatives.  The land in the Cumberland Mountains in Tennessee is hilly and healthful like the hills of Merioneth, although it is more wooded and much more fruitful.  There were 275,719 slaves there in 1860, and its population in 1870 was 1,258,399."¹

More of Reverend Thomas' discussion of East Tennessee's Welsh settlers can be found in the Welsh in Knoxville article on this site.

Welsh immigrants were lured to central East Tennessee for a variety of reasons, including:

(1)  The coal mining industry in the Cumberland and Clinch Mountain regions was relatively new; therefore, there was greater opportunity for employment.

(2)  The coal-mining techniques used in the Southern United States were very similar to those used in South Wales.  This is because the mineral deposits in both areas are similar.

(3)  The Coal Creek, Tennessee, area had a well-established Welsh community where the language and customs of Wales were preserved.  Because the area was nestled in the mountains, the Welsh were not forced to acquire new language and customs.  Rather, due to the concentrated population of Welsh immigrants and the natural barrier formed by the mountains, the "old ways" remained the normal way of life.

(4)  The iron industry, which originated in East Tennessee nearly 100 years earlier, boomed during and after the Civil War.

(5)  The Welsh community in Knoxville had a strong social, religious, and economic base that provided stable growth.

References

¹Robert David Thomas, Hanes Cymry America: A History of the Welsh in America.  Phillips G. Davies, Ph.D. (trans.)  (Lanham, MD:  University Press of America, 1983, pp. 158-161.  [Note: The Webmistress has the utmost respect for Professor Davies.  No copyright infringement intended by use of this passage here.]