Home of Tall Betsy
The Centenary district received national attention from 1980 to 1998 when a house owned by businessman Allan Jones located at 150 Centenary Avenue NW became the site of Halloween appearances by the famous Tall Betsy goblin that stands more than 7 feet, 6 inches tall.
Centenary Avenue is mentioned in a famous poem about Tall Betsy and in a state resolution adopted on May 24, 1989, honoring Tall Betsy as the “official Halloween Goblin of Bradley County.” The historic district was also featured in a 2011 documentary about Tall Betsy that aired on PBS and NBC and won a prestigious Telly Award in 2013. It was narrated by Lynn Hoffman, host of A&E’s popular “Private Sessions.”
The residential areas within the district achieved their maturity before 1900, though Sycamore has grown considerably from the 3,330 or so that lived there from about 1900 until the 1970s most of the historic district remains intact as it was organized in 1978.
Tall Betsy was started in 1980 by Jones, who at the time was a single parent raising his daughter Courtney and living at the Centenary residence. Jones had heard his mother, Gincy Slaughter Jones, tell stories of Tall Betsy as he was a child growing up at 480 21st Street NW in Cleveland, TN. [3]
According to Jones, who later became known as “Mr. Halloween,” the real Tall Betsy was a very tall woman who walked the streets of Cleveland, TN in the early 1920s. She always wore black and was referred to by the townspeople as Tall Betsy, Black Betsy, and the Lady in Black.
Tall Betsy first appeared in Cleveland's Johnston Park downtown for an afternoon event on Halloween day, 1980. Jones' mother was hosting a party for Courtney at the Centenary Avenue home before the kids went out trick-or-treating. Jones left Johnston Park and got a friend in a pickup truck to allow him to lay in the back and deliver him to the party at 150 Centenary Avenue. Jones appeared in the backyard and scared the kids, who were the first to see Tall Betsy. As they left to go down the street trick-or-treating, Tall Betsy walked in front of the Jones house and stood waiting for young trick-or-treaters.
As Tall Betsy became popular across Tennessee and eventually nationwide, thousands came to Jones' door each year and thousands more simply drove by the Centenary home. [4]
The goblin became so popular that in 1986, Jones organized the downtown Halloween Block Party that included games, costume contests and treats. The event was intended to draw the crowds off of Centenary Avenue after 8 p.m.
In 1993 the Jones house kept count and set a world record of 11,201 pieces of bubble gum given away one at a time to young kids coming to the Centenary Avenue home from 5 to 8p.m.
After drawing a crowd of 25,000 in 1998, Jones retired Tall Betsy and moved away from Centenary Avenue. The goblin was said to have vanished forever to a mausoleum at Cleveland's Fort Hill Cemetery. [5]
Appearance of New Tall Betsy on Centenary in 2016
On Oct. 31, 2016 a new version of the Tall Betsy goblin appeared at the famous address for the first time in 18 years. The appearance drew national attention. The new Tall Betsy was created by Jones’ son, Bailey and had an updated look.
“Tall Betsy has fans worldwide, but Cleveland is where the legend started and we wanted to do something to honor this city and the generations who witnessed the original goblin,” Allan Jones told the Cleveland Daily Banner. “The new Tall Betsy looks and feels like a real person. We took the goblin to the next level of spookiness.”
The new look for Tall Betsy was created by Hollywood Mask Masters in Van Nuys, Calif., using real human hair. The face and hands were intended for a big-budget Hollywood film that never finished completion. [6]
Polk County is a county located in the southeastern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 17,544. Its county seat is Benton. The county was created on November 28, 1839, from parts of Bradley and McMinn counties, after final removal of most Cherokee from the region that year. The county was named after then-governor James K. Polk. Polk County is included in the Cleveland, Tennessee Metropolitan Area Statistical Area, which is also included in the Chattanooga–Cleveland–Dalton, TN–GA–AL Combined Statistical Area.
Bradley County is a county located in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 108,620, making it the thirteenth most populous county in Tennessee. Its county seat is Cleveland. It is named for Colonel Edward Bradley of Shelby County, Tennessee, who was colonel of Hale's Regiment in the American Revolution and the 15th Regiment of the Tennessee Volunteers in the War of 1812. Bradley County is included in the Cleveland, Tennessee Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Chattanooga-Cleveland-Dalton, TN-GA-AL Combined Statistical Area.
