The Bell Witch: The Full Account (46 page)

340 P A T

F I T Z H U G H

John Bell, Jr. 1793-1862 and his wife Elizabeth Gunn

Their children were

Sarah Williams, Joel Thomas, Zadok, Martha Miles,

Mary Allen and John

Joel Thomas Bell 1831-1910 and his wife Laura

Virginia Henry

Their children were

John Thomas, Flora Adeline, Sarah Elizabeth, Boyd

Minerva, Charles Bailey and Mary Allen

Inscription on the Bell monument at Bellwood

Cemetery.

About a quarter-mile west of Bellwood Cemetery is

the Bell School Antique Mall, located in the Bell

School building on Highway 41. Here, you will find

countless antiques – anything from churns to

furniture, and old books and postcards to authentic

soldier uniforms. Upstairs is where the “Bell Witch

THE BELL WITCH: THE FULL ACCOUNT

341

Opry” was held on Saturday nights for many years.

The Opry has since been moved to the old gym on

the first floor to provide access to handicapped

persons.

The antique mall is owned by James Humphries,

who possesses a wealth of knowledge about antiques

and the area’s history. On several different

occasions, Humphries has experienced strange and

unexplainable encounters while working at the

antique mall.

The old Bell School building is also home to the

Adams Museum and Archives. Dedicated on July 4,

1996, the museum boasts lots of documents,

pictures, and relics that pertain to the town’s past,

including a number of documents and pictures

pertaining to the Bell family. The museum’s curator,

Tim Henson, is very knowledgeable about the town’s

history and the legend of the “Bell Witch.” The

author feels that a trip to Adams is not complete

without visiting the Bell School Antique Mall and

museum, where one might run into Mr. Henson or

Mr. Humphries.

Owned by the City of Adams, the old Bell School

building was built in 1920 to replace another

building that was built in 1913 but burned in 1919.

The Bell School and was the only school in

northwestern Robertson County up until 1949, when

Jo Byrns School was built. Bell School remained

open as a junior high school up until 1975.

342 P A T

F I T Z H U G H

The Bell School Building in Adams, Tennessee.

Behind the old Bell School building stands an

authentic log cabin built in the early Nineteenth

Century, which acted as a tenant house on the Bell

farm for a number of years. After the deaths of his

parents, Joel Egbert Bell inherited the northwestern

portion of the Bell farm where the cabin was located.

Although it is fairly common knowledge that the logs

from the original Bell home were used to build

structures on Joel Bell’s land, the question of

whether any of these logs became a part of the

preserved log cabin remains unanswered.

The first answer one might arrive at is “no,”

because the cabin was built between 1810 and 1820,

many years before the original Bell home was razed

in 1843. By examining the situation more closely,

one will learn that the cabin’s additional half-story

was not added until many years after its original

construction. There exists the possibility that the

logs used to construct the second story were once a

part of the original Bell home.

In a report issued in January of 1996 by Steve

Rogers of the Tennessee Historical Commission, the

following observations of significance were noted:

THE BELL WITCH: THE FULL ACCOUNT

343

“…the Bell house is an early log structure. I

would guess the house was built between 1810-

1820…” “In fact, a portion of one of the cut joists

was used as chinking to fill a hole on the rear of

the house. This alteration may represent a major

remodeling of the structure, changing it from a

one story to a one and a half story house by

raising the walls and adding a stairs
and second

story floor.”

The land on which the log cabin was first situated

changed hands from Allen Bell to Levi Smith in the

1870’s. In 1941, Smith’s great-grandsons, George S.

and Theo Dickinson, Jr., also direct descendants of

James Johnston, acquired the land allowed the cabin

to be used as a tenant house up until 1966. mm The

cabin stood vacant until 1982, when Theo Dickerson,

Jr. donated it to the Tennessee-Kentucky

Threshermen’s Association, at which time it was

moved to its present-day location behind the old Bell

School building. 92

92 Information and report excerpts come from the memorandum,
The Bell Log House
, by Emerson A. Meggs, July 11, 1996.

344 P A T

F I T Z H U G H

The Bell Log Cabin, which is located behind the

Bell School building in Adams, Tennessee.

