27/03/2026
A glimpse back in time!
Taken in 1965, this photograph shows Twin City Buick at the corner of East Broadway Avenue and New Street near the viaduct. The dealership took its name from Maryville and Alcoa’s long-standing identity as the “Twin Cities,” after the state denied the name Maryville Buick. Twin City Buick was established in 1956 when Harlan O. Hodge, J. Wesley Worley (1904–1985), and Hubert Ford (1902–1983) purchased Amos & Andy Buick Company after the original owners relocated to Chattanooga to expand in a larger market.
Amos Trotter (1908–1992) and Andy Trotter (1912–2004), brothers from Sevier County, established the original business after arriving in Blount County in 1937. Soon afterward, they opened a newly built gas station they called the Esso Servicenter at the corner of Morganton Road (now Highway 321) and West Broadway, at the site now occupied by Car Care, just east of West End Tire. In 1941, they constructed the building pictured below and remodeled it in 1946. The brothers initially sold Nash automobiles before later becoming a licensed Buick dealership.
In 1976, the Hodge family relocated Twin City Buick to the Motor Mile on Alcoa Highway, and Microbac Laboratories now occupies the former Broadway location. Today, Harlan’s son, Jerry Hodge, and grandson, Tom Hodge, remain involved with the dealership, which has expanded to include additional franchises since its move to the Motor Mile.
đź“·Photo courtesy: Jerry Hodge đź“·
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