Bell Mines. John Bell, 1797-1869, of Tenn. owned mines two miles south of here. In 1860 he was nominated as candidate for President by the Constitutional Union Party. He campaigned to preserve the Union and carried Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia against Abraham Lincoln. Later Bell advocated secession. He was Congressman, 1827-41, and member U.S. Senate, 1847-59, from Tenn. Installed February 19, 1964.