In 1857, businessman John Dixon established the Eureka Cotton Mills near what is now Englewood where they used regionally-grown cotton to produce yarn. The small mill community that developed around the mill became known as Eureka Mills. By 1875, Elisha Brient, a partner of Dixon, and several of Brient's relatives had acquired Eureka Cotton Mills, and in 1894 the Brients renamed the town of Eureka Mills "Englewood".Jenny Burney, "Englewood Mills". Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture (Nashville, Tenn.: Rutledge Hill Press, 1998), pp. 256-257. The name was suggested by Nancy Chestnutt, a sister-in-law of James Brient, who thought the area resembled the English forests of the Robin Hood tales she had read about as a child.C. Stephen Byrum, McMinn County (Memphis, Tenn.: Memphis State University Press, 1984), pp. 48-50.
In 1857, businessman John Dixon established the Eureka Cotton Mills near what is now Englewood where they used regionally-grown cotton to produce yarn. The small mill community that developed around the mill became known as Eureka Mills. By 1875, Elisha Brient, a partner of Dixon, and several of Brient's relatives had acquired Eureka Cotton Mills and in 1894 the Brients renamed the town of Eureka Mills "Englewood".Jenny Burney, "Englewood Mills". Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture (Nashville, Tenn.: Rutledge Hill Press, 1998), pp. 256-257. The name was suggested by Nancy Chestnutt, a sister-in-law of James Brient, who thought the area resembled the English forests of the Robin Hood tales she had read about as a child.C. Stephen Byrum, McMinn County (Memphis, Tenn.: Memphis State University Press, 1984), pp. 48-50.