Rebel's Rest (1866)

Rebel's Rest

Rebel's Rest

The oldest house on the Mountain, Rebel's Rest, was built in 1866 by Major George R. Fairbanks when he came up with Bishop Charles Todd Quintard after the Civil War. Major Fairbanks said of the name Rebel’s Rest (in third person):

“He gave the name of Rebel’s Rest in allusion to the unsettled life, movings and home burnings of the four previous years, being glad, indeed, to be at rest on this broad mountain top, endeared and sanctified by the memories of the great events and the great man who had here assembled in by-gone years.”

His family moved in on September 7, 1866. The first meeting after the Civil War of the University's Board of Trustees was held in the parlor of this house on October 11, 1866. The meeting was called by Bishop Stephen Elliott, the third Chancellor. Rebel’s Rest was the site of the first post office, the first supply store, briefly the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, and the birthplace of the EQB club in 1870. Major Fairbanks was its first secretary. He lived in this house until his death in 1906. The "last of the Founders", Fairbanks had been connected with the University for forty-nine years. He was the first Commissioner of Buildings and Lands and until 1898 supervised all the early buildings on the domain. He was a Trustee until his death. Major Fairbanks divided his time between Sewanee and Florida as he was then an authority on Florida history. His book, The History of Florida, was adopted by the state's school system in 1904. His valuable collection of Florida history, he left to the University Library. His history of The University of the South is invaluable for he had known personally all of the founders and had been present at all of their meetings for almost fifty years.

Four generations of the Fairbanks family lived in Rebel's Rest until it was taken over by the University in June, 1966. Two wings and a second story were added to the original cabin. The roof line has been changed and the porch has been extended across the front, while other additions were made in the back. These changes were made to shape Rebel’s Rest into the University’s historic guesthouse. The dining room table, travelling desk and portrait of Major Fairbanks were the only pieces of original furniture. One other Fairbanks touch was the wisteria covering the famous front side- it was planted in 1866. As a guest house it was the site of class reunion parties, important meetings, and Sewanee dignitary functions. In addition, the 11-bedroom home has seen a host of noted personalities grace its doorway, such as the provost and canon of England’s Coventry Cathedral and the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church. Regents of the University have all signed the guest register. In July of 2014 a late night fire destroyed the home, particularly second floor renovations that the house was undergoing. Today only a rough outline of the house remains.

Fairbanks, G. (1905). History of the University of the South. Jacksonville, Florida: The H. and W. B. Drew Company.

Ferguson, M. (1980, November 16). Rebel's Rest-- Sewanee's Historical Guest House. Chattanooga News- Free Press.

Gailor, C. (1970). Old Sewanee Houses; The First Fifty-Years, 1860-1910. Unpublished manuscript, Sewanee: The University of the South, Sewanee.

Rebels Rest Fire