Cleveland is the county seat of and largest city in Bradley County, Tennessee. The population was 47,356 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Cleveland metropolitan area, Tennessee, which is included in the Chattanooga–Cleveland–Dalton, TN–GA–AL Combined Statistical Area.
North Cleveland Park is a neighborhood in the Northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C.
The Cleveland Daily Banner is a three-day weekly newspaper published in Cleveland, Tennessee. Founded in 1854, it is the longest-running newspaper in Bradley County, and one of the oldest newspapers in the state.
The Burra Burra Mine is a copper mine located in Ducktown, Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. Named for the famous mine in Australia, the Burra Burra Mine is located in the Copper Basin geological region, and extracted over 15 million tons of copper ore during its 60 years of operation between 1899 and 1959. The mine's remaining structures are listed on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Burra Burra Mine Historic District. The site is also home to the Ducktown Basin Museum, and the museum and mine are a Tennessee State Historic Site operated in partnership with the Tennessee Historical Commission.
Bradley Central High School is a public high school located in Cleveland, Tennessee that serves approximately 1,700 students from grades 9-12. It was founded in 1916, and is part of the Bradley County Schools system. The school maintains a crosstown rivalry with Cleveland High School, as well as fellow county rival Walker Valley High School.
In Tennessee, U.S. Route 64 stretches 404.1 miles (650.3 km) from the Mississippi River in Memphis to the North Carolina state line near Ducktown. The highway, along with US 72, is a major route for travel between Memphis and Chattanooga.
First Presbyterian Church is a historic church at 433 Ocoee Street NW in Cleveland, Tennessee. The First Presbyterian congregation is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and the Presbytery of East Tennessee.
St. Luke's Episcopal Church is a historic church at Ocoee and Central Streets, NW in Cleveland, Tennessee, United States. It is one of the city's oldest buildings and the second oldest church building in Cleveland.
It's the Great Pancake, Cleveland Brown is the fourth episode of the second season of The Cleveland Show. It aired on November 7, 2010 on Fox.
William Allan Jones Jr. is an American businessman from Cleveland, Tennessee. He is the founder, chairman and CEO of Check Into Cash, Creditcorp, Jones Management Services and the Community Financial Services Association, and several other local lending agencies. He has been called the "father of the payday loan industry" for founding and building the first major payday loan chain.
Tall Betsy is a cultural Halloween icon originating in Bradley County, Tennessee, United States. Tall Betsy was declared the "Official Halloween Goblin" of Bradley County in 1989.
Bradley County Schools is a public school system based in Bradley County, Tennessee. All students living in the county attend these schools, except for those living in Cleveland; students in Cleveland attend schools in the Cleveland City Schools district.
APD-40 or APD 40 is a road composed of the U.S. Route 64 Bypass and a section of State Route 60 (SR 60) which forms a partial beltway around the business district of Cleveland, Tennessee. The route takes its name from its part of Corridor K of the Appalachian Development Highway System and is sometimes called Appalachian Highway or simply the Cleveland Bypass. The route is also designated as Veterans Memorial Highway. The US 64 Byp. section of the road is multiplexed with unsigned State Route 311 and US 74. The road is a four-lane divided highway its entire length, and parts are controlled-access. The bypass is an east-west route, and the state route runs north-south.
The Museum Center at 5ive Points is a history museum in Cleveland, Tennessee which features exhibits on the history of the local region.
The Ocoee Street Historic District is a historic district and neighborhood located in downtown Cleveland, Tennessee along U.S. Route 11 that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) on December 13, 1995. It is located adjacent to the Centenary Avenue Historic District consists of many homes individually listed on the NRHP.
The Cleveland Commercial Historic District is a historic district located in the central business district of Cleveland, Tennessee. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 2017.
The United Daughters of the Confederacy Monument is a Confederate monument in Cleveland, Tennessee owned by the United Daughters of the Confederacy. It was sculpted in 1910 and installed in 1911.
