NINE TENNESSEE SITES ADDED TO THE NATIONAL
REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES
Nashville, Tenn. – The Tennessee Historical Commission has announced nine 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.
Sites recently added to the National Register of Historic Places include:
- Claiborne
County Jail – Constructed in 1819, the brick and
stone Claiborne County Jail is located in Tazwell on Highway 33. The
property is one of the county’s oldest extant buildings and symbolizes
the social contract between public leaders and citizens. It is an early
example of an extant jail in the region and represents the local government’s
efforts to maintain law and order. The colorful history of the jail
is well documented in local newspapers and histories. Used as a jail
until 1931, the building is now owned by the Claiborne County Historical
Society.
- Dr.
Richard and Mrs. Margaret Martin House - The Dr. Richard
and Mrs. Margaret Martin House in Nashville (Davidson County) was built
by Nashville architect Robert Bruce Draper. Draper was a student of
Frank Lloyd Wright and Wright’s design principles can be seen
in the design of this 1956 house. The two-story frame house is covered
with brick and wide weatherboards, has an irregular plan, multi-plane
roof, and uses glass extensively. Inside, the house features an open
floor plan, built-in storage spaces, and an expansive fireplace. The
Martins were closely involved in the design and building of the house
and did much of the landscaping themselves.
- Oakland
Cemetery – Community leaders in Trenton (Gibson County)
started the Oakland Cemetery sometime between 1825-1828, although most
burials date from 1870-1950. At the turn-of-the-century the cemetery
was modernized with a gazebo, roads and paths, and plants and trees.
Approximately half of the 60-acre site was included in the National
Register listing. This portion of the cemetery is an intact collection
of historic burials that show the diversity of settlement patterns in
Trenton. As Trenton’s only public cemetery, the site contains
the burials of most of Trenton’s citizens, including many significant
local social, civic, political, and business leaders. It is the oldest
identified historic property in Trenton.
- Leeper
Farm - Situated near White Pine and Morristown in Hamblen
County, the Leeper Farm contains an 1896 farmhouse, a spring, barns,
a tenant house, smokehouse, and agricultural fields. Although farming
techniques and crops have changed over the years, the 154-acre farm
is still owned by descendants of the family who first settled the land.
The farm is important as a representation of agricultural history in
the county. As farming changed, so did the house and outbuildings, reflecting
trends in building designs. During the 1920s and again in the 1950s,
the main house was modernized to reflect the popular Colonial Revival
style, an important architectural trend. Changes in the house and farm
also show how farms moved from being self-sufficient to adapting to
a market economy.
- Belview
School – Belview School was built in 1936 in the
small community of Underwood, north of Lafayette (Macon County). The
two-teacher school building is typical in its design with weatherboard
siding, banks of windows, beaded board interior walls, and chalk blackboards.
However, it is atypical in that there have been no major changes to
the building. The school was listed in the National Register as an example
of a rural schoolhouse based on standardized building designs.
- Knoxville
Southern Railroad Historic District – The Knoxville
Southern Railroad Historic District is comprised of 19 miles of the
former Knoxville Southern Railroad, as well as the Tennessee Valley
Authority’s 1940 Appalachia Powerhouse, and the remains of towns
adjacent to the rail line. The district extends along the length of
the railroad bed between Reliance and the Bald Mountain Switchback near
the community of Farner, all in Polk County. An important part of the
district, the 1898 Hiwassee Loop is an innovative engineering feat where
the rail line was designed in a loop in order to get up and down the
mountainous terrain. Passenger rail service stopped in 1957 and many
buildings and structures associated with the railroad were razed. In
2002, the Tennessee Overhill Heritage Association purchased the abandoned
rail line. Since then the railroad has been used to haul freight and
for scenic passenger excursions.
- Settlement
School Dormitories and Dwellings Historic District - The
Settlement School Dormitories and Dwellings Historic District is part
of the larger Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in Gatlinburg (Sevier
County). The Pi Beta Phi fraternity owns the site, and originally developed
it to provide education and economic help to rural East Tennessee. This
nomination includes six historic buildings where students could stay
and learn. In addition to its importance in education, the buildings
are good examples of early twentieth century architecture. Begun as
a settlement school with an emphasis on demonstration farms and crafts,
today the school is strictly an arts and crafts enterprise. Additional
properties on the school campus will be nominated at the May 2007 State
Review Board meeting.
- George
Washington School - Designed by Johnson City architect
D.R. Beeson, the George Washington School in Kingsport (Sullivan County)
was built around 1918 and an addition was added in 1951. Located just
outside of the commercial area of Kingsport, the school was originally
named Central School. John Nolen, the planner responsible for much of
Kingsport’s design, planned for several schools, and the George
Washington School was the first built. In 1961, this school was the
first school in Kingsport to integrate. Now privately owned, the building
will be rehabilitated using the preservation tax incentives for use
as apartments.
- Smithson-McCall Farm - Located in Bethesda in rural Williamson County, the 256-acre Smithson-McCall Farm was listed in the National Register as an example of patterns of agriculture in Middle Tennessee during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Begun in 1848, the farm represents not only the antebellum farming practices of the region but also the progressive agricultural movement of the early twentieth century when dairy, tobacco and livestock were the chief products. At the same time farming practices changed, the antebellum farmhouse was expanded. In addition to the house, several outbuildings are included in the listing. The current owners, descendants of the original family, conveyed a conservation easement for the farm to the Land Trust of Tennessee in 2002.
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
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