Arnold Colditz
Arnold Paul Colditz (1898-1991) was the son of a German immigrant to the northern Cumberland Plateau who was a successful businessman in Oneida and served as the town’s mayor in 1938 and 1939.
See Also: Mayors of Oneida
Preceded By: C.W. Wright • Succeeded By: Archie Newport
Early Life
Arnold Colditz was born Jan. 4, 1898, the son of Maximilian Bernhard Colditz (1862-1948) and Emma Amalie Thieme Colditz (1869-1931). His father was born in Dresden, Stadtkreis Dresden, Saxony, Germany, but migrated to the United States and became a naturalized American citizen. He moved to the German settlement of Allardt, Tenn., in Fentress County, and opened a general store.
Arnold was the third-born of six children.
Business Contributions
Arnold and his younger brother, Rudolph “Rudy” Colditz (1901-1993), moved to Oneida in 1923 and established Colditz Brothers Motor Company, which among other things was an International Harvester dealer from the 1940s to the 1960s. Together, the brothers were instrumental in persuading Greyhound Bus Lines and Western Union Telegraph to locate offices in Oneida.
The Colditz brothers owned a farm in the Coopertown area west of Oneida, near where Terry & Terry Store was later located.
Mayor of Oneida
Arnold Colditz was appointed mayor in Oneida in 1938, replacing C.W. Wright. He fulfilled the remainder of Wright’s term, and was replaced in 1939 by newly-elected mayor Archie Newport.
Colditz Cove
In 1984, Arnold and Rudy Colditz donated 42.5 acres of property just outside their native Allardt, Tenn. to the State of Tennessee, more than doubling the size of a state natural area surrounding Northrup Falls that had been established in 1973. The newly-expanded natural area was named Colditz Cove in their honor.
Colditz Cove State Natural Area has since grown to 165 acres, and the 60-foot Northrup Falls on Big Branch Creek is recognized as one of the most spectacular waterfalls in Tennessee. The natural area is home to several rare animals, like the Black Mountain dusky salamander, the woodland jumping mouse, the smoky shrew, the pygmy shrew and the southeastern shrew.
Death
Colditz died on Feb. 2, 1991, at the age of 93. His funeral service was officiated by Rev. Charles Boonstra and Rev. Michael Jackson. He was entombed at Carson Memorial Mausoleum in Oneida.
