Earl Reesor News Today

A surprise housewarming, a donkey cart accident, a mayor fights a change in government and more were reported on this day in Johnson City history.

Jan. 7, 1862: According to “The Railroads of Johnson City” by Johnny Graybeal, Henry Johnson “sold his son John M., then age 22 a half-acre lot next to his depot building. The lot contained a house and was part of the original half-acre lot purchased in 1854. By this time, the phrase ‘Johnson’s Depot’ was in common usage by the Register of Deeds office to denote land in that area.” Jan. 7, 1886: Readers of The Comet learned, “Mr. T.S. Patty, Emigrant Agen...