Not far from Crossville is the tiny town of Pall Mall (which the locals pronounce Powl Mowl), Tennessee. It was the home of Sergeant Alvin C. York, the most decorated soldier of World War I. He initially tried to claim exemption from military service as a conscientious objector, but after his claim was rejected, entered the Army as a private. His excellent marksmanship and tough, gritty determination soon set him apart and earned him a promotion to corporal. During an assault, he single-handedly killed 28 German Soldiers, knocked out several machine gun nests, and he and his seven man squad, took the surrender of 132 German soldiers. He was promptly promoted to Sergeant. His feats were not immediately acknowledged, but an account of his heroism published in the Saturday Evening Post, brought them to public attention. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the Congressional Medal of Honor, and the Croix de Guerre among numerous other decorations.
Before he was drafted, York had never been more than fifteen miles from the place where he was born. After his return, he was offered a half million dollars worth of endorsement deals, but declined them all because he felt that it was wrong to profit from killing. His largest desire was to return to the Pall Mall. Despite his rejection of so many offers, the Nashville Rotary Club raised enough money to buy four hundred acres of land upon which this house sits.
One of his business ventures was this general store. Inside the store, a short bio, narrated by Walter Cronkite, is played for visitors. York was not very successful in his ventures for a variety of reasons, one of them being his penchant for trying to help his neighbors in need.
Another of his businesses was this gristmill built on the Wolf River. We saw people fishing up and downstream from the small retention dam seen in the right of this photo. It was easy to see why he was so in love with the area.
Wishing to raise funds to build this Bible institute, and after rebuffing Hollywood for several years, he finally accepted a film offer in 1941. The Howard Hawks film Sergeant York, starring Gary Cooper, was the result. The institute is now defunct.
Another of his endeavors was the York Agricultural Institute. It was originally intended to help educate local farmers on better and more efficient agricultural production and marketing. After much political maneuvering, it was finally constructed, When the State of Tennessee reduced funding during the Depression, York mortgaged his farm to pay for bus transportation. It is now a public high school.
York died in 1964 and was buried in Wolf River Cemetery in Pall Mall. After his death, his wife sold most of the farm. It is now the Alvin C. York State Historic Park.
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