City of Knoxville - Lonsdale Greenway and Park History

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Lonsdale Greenway, Park and Recreation Center History

In 1890, William Ragsdale enlisted 100 Knoxville businessmen for a land development project on the western edge of Knoxville north of Western Avenue and south of Mechanicsville. The new community of Lonsdale was named for his parents, Lonas and Dale Ragsdale.

Many of the homes in this community exhibit Victorian and Craftsman influence. Ragsdale named the streets after Civil War generals and Union states.

Water rights appeared two years later from the Lonsdale-Beaumont Water Corporation, bringing in much needed industrial development in the form of brick, coal, lumber, and paper companies.

In 1917, the City annexed the previously incorporated towns of Lonsdale, Mountain View, Park City, Beaumont, Island Home, Oakwood, and part of Vestal, as well as large unincorporated areas such as South Knoxville and Sequoyah Hills. The land area of the City was increased from four to twenty six square miles. The census of 1920 reflected this dramatic growth in figures that showed that the City’s population had more than doubled in ten years. The population rose from 36,346 in 1910 to 77,818 in 1920.