Businessman George L. Carter considered to be the father of the Tri-Cities

Call him the father of the Tri-Cities – or perhaps even the original emperor of the Mountain Empire. You might also call George L. Carter a man of mystery.

This Carroll County boy never learned to drive. He didn’t drink. He didn’t smoke. He didn’t hire women to be in his executive office.

Nor did he want his name used at Tom’s Creek when the Wise County coal mining community was founded. At one point, some folks in that village near Coeburn wanted to call the place "Georgel" in honor of this Carroll County boy – this millionaire.

George Lafayette Carter was born 151 years ago today – Jan. 10, 1857 – near Hillsville in the center of Carroll County.

He was one of nine children, said Carroll County historian Sebert Sisson, and his father was a disabled Confederate veteran who lost one of his legs due to injuries sustained in the Civil War.

Still, young George developed a relentless work ethic. As a teenager, he took at job at Johnson’s General Store at Hillsville, Sisson said, and "earned enough money working at this job to purchase his own horse and saddle."

‘EMPIRE BUILDER’

By the 1870s, Carter took a series of jobs with the Wythe Lead Mining Company of Austinville. And there, he seized opportunity when he learned how to secure options on mining land in the Wythe County area through the help of bankers.

Such an endeavor became what Sisson called "the foundation upon which he was to build his empire" – the Mountain Empire – of Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia.

Before his death in 1936, Carter’s business developments blossomed beyond iron furnaces to include railroads, mills and coal mines.

He helped industries prosper in Pulaski, Kingsport, Johnson City, Bristol and Middlesboro, Ky.

He guided operations in West Virginia at Coalwood, the model coal camp made famous in modern pop culture by the antics of "The Rocket Boys" of movie fame.

Carter also started one of the parent companies of the newspaper that you’re reading – The Bristol Herald – in 1903.

Around that same time, Carter made a home for himself and his wife in Bristol – on Solar Street – and based his offices of the Carter Coal and Iron Co. in downtown Bristol.

As well, Carter had the land needed to help get what is now East Tennessee State University off the ground a century ago.

Today, a reference is made to Carter on a historic marker, at the center of the Johnson City campus, on the lawn fronting "Carter Hall," a building named in honor of his wife, Mayetta.

Meanwhile, in a framed collection of photos at Hillsville, Carter is called an "Empire Builder" on the wall at the Carroll County Historical Society Museum, not far from where Carter is buried behind the new Carroll County Courthouse.

‘HARD TO DOCUMENT’

But who was George L. Carter?

Well, that’s a question many historians are still asking, even as his name is bestowed on the new George L. Carter Railroad Museum, housing a collection of large-scale model railroads at the old College of Medicine Building at ETSU.

"We don’t have that much on him personally," said Ned Irwin, a university archivist at ETSU. "I’ve only seen a handful of photographs of him."

The university called Carter a "Railroad Magnate," "Industrialist," "Visionary," "Philanthropist" and "ETSU Benefactor" on invitations when the museum opened in November.

But wait – Carter may not have approved of the museum’s name.

"He didn’t want anything named for him," Irwin said.

Perhaps ironically, for being a man with so many public business ventures, including the establishment of the Carolina, Clinchfield and Ohio Railroad, there is still little known about Carter’s personal life, Irwin said.

"He destroyed his personal papers," Irwin added. "It’s hard to document."

‘REASON FOR BEING PRIVATE’

After all these years, though, public interest remains.

"I’m asked about him on a regular basis," Irwin said.

He smiled.

"Of course, we wouldn’t be sitting here without George L. Carter," Irwin said. "He got the university placed in Johnson City. And he got the land for it."

A few years ago, with the late historian Ray Stahl, Irwin wrote a biography of George L. Carter. The book is still awaiting publication.

With a lack of personal papers, however, these men "had to use things like newspaper clippings and court records" to compile the Carter book, Irwin said.

What also made it hard: Carter has no living direct descendants today.

Carter had one son, James Walter, and he had no children.

"And the son burned a lot of the papers," Sisson, 90, said. "We don’t have a picture. We don’t have any adult pictures of James Walter."

It may sound like a cliche, but George L. Carter "was pretty much all business," Sisson said. "His lifestyle was pretty much old-fashioned."

What’s more, he "had a reason for being private," Irwin figured, so that competitors would not discover his forthcoming business ventures.

"I don’t think he was evil," Irwin said. "He probably made a lot of enemies ... He had fall-outs with people."

‘ALWAYS MADE MONEY’

In his final years, Carter lived in a rambling mansion that stands next door to the old Carroll County Courthouse on Hillsville’s Main Street. That’s where Carter retired, even though he remained busy and traveled, pursuing his business ventures.

"He retired in word only," said Carroll County historian Evelyn Botschen. "He was in Washington, D.C., when he retired. He was doing some kind of business deal."

Botschen, along with other Carroll County historians, like Betty Patton, have worked for years to restore the "Hale-Wilkinson-Carter Home" – a five-story structure once used for county offices.

Someday, these women want "Hale-Wilkinson-Carter Home" open to the public on a regular basis. In the meantime, Botschen said, they have pursued grant money to restore the building.

And they have tried to raise funds, like holding a haunted house inside the building with the help of local high school kids.

The haunted house was successful and made money – just like Carter had, in so many ways.

"He always made money – no matter what he was doing," Botschen said. "Carter’s greatness lay in the fact that he took charge in his family and tried to gain jobs that would enable him to make money."

jtennis@bristolnews.com | (276) 791-0704

IF YOU GO