Oliver Perry Temple

Who was Oliver Perry Temple?

Oliver Perry Temple was an American attorney, author, judge, and economic promoter active primarily in East Tennessee in the latter half of the 19th century. During the months leading up to the Civil War, Temple played a pivotal role in organizing East Tennessee's Unionists. In June 1861, he drafted the final resolutions of the East Tennessee Union Convention, and spent much of the first half of the war providing legal defense for Unionists who had been charged with treason by Confederate authorities.

After the war, Temple promoted agricultural and industrial development in East Tennessee, most notably by assisting in the development of the Rugby Colony, and in later years wrote several books on the history of East Tennessee.