Remiflis cences
1•
	ttMiss Ida Knight‘s house (formerly the Sims house) was built riot later than 1840. ~Thornpson lived there first. Dr. Billy Sims married Dr. Thompson‘s sister, Miss Patsy, and that is how the house got into the Sims family. The old post oflice was known as Sixnstown, arid I believe it was up near the Nat Gist mansion. Simstown was the naine Lor the river community ±or years, because the Sirns‘~~ettled there and they were equally or more prominent than the Thompsons and Gists in that community. All the Sims men were country doctors.

	“To this coni~unity at the close of the Confederate war, came old man Ogle Tate, his wise, a~ Ben Shell, as refuge~s, fleeing.from the Yankees. When they came into the community9 Nat Gist gave them a nice house to live in on his plantation.

	ttivlr Gregory got all the.sheet iron used on the Meador and

Gist plantations, and. also on the Sims and Thompson plantations. Plows were made in his blacksmith shop from 10 inch sheet iron. The sheet was heated and. beaten into shape with his hammer. After cooling, the tools could be sha~peried. Horse and mule shoes were made from slender iron rods, bought i~or that purpose. They were called ‘slats‘, and this grade of iron was itno~vn as ‘slat iron‘. The shoe was moulded while hot, and beaten into the correct shape to fit the animal‘s foot. Those old shoes fit much better than the store~bought ones of more recent days. The horseshoe nails were made there, too. In fact, every farm implement of Iron w~s made from flat or sheet iron.

	“I spun the first pants that ~: wore. Ma sewed them ~or me, and wove and finished them with her hands. She made the thread that they were sewed with by hand on the loom. I made cloth for all m~ shirt8. I wore homeS-made cotton underwear in summer and winter, for we were poor. Of course my winter clothes were heavier.