Athens Waterwheel/CDR Joseph T. Neville Memorial Waterwheel

Athens Waterwheel/CDR Joseph T. Neville Memorial Waterwheel. . , Front: , The town of Athens, Tennessee, was created in 1822, on land obtained from William Lowry and Joseph Calloway. Originally the town boundaries consisted of 35 acres bordering on the Eastnalle Creek, which was used as a source of water power to operate the various mills that eventually located along the creek. Important in the location of the town was a healthy water supply, which was provided by a large spring near the center of town that, to this day, flows underneath the Market Park property. , , Nine commissioners were designated to lay out the town in lots and to name the various streets. Some of the original names remain today; others have been renamed, while others no longer exist. The town received its official name on August 23, 1822, by the Tennessee legislature. Local lore gives credit to Elijah Hurst, one of the commissioners, for suggesting the name Athens, for it fitted a description of the ancient city of Greece, which he had read about. , , The following year, 1823, the county seat was moved from its original location at Calhoun in order to make the seat of government more accessible to the majority of McMinn countians. , , Athens had a population of 500 and according to the 1830 census, was a thriving community consisting of 4 lawyers, 4 divines (ministers), 4 doctors, 10 stores (3 more than Knoxville), 1 tavern, 1 printing office, 1 painter, 2 hatters, 2 tailors, 2 shoemakers, 2 tanners, 2 mills, 2 silversmiths, 1 wagon maker, 1 factory and a male and female academy. , , The Athens Roller Mill was located on the current site of the Veterans Park Plaza and used water from the creek to power a waterwheel. , , This replica waterwheel was dedicated on June 1, 2017, to recognize the important role water played in the establishment and growth of Athens. , Athens Roller Mill , , Rear: , CDR Joseph T. Neville Memorial Waterwheel , This waterwheel is given as a gift to the citizens of Athens by the crew of the USS Charles R. Ware DD-865 in honor and in memory of retired Commander Joseph T. Neville, United States Navy. , , CDR Neville commanded the USS Ware from November 1966 through March 1969, during which time the ship saw combat in Vietnam. After retiring from the Navy in 1973, he moved to Tallahassee, FL where in 1974 he married his wife Chloe. In 2002 he and Chloe were part of an effort to recognize the ship's namesake, Charles R. Ware, who had joined the Navy from Athens. CDR Neville volunteered with and supported the McMinn County Living Heritage Museum and helped to establish one of the finest museum exhibits in the country dedicated to a United States Navy ship.