THE MAXWELL HOUSE HOTEL

The Maxwell House Hotel was at the corner of 4th and Union in Nashville. Construction was begun in 1859 by John Overton Jr. who was the son of Andrew Jacksons campaign manager and long time friend John Overton. The hotel wasn't completely finished until 1869. It was named for Overton's wife Harriet Maxwell Overton. The hotels coffee was marketed in the late 1800's and became Maxwell House coffee. During the Civil War it was used as a hospital, barracks, and prison for Confederate POW's. Several Confederate prisoners were killed when a stairway collapsed in 1863. Although the KKK originated in Pulaski Tennessee in 1866, it was a harmless social fraternity created to relieve the boredom of six former Confederate soldiers. They dressed up in Halloween type costumes and rode their horses around town scaring local citizens for fun. They also outfitted their horses in similar costumes. The modern day white robes and hoods did not come along until the rebirth of the Klan in 1915. This new Klan also started the tradition of cross burning.

The terrorist arm of the Klan that we are more familiar with today was created in room 10 of the Maxwell House hotel in the Fall of 1866. General Nathan Bedford Forrest was chosen as the first Grand Wizard and the hierarchy of the Klan was created there also. This Klan was formed as a proxy of the Democrat party to terrorize blacks, white Northern Republicans known to history as Carpetbaggers, and white Southern Republican's better known as Scalawags. The Klan's mission was to disrupt Republican political meetings and polling places, much like the modern day Democrat proxy groups such as Antifa and BLM. Or any other Communist group that they might employ such as in LA. They wanted to keep blacks from voting because they knew that they would vote Republican which was the party of Lincoln and freedom.

Over the years hundreds of black and white Republicans were murdered by lynching, they were whipped and threatened. Ultimately Democrat resistance was successful and after the Compromise of 1877 the Republican party with few exceptions disappeared from the South. The Democrat party became the party of the white man and the South had a one party rule until the 1990's when the Republican party made great gains in the South. Until Trump stole their momentum in 2016 and 2024 this was their goal for America. Create a one party rule and it still is their goal. As the South became less racist it became more Republican. My Uncle Jake Frogge was head of the Maxwell House hotel staff for many years until his death in 1960. I saw the Maxwell House burn down on Christmas night 1961. The Chase Bank now stands where the Maxwell House once stood.