McCoy Farm & Gardens Newsletter

Volume Nine: Issue Nine xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx September 2024

Ellis A. Smith, Sr., grandfather of McCoy volunteer Rita Smith Irvin, served as the caretaker to the Bachman farm for many years until his retirement in 1940. This circa 1926 photo pictures some of his family members on the diving board of the Bachman pool. From left to right on the diving board, Weese Nixon, Jr., Howard Brown, Ellis A. Smith, Jr., and Geneva Brown Schubert.

This year’s biggest undertaking for our summer interns was covering the pool to create a stage. They built a platform over the top and incorporated the pool ladder to access potential storage below. Board members Fred Wildman and Andy Jones planned and organized this project. The concrete pool was last used in the 1940s, and one end had already been opened for drainage soon after the Town of Walden acquired the property. The slope of the land surrounding it mimics a natural amphitheater. Future uses include musical performances and movie nights.

Swimming pools were uncommon before the 20th century; their popularity only grew when swimming was introduced in the first modern Olympic games in 1896. In 1916, C. E. James had a dam built to create Rainbow Lake as a “swimming pool” for the Signal Mountain Inn (now Alexian). While luxury hotels and even cruise ships began adding pools into their facilities around this time, public pools were not common until the 1930s and private home pools were not frequently seen until the 1940s. Even then, they were symbols of high status. Sometime between 1911 when Nathan and Pearl Bachman bought the property and the early 1920s, they built the swimming pool which sits by the barnyard. The Bachman’s granddaughter Sally McCoy Garland remembers the pool with its cold water, leaves scattered across the surface, tadpoles and frogs, and the occasional snake. The water for the pool was provided by a well nearby. Adjacent to the pool was a wooden pool house consisting of two dressing rooms. The pool also sported a diving board at one end.

The pool has been non-operational since the 1940s when the well ran dry and was filled with leaves and mulch. Building a stage over it meant the pool could stay intact under the platform while providing a new amenity to the property. This stage is now complete and already used for impromptu performances by our youngest visitors. Stay tuned here for formal programming in the future.

A few tickets are still available for Celebration Tables, a champagne luncheon with an antique china extravaganza on Thursday, September 12. Come be inspired by twelve tables creatively set with fine china to celebrate festive holidays such as New Year's, Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, Easter, and so on. The elegant china from famous makers such as Haviland, Spode, Lenox, Wedgwood, Noritake, and more will be available for silent auction bids. 

Pam Reed, Executive Director of the Houston Museum of Decorative Arts, will speak on the care and preservation of antique pottery and china. Tickets for this fundraiser are $45 and include complimentary mimosas and a gourmet box lunch; wine will be available for purchase. Seating is limited, so make plans now to join us for a very special day at McCoy. 

Volunteer Spotlight

Young Apple Trees to be Planted

An aerial photo shows trees lost since 2013 and locations for new trees to complete a regular pattern of two rows along three sides of the rectangular field.

The Orchard Committee will plant five young heirloom apple trees this fall. If you have a favorite old variety you would like to see in the orchard, or you would like to help with preparations, please contact Karen Stone karenstone@waldenhouse.com. Trees will be ordered next week.

To maintain an orderly orchard, we feel our new trees should replace old ones removed by age or accident. We do not plan to cut trees just to make way for replacements, even though the old trees are becoming more and more unproductive.

The new trees will fill vacancies in a grid around three sides of the apple orchard, leaving the center open for recreation and for event tents. Be on the lookout for sites where the ground is disturbed as it is prepared to accept the new trees. This project is Stage Two of planting new trees to replace dead specimens. Stage One concluded on December 3, 2022, when six heirloom varieties were installed. Stage Three will not take place until the soil where trees have been removed recently is ready to accept new ones. Time is likely to be measured in years not months, since the ground must be clear of any residual diseases and fatigue/depletion from supporting the old specimens. 

What's Coming Up

• The Bachman McCoy House will be open for tours on Sunday, September 8, from 2-4 pm.

• The September Walden Town Meeting will be in the Pavilion at McCoy Farm & Gardens on Tuesday, September 10. The meeting begins at 6:30 pm. 

• Kevin Calhoon, Assistant Curator of Forests at the TN Aquarium, will lead our Fall Migratory Bird Walk, on Saturday, September 28 at 8:00 am. We will meet in the Horse Ring Parking Lot. 

• Mark your calendars for a Candidate Forum to hear Lizzy Schmidt and Lou Ziebold express their views as candidates for a position on the Walden Town Board. The forum will be at McCoy Farm & Gardens on Sunday, October 27 at 3:00 pm on the Bachman McCoy House front porch, weather permitting, or if not, at the Pavilion. 

No Bikes on Trails

Please remember that bikes are not allowed on the trails. Our trails are geared specifically toward walking and are maintained for this type of activity. Bikes on the trails can cause rutting and damage to the trails, especially after rain. This applies also to electric bikes.

Contact McCoy Farm & Gardens

at katie@mccoywalden.org

to learn more about renting space at McCoy for your next event.

Or mail your check to McCoy Farm & Gardens, P.O. Box 443, Signal Mountain, TN 37377

McCoy Farm & Gardens covers 38 acres and features the Bachman-McCoy home, gardens, and several outbuildings including the Pavilion, Carriage House, Barn, and Blacksmith Workshop. The perimeter walking trail is 1.1 miles.