Monday, January 21, 2013 9:30 am
BY BUD PHILLIPS | SPECIAL TO THE BRISTOL HERALD COURIER
Isaac Nickels had possibly the best hotel in Bristol
Among the better-known persons of Bristol during the first four decades of her existence was Isaac A. Nickels. Though among the well-known pioneers, not a great deal has been written about him. His memory has likely been most marked by his association with the famed Nickels House Hotel. A lot of that is due to the fact that this hotel served as a Confederate hospital during most of the Civil War.
During the same period mentioned above, several hotels were built here to serve the needs of the fast growing town. Of the persons who served in these hotels as hosts to the traveling public, two likely served the longest, Nickels and his brother-in-law John Godsey Wood.
The subject of this article came from the Nickels family, a name immortalized by the town of Nickelsville, Virginia. Isaac was a son of Walter H. and his wife, Jane Kilgore Nickels. He was a grandson of James and Jane Matney Nickels and a great-grandson of the pioneer Mathias and his wife Elizabeth Allan Nickels. He was born about 1837 and an old memorial card I once found in an antique shop in Johnson City gives his death date as simply 1891 and stated that he was 55 years, 4 months and 10 days old. I later was able to find the exact date of his death from an old doctor’s account book.
From early youth it became evident that he would not be content with rural farm life as followed by most of his relatives. As did several others of the area, he decided to move to the new town of Bristol with hopes of a bright future. It is known that he was here by the late 1850s.
He was first a clerk in a local store, possibly in the store of Joseph R. Anderson. It was his father who laid the foundation for Isaac’s hotel career, as we shall shortly see. In the mid-1850s Anderson built a large warehouse on the corner of 4th and Main. Later, he turned this into a hotel and leased it to Thomas W. Garland. Soon came the Civil War. It was then when this hotel was made into a Confederate hospital.
Sometime during the war, Anderson sold the building to Walter H. Nickels, the father of Isaac. Anderson was paid with a great amount of salt, a very valuable commodity at the time. The salt was stored in one of Anderson’s small warehouse buildings on 4th Street. Later, the Federals burned this building.
After the war, the hotel was renovated and opened as a first class hotel with Isaac as the proprietor. It was named The Nickels House.
At an earlier date, young Isaac became a friend of the James Osborne Wood family who lived in Old Pleasant Hill in what is now Gate City, Va. In that family was a beautiful daughter, Elizabeth Wood (called Lizzie by her family). She was born around 1839. The two courted and were married on February 21, 1865. Their home was an ample suite on the first floor of the Nickels House. Before long, Nickels opened a bar in the English basement room on the west side of the hotel. This infuriated Joseph R. Anderson who was a noted Temperance man. This hotel was just across the street from the Anderson home. By then, Anderson was the leading banker of Bristol and he would never lend Nickels money to finance any of his business projects later.
Several in the Wood family were displeased also, but that didn’t stop him. Soon he opened the Nickel Plate saloon on notorious Front Street. It was the most lavish such establishment of the type for the time and it stayed open for several years. Along about that time, he also became a partner in the old Virginia House Hotel.
Lizzie Wood became the mother of two daughters, Myrtle and Blanche. Then in the early 1870’s, a blow came to this family. Young Lizzie complained one day of not feeling well. She went to her bed and there suddenly died. Even though Dr. Nick Vane and Dr. C. T. Pepper were called and tried valiantly to revive her, they were not successful. It appears that her sister Juliet helped raise the two orphan girls.
A few years later, Isaac married again, but not for long. The new wife was a person of loose morals. She soon eloped with his brother and the two moved to Alabama. But there he became ill and she left him and went westward with another man and was never heard of again.
After the death of his first wife, Isaac could never seem contented again. At one point he moved to Montgomery, Ala., and opened a rather fine restaurant. It could not bring the peace he sought and he soon came back to Bristol. Then in 1884, he went to St. Augustine, Fla. From there, he made an extended tour of the central part of that state, apparently on a search for a place to settle. He never followed through with his plans and shortly he was back in Bristol.
The old account book of Dr. M.M. Butler tells the rest of the story. Early in July 1891, Butler lanced what we would commonly call a boil for Nickels. Infection apparently set in, for the account book notes the doctor was called back in every day, sometimes twice a day for a week or so. Then on July 15, he wrote in that book that Isaac Nickels died.
He is buried on the highest point of Bristol’s historic East Hill Cemetery along with his wife and his father and younger brother who did elope with the second wife mentioned previously.
