Richard Payne, a Black man who lived in antebellum Knoxville, was described in an 1858 issue of Harper’s Magazine. What made him so interesting?
“Dick” Payne, a free man of color, was well known in all quarters of town, because in those days before a public water supply, he drove his wagon around town selling fresh water from a little-known spring. For those who didn’t have their own well, he was the city’s primary source of water. East Knoxville’s Payne Avenue was named for him, but erased during Urban Renewal. It would be a great tribute to revive.
