Description
This cottage was the location of the first drug store in Sewanee. H. N. Caldwell built it in 1872 and ran a combined “Book Store and Pharmacy” for the University, reported The Sewanee Record in 1872. In 1875 Col. Lovell bought both Mr. Caldwell’s house and this cottage. Lovell used the house as his summer home and gave the cottage to his brother-in-law, Dr. E. W. Johns ,who succeeded Caldwell as the town druggist. He continued to operate the drug store in the cottage, renaming it “E. W. Johns and Company, Druggists and Stationers.” He also “refitted the cottage and added several buildings” (University Record, 1875). Johns’ newspaper advertisement read: “Books, stationary, drugs, medicines, perfumery, coal oil, putty, glass, and all other articles demanded by the Sewanee Trade…”
In the early 1900s the house was home to Miss Harvey's School and in 1922 the Rev. Charles Wright purchased it to use as a summer home. Wright was a graduate of both the college and the seminary. A close friend of Bishop Quintard’s family, he maintained his Sewanee connections as a member of the Board of Regents for 20 years. Wright died in 1932. Mrs. Thaddeus Miller bought the house in 1938. In 1940 she was employed by the University as a dietitian at Emerald-Hodgson Hospital. She also worked simultaneously at Magnolia Hall as their dietitian for periods at a time. A student hospitalized for any period of time usually ended up with his favorite dish before he was released. Mrs. Miller died in 1967 and the house was acquired by the University. It is now the Leaseholder’s Office.
Bibliographic Citation
Carpenter, J. (Ed.). (2007). Sewanee Ladies. Sewanee, Tennessee: Proctor's Hall Press.
Gailor, C. (1970). Old Sewanee Houses; The First Fifty-Years, 1860-1910. Unpublished manuscript, Sewanee: The University of the South, Sewanee.