BY BUD PHILLIPS | SPECIAL TO THE BRISTOL HERALD COURIER
Isaac Nickels had possibly the best hotel in Bristol
Among the better-known persons of Bristol during the first four decades of her existence was Isaac A. Nickels. Though among the well-known pioneers, not a great deal has been written about him. His memory has likely been most marked by his association with the famed Nickels House Hotel. A lot of that is due to the fact that this hotel served as a Confederate hospital during most of the Civil War.
During the same period mentioned above, several hotels were built here to serve the needs of the fast growing town. Of the persons who served in these hotels as hosts to the traveling public, two likely served the longest, Nickels and his brother-in-law John Godsey Wood.
The subject of this article came from the Nickels family, a name immortalized by the town of Nickelsville, Virginia. Isaac was a son of Walter H. and his wife, Jane Kilgore Nickels. He was a grandson of James and Jane Matney Nickels and a great-grandson of the pioneer Mathias and his wife Elizabeth Allan Nickels. He was born about 1837 and an old memorial card I once found in an antique shop in Johnson City gives his death date as simply 1891 and stated that he was 55 years, 4 months and 10 days old. I later was able to find the exact date of his death from an old doctor’s account book.
From early youth it became evident that he would not be content with rural farm life as followed by most of his relatives. As did several others of the area, he decided to move to the new town of Bristol with hopes of a bright future. It is known that he was here by the late 1850s.
He was first a clerk in a local store, possibly in the store of Joseph R. Anderson. It was his father who laid the foundation for Isaac’s hotel career, as we shall shortly see. In the mid-1850s Anderson built a large warehouse on the corner of 4th and Main. Later, he turned this into a hotel and leased it to Thomas W. Garland. Soon came the Civil War. It was then when this hotel was made into a Confederate hospital.
Sometime during the war, Anderson sold the building to Walter H. Nickels, the father of Isaac. Anderson was paid with a great amount of salt, a very valuable commodity at the time. The salt was stored in one of Anderson’s small warehouse buildings on 4th Street. Later, the Federals burned this building.
After the war, the hotel was renovated and opened as a first class hotel with Isaac as the proprietor. It was named The Nickels House.
At an earlier date, young Isaac became a friend of the James Osborne Wood family who lived in Old Pleasant Hill in what is now Gate City, Va. In that family was a beautiful daughter, Elizabeth Wood (called Lizzie by her family). She was born around 1839. The two courted and were married on February 21, 1865. Their home was an ample suite on the first floor of the Nickels House. Before long, Nickels opened a bar in the English basement room on the west side of the hotel. This infuriated Joseph R. Anderson who was a noted Temperance man. This hotel was just across the street from the Anderson home. By then, Anderson was the leading banker of Bristol and he would never lend Nickels money to finance any of his business projects later.
Several in the Wood family were displeased also, but that didn’t stop him. Soon he opened the Nickel Plate saloon on notorious Front Street. It was the most lavish such establishment of the type for the time and it stayed open for several years. Along about that time, he also became a partner in the old Virginia House Hotel.
Lizzie Wood became the mother of two daughters, Myrtle and Blanche. Then in the early 1870’s, a blow came to this family. Young Lizzie complained one day of not feeling well. She went to her bed and there suddenly died. Even though Dr. Nick Vane and Dr. C. T. Pepper were called and tried valiantly to revive her, they were not successful. It appears that her sister Juliet helped raise the two orphan girls.
A few years later, Isaac married again, but not for long. The new wife was a person of loose morals. She soon eloped with his brother and the two moved to Alabama. But there he became ill and she left him and went westward with another man and was never heard of again.
After the death of his first wife, Isaac could never seem contented again. At one point he moved to Montgomery, Ala., and opened a rather fine restaurant. It could not bring the peace he sought and he soon came back to Bristol. Then in 1884, he went to St. Augustine, Fla. From there, he made an extended tour of the central part of that state, apparently on a search for a place to settle. He never followed through with his plans and shortly he was back in Bristol.
The old account book of Dr. M.M. Butler tells the rest of the story. Early in July 1891, Butler lanced what we would commonly call a boil for Nickels. Infection apparently set in, for the account book notes the doctor was called back in every day, sometimes twice a day for a week or so. Then on July 15, he wrote in that book that Isaac Nickels died.
He is buried on the highest point of Bristol’s historic East Hill Cemetery along with his wife and his father and younger brother who did elope with the second wife mentioned previously.
