Although Mr. Waterhouse is not a native of Murray County, his contributions are still monumental. Euclid was born on October 3, 1816 in Rhea County, Tennessee. While living there, he met and married his first wife Eliza J. Campbell in 1827. Eliza passed away thirteen years into the marriage. In 1841, he married his second wife, Cornelia Frances Townes and they had seven children, four daughters and three sons.

From the early 1840's to the mid 1950's, Euclid was part of the copper mining industry in the Ducktown, Tennessee area. He was involved with two other businessmen during this time, a Mr. Biggs and a Mr. Callaway. In 1855, he sold a mine called the Eureka for $47,000.

During the mid 1850's, Euclid began buying land in nearby Murray County. He bought over three thousand acres for one penny an acre but made his fortune by selling the land at a larger price. He built a large home on North Hwy 225 just below the Tennessee line that he named "Oakwood", this later became known as the Colvard house.

Euclid was of the Presbyterian faith and was both an elder and a clerk in the Cleveland Cumberland Presbyterian Church. In October, 1851, Euclid along with several other prominent community members met with Rev. S.H. Henry and laid the foundation for what would become Sumach Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Mr. Waterhouse was selected to be a charter elder and was a faithful contributor to the church.

Today, Euclid politically would be considered a peace lover. He did not believe in war or violence and felt that slaves should be freed. In January, 1861, he was sent as a delegate from Murray County along with Anderson Farnsworth to the Georgia Secession Convention. This convention was to determine if Georgia would withdraw from the Union. He opposed the decision but was outvoted and Georgia seceded from the Union. Upon his return home to Georgia, he freed his slaves and continued to support the North. Although he lived here only a short time, his impact both politically and religiously still are evident.

Euclid moved his family to New York and in 1865 established a bank named Waterhouse, Pearl and Company. The business was not successful and he returned to the Cleveland, Tennessee area in 1870. In 1885 while visiting his son in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Euclid died of heart dropsy, which modern physicians call congestive heart failure He is buried in Chattanooga's Forest Hill's cemetery.

Murray County Characters