10 TENNESSEE SITES ADDED TO NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES

Nashville, Tenn. – The Tennessee Historical Commission has announced 10 Tennessee sites have been added to the National Register of Historic Places. The National Register of Historic Places is the nation’s official list of cultural resources worthy of preservation. It is part of a nationwide program that coordinates and supports efforts to identify, evaluate and protect historic resources. The Tennessee Historical Commission administers the program in Tennessee.

West Tennessee

• The 1955 Memphis Queen II was built by the Dubuque Boiler Works as a prototype all steel body passenger vessel. The construction represents the changing shipbuilding technology of the time and is also an important example of mid-century river tourism in Memphis. The Memphis Queen II has always been docked at the foot of Monroe and Riverside. Today, the boat is operated as part of the Memphis Riverboats fleet.
• The four sorority buildings that comprise the Southwestern at Memphis Sorority Row are fine examples of the Collegiate Gothic style that dominates the larger historic campus of what is today known as Rhodes College in Memphis. Dating back to the 1920s and 1930s, Sorority Row is the home of the local chapters of four national Greek organizations: Alpha Omicron Pi, Chi Omega, Delta Delta Delta and Kappa Delta.

Middle Tennessee

• The Dr. Benjamin F. Smith House is located in the community of Waco in Giles County. The house is an excellent example of a 1850s residence with Greek Revival detailing that was modernized in the 1880s with a more elaborate Queen Anne style porch and colored glass. A few modern changes, such as a side porch, have been added to the house. A historic smokehouse and mature trees further enhance the historic setting.
• Located in Pulaski in Giles County, the circa 1907 Original Church of God is an important example of the African American religious heritage of Pulaski. Also known as the Sanctified Church, the building continues to serve its congregation’s spiritual and community needs. Bricks for the building came from the old courthouse.
• Bridgeforth High School is significant in Pulaski to the community’s African American educational heritage. Construction of the school began in 1936. Bridgeforth High School served African American students from across Giles County from its opening in the spring of 1937 until the integration of the Giles County school system in 1965. The building was designed by McKissack and McKissack.
• Buffalo Valley School in Putnam County is important for its Colonial Revival style and the role it played in the educational history of the Putnam County from the time the school was constructed in 1929, until it closed in the 1960s. The building continued to be used as a social and community center. Now used as the Buffalo Valley Community Center and as a library, the building is owned by the Putnam County Board of Education and maintained by the county’s parks and recreation department.
• In the early 1920s, several women in rural Montgomery County began meeting and organized the Country Woman’s Club. By 1927 they needed a building, and the women’s husbands used wood from an old barn and stone from another building to construct the meeting place. The building is still used for the group’s monthly club meetings and activities. The Craftsman style building was once located in a rural section of the county. Due to the county’s growth, the building is now within the city limits of Clarksville.
• The Hamilton-Brown House was built between 1792 and 1800, and was originally a simple hall and parlor residence. A one-story brick wing was added around 1850 and enlarged circa 1940. In the 1960s and again in 1997, the wing received more additions. Also in 1997, extensive work began to restore the interior of the home. The Federal style house was built by Elijah Hamilton and is one of the earliest extant homes in Williamson County. Alexander Brown purchased the house in 1845 and was responsible for some of the nineteenth century changes.

East Tennessee

• The Lenoir Cotton Mill Warehouse was built around 1830 and used as storage for raw cotton for the Lenoir Cotton Mill. It is one of the only two resources of the prominent Lenoir family that still exist in Lenoir City. One of them, the cotton mill, burned with only parts of the foundation remaining. However, the heavy timber frame constructed warehouse has been rehabilitated and is available for rental.
• Historic Bethel Cemetery overlooks Kingston in Roane County. The three-acre site contains a variety of burial markers and monuments. Beginning with the first burials in 1811 and continuing through the mid-twentieth century, some of the most prominent individuals of the community were buried here. The cemetery has burials for at lease one veteran of every American war from the Revolution to Vietnam. The cemetery is owned by the city and is not associated with any religious denomination. The city of Kingston and the Southwest Point Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution have worked for many years to restore the once neglected cemetery.

For more information about the National Register of Historic Places or the Tennessee Historical Commission, please visit the Web site at www.tdec.net/hist/.

For more information contact: Tisha Calabrese-Benton (865) 594-5442 Office

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