Monday, January 21, 2013 9:30 am
BY BUD PHILLIPS | SPECIAL TO THE BRISTOL HERALD COURIER
Isaac Nickels had possibly the best hotel in Bristol
Among the better-known persons of Bristol during the first four decades of her existence was Isaac A. Nickels. Though among the well-known pioneers, not a great deal has been written about him. His memory has likely been most marked by his association with the famed Nickels House Hotel. A lot of that is due to the fact that this hotel served as a Confederate hospital during most of the Civil War.
During the same period mentioned above, several hotels were built here to serve the needs of the fast growing town. Of the persons who served in these hotels as hosts to the traveling public, two likely served the longest, Nickels and his brother-in-law John Godsey Wood.
The subject of this article came from the Nickels family, a name immortalized by the town of Nickelsville, Virginia. Isaac was a son of Walter H. and his wife, Jane Kilgore Nickels. He was a grandson of James and Jane Matney Nickels and a great-grandson of the pioneer Mathias and his wife Elizabeth Allan Nickels. He was born about 1837 and an old memorial card I once found in an antique shop in Johnson City gives his death date as simply 1891 and stated that he was 55 years, 4 months and 10 days old. I later was able to find the exact date of his death from an old doctor’s account book.
From early youth it became evident that he would not be content with rural farm life as followed by most of his relatives. As did several others of the area, he decided to move to the new town of Bristol with hopes of a bright future. It is known that he was here by the late 1850s.
He was first a clerk in a local store, possibly in the store of Joseph R. Anderson. It was his father who laid the foundation for Isaac’s hotel career, as we shall shortly see. In the mid-1850s Anderson built a large warehouse on the corner of 4th and Main. Later, he turned this into a hotel and leased it to Thomas W. Garland. Soon came the Civil War. It was then when this hotel was made into a Confederate hospital.
Sometime during the war, Anderson sold the building to Walter H. Nickels, the father of Isaac. Anderson was paid with a great amount of salt, a very valuable commodity at the time. The salt was stored in one of Anderson’s small warehouse buildings on 4th Street. Later, the Federals burned this building.
After the war, the hotel was renovated and opened as a first class hotel with Isaac as the proprietor. It was named The Nickels House.
At an earlier date, young Isaac became a friend of the James Osborne Wood family who lived in Old Pleasant Hill in what is now Gate City, Va. In that family was a beautiful daughter, Elizabeth Wood (called Lizzie by her family). She was born around 1839. The two courted and were married on February 21, 1865. Their home was an ample suite on the first floor of the Nickels House. Before long, Nickels opened a bar in the English basement room on the west side of the hotel. This infuriated Joseph R. Anderson who was a noted Temperance man. This hotel was just across the street from the Anderson home. By then, Anderson was the leading banker of Bristol and he would never lend Nickels money to finance any of his business projects later.
Several in the Wood family were displeased also, but that didn’t stop him. Soon he opened the Nickel Plate saloon on notorious Front Street. It was the most lavish such establishment of the type for the time and it stayed open for several years. Along about that time, he also became a partner in the old Virginia House Hotel.
Lizzie Wood became the mother of two daughters, Myrtle and Blanche. Then in the early 1870’s, a blow came to this family. Young Lizzie complained one day of not feeling well. She went to her bed and there suddenly died. Even though Dr. Nick Vane and Dr. C. T. Pepper were called and tried valiantly to revive her, they were not successful. It appears that her sister Juliet helped raise the two orphan girls.
A few years later, Isaac married again, but not for long. The new wife was a person of loose morals. She soon eloped with his brother and the two moved to Alabama. But there he became ill and she left him and went westward with another man and was never heard of again.
After the death of his first wife, Isaac could never seem contented again. At one point he moved to Montgomery, Ala., and opened a rather fine restaurant. It could not bring the peace he sought and he soon came back to Bristol. Then in 1884, he went to St. Augustine, Fla. From there, he made an extended tour of the central part of that state, apparently on a search for a place to settle. He never followed through with his plans and shortly he was back in Bristol.
The old account book of Dr. M.M. Butler tells the rest of the story. Early in July 1891, Butler lanced what we would commonly call a boil for Nickels. Infection apparently set in, for the account book notes the doctor was called back in every day, sometimes twice a day for a week or so. Then on July 15, he wrote in that book that Isaac Nickels died.
He is buried on the highest point of Bristol’s historic East Hill Cemetery along with his wife and his father and younger brother who did elope with the second wife mentioned previously.