Just west of the old Bell School building on

Highway 41 is Keysburg Road, which leads to nearby

Keysburg, Kentucky. The

Bell Witch Cave is

approximately one mile

down this road from

Adams-proper. The cave

is currently open daily for

tours between May 1st and

October 31st, with only

weekend tours between

Labor Day and Halloween.

On the last few nights

leading up to Halloween,

the cave owners offer haunted hayrides, psychic

readings, books, and a full-service concession stand

in addition to tours of the cave. The cave is subject

to temporary closures due to floods or drought

conditions, so it is advisable to check before going. nn

THE BELL WITCH: THE FULL ACCOUNT

345

Two major events are held each year in Adams:

The Tennessee-Kentucky Threshermen’s Show and

the Bell Witch Bluegrass Festival.

Now in its 31st year, the Threshermen’s Show

boasts antique tractors and farm equipment, as well

as arts and crafts booths, tractor and mule pulls,

pony rides, square dances and other family activities.

This event is held every July on the grounds of the

old Bell School. The Bell Witch Bluegrass Festival,

now in its 22nd year, is the second oldest such

competition in Tennessee. Each year, bluegrass

musicians from all over the southeast converge on

the grounds of the Old Bell School to “pick and grin.”

Just as it was during the time of John Bell, the

Red River bottomland boasts large corn and tobacco

fields as far as the eye can see. During late summer,

the aroma of freshly cut tobacco being dried in the

area’s many tobacco barns fills the air. The terrain is

mostly flat, with dense forests covering the rolling

hills.

The Red River is much smaller now than it was in

the days of John Bell. Only small canoes and rafts

now use the river that once carried steamboats from

Port Royal to markets such as Natchez and New

Orleans. Despite the river’s many changes, the

magical melodies played by its ripples are as

delightful today as they were when Elizabeth Bell,

Joshua Gardner, and others walked its banks nearly

two centuries ago.

346 P A T

F I T Z H U G H

The Red River

THE BELL WITCH: THE FULL ACCOUNT

347

Appendix F:

The Primitive Baptists

T HE AUTHOR CANNOT OVER-EMPHASIZE

the importance of understanding the

religious beliefs and principles from which

many theological conflicts (discussed earlier) arose

during the John Bell era. Moreover, he feels this

discussion is warranted because it will help the

reader to better understand the profound social and

personal impact these conflicts had on those living in

the Red River community of Robertson County at the

time.

The author has provided the following discussion

of the Primitive Baptist faith because Red River

Baptist Church was closely aligned with its beliefs,

most notably Calvinism, during the time of John

Bell. Text from the London Baptist Convention of

1644, to which Red River Baptist Church subscribed,

and John Calvin’s doctrine of Predestination, are

presented in Appendices G and H, respectively.

Primitive Baptist ancestors have been called by

various names over the ages. The name
Primitive

Baptist
became popular in the early 1800’s, when the

term
primitive
conveyed the idea of originality rather

than backwardness.

Primitive Baptists claim the scriptures as their sole

rule of faith and practice, and therefore are not

bound to creeds of faith. However, churches and

associations among Primitive Baptists have

summarized their interpretation of scriptures in

various
Articles of Faith
. Primitive Baptists claim

348 P A T

F I T Z H U G H

primary descent from certain Baptist churches in

Wales and in the Midlands of England. The views of

these Baptists are summarized in the 1655 Midland

Confession of Faith. The Particular Baptists of

London are also part of Primitive Baptist heritage.

Their most important confessions of faith were the

London Confessions of 1644 and 1689. The 1644

confession better represents Primitive Baptist views

than the 1689 confession.

Primitive
also conveys the idea of simplicity. This