BY BUD PHILLIPS | SPECIAL TO THE BRISTOL HERALD COURIER
Isaac Nickels had possibly the best hotel in Bristol
Among the better-known persons of Bristol during the first four decades of her existence was Isaac A. Nickels. Though among the well-known pioneers, not a great deal has been written about him. His memory has likely been most marked by his association with the famed Nickels House Hotel. A lot of that is due to the fact that this hotel served as a Confederate hospital during most of the Civil War.
During the same period mentioned above, several hotels were built here to serve the needs of the fast growing town. Of the persons who served in these hotels as hosts to the traveling public, two likely served the longest, Nickels and his brother-in-law John Godsey Wood.
The subject of this article came from the Nickels family, a name immortalized by the town of Nickelsville, Virginia. Isaac was a son of Walter H. and his wife, Jane Kilgore Nickels. He was a grandson of James and Jane Matney Nickels and a great-grandson of the pioneer Mathias and his wife Elizabeth Allan Nickels. He was born about 1837 and an old memorial card I once found in an antique shop in Johnson City gives his death date as simply 1891 and stated that he was 55 years, 4 months and 10 days old. I later was able to find the exact date of his death from an old doctor’s account book.
From early youth it became evident that he would not be content with rural farm life as followed by most of his relatives. As did several others of the area, he decided to move to the new town of Bristol with hopes of a bright future. It is known that he was here by the late 1850s.
He was first a clerk in a local store, possibly in the store of Joseph R. Anderson. It was his father who laid the foundation for Isaac’s hotel career, as we shall shortly see. In the mid-1850s Anderson built a large warehouse on the corner of 4th and Main. Later, he turned this into a hotel and leased it to Thomas W. Garland. Soon came the Civil War. It was then when this hotel was made into a Confederate hospital.
Sometime during the war, Anderson sold the building to Walter H. Nickels, the father of Isaac. Anderson was paid with a great amount of salt, a very valuable commodity at the time. The salt was stored in one of Anderson’s small warehouse buildings on 4th Street. Later, the Federals burned this building.
After the war, the hotel was renovated and opened as a first class hotel with Isaac as the proprietor. It was named The Nickels House.
At an earlier date, young Isaac became a friend of the James Osborne Wood family who lived in Old Pleasant Hill in what is now Gate City, Va. In that family was a beautiful daughter, Elizabeth Wood (called Lizzie by her family). She was born around 1839. The two courted and were married on February 21, 1865. Their home was an ample suite on the first floor of the Nickels House. Before long, Nickels opened a bar in the English basement room on the west side of the hotel. This infuriated Joseph R. Anderson who was a noted Temperance man. This hotel was just across the street from the Anderson home. By then, Anderson was the leading banker of Bristol and he would never lend Nickels money to finance any of his business projects later.
Several in the Wood family were displeased also, but that didn’t stop him. Soon he opened the Nickel Plate saloon on notorious Front Street. It was the most lavish such establishment of the type for the time and it stayed open for several years. Along about that time, he also became a partner in the old Virginia House Hotel.
Lizzie Wood became the mother of two daughters, Myrtle and Blanche. Then in the early 1870’s, a blow came to this family. Young Lizzie complained one day of not feeling well. She went to her bed and there suddenly died. Even though Dr. Nick Vane and Dr. C. T. Pepper were called and tried valiantly to revive her, they were not successful. It appears that her sister Juliet helped raise the two orphan girls.
A few years later, Isaac married again, but not for long. The new wife was a person of loose morals. She soon eloped with his brother and the two moved to Alabama. But there he became ill and she left him and went westward with another man and was never heard of again.
After the death of his first wife, Isaac could never seem contented again. At one point he moved to Montgomery, Ala., and opened a rather fine restaurant. It could not bring the peace he sought and he soon came back to Bristol. Then in 1884, he went to St. Augustine, Fla. From there, he made an extended tour of the central part of that state, apparently on a search for a place to settle. He never followed through with his plans and shortly he was back in Bristol.
The old account book of Dr. M.M. Butler tells the rest of the story. Early in July 1891, Butler lanced what we would commonly call a boil for Nickels. Infection apparently set in, for the account book notes the doctor was called back in every day, sometimes twice a day for a week or so. Then on July 15, he wrote in that book that Isaac Nickels died.
He is buried on the highest point of Bristol’s historic East Hill Cemetery along with his wife and his father and younger brother who did elope with the second wife mentioned previously.
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