This house was constructed by Mr. C.W. Scofield in 1887, the same year he built the Truslow-Elliott house. The first residents, Mrs. Frances Sylva D’Arusmont Guthrie and her two sons, Kenneth and William Norman, lived in the house for one year. Mrs. Guthrie was the daughter of the famous feminist abolitionist Fannie Wright. The Guthries had lived abroad in Scotland until they came to Sewanee. Both sons, educated in Germany and France, became clergymen; in fact William Norman was a well-known rector of St. Mark's-in-the-Bowery in New York. The next residents were Mrs. Elliott, her three daughters and two sons. Mrs. Elliott was the widow of Bishop Robert Elliott, the first bishop of West Texas. She and the children came to live in Sewanee and bought this house in 1888. Their house was a center of social life and activity until Mrs. Elliott’s death in 1894. Lionel Colmore, an Englishman, was Commissary of the University when he bought this house in 1905. Although he and his family arrived in the area in 1895, they lived in other houses while his three sons went to Sewanee. Colmore was very popular with the students, who called him “General.” When he died in 1922, he left the house to his daughter Dora; both she and her sister Eva lived there. Dora, a well-known cook, built a flourishing catering business during the Guerry regime. Eva died in 1948 and Dora, an invalid for several years, died in 1963. The house was a summer rental for several years and was then purchased by Mrs. Jean Tallec in 1966. Mrs. Tallec, her daughter, Christi Ormsby, and the two Ormsby boys lived there until the home burned down on Dec. 16, 1971. A modern home has since been built on the site by the Rev. Herbert Wentz.
All photographs are the property of the University of the South Archives and Special Collections Department
This house was built by the University in 1887 for Mrs. Frances Sylva D’Arusmont Guthrie. She lived there with her two sons, Kenneth and William Norman. Both became clergymen and William Norman was the well know rector of St. Mark's-in-the-Bowerie in New York. The builder was Mr. C.W. Scofield who also built the Truslow-Elliott house that same year. Madame Guthrie was the daughter of the famous Fannie Wright, a feminist abolitionist who built a commune in a tract of land south of Memphis (modern day Germantown) called Nashoba to emancipate and educate slaves. The Guthries had lived abroad in Dundee, Scotland until they came here. Both sons had been to school in Germany and France. Madame Guthrie only stayed a year in Sewanee. She spent the rest of her life in Memphis trying vainly to recover her mother's land and importuning all the lawyers and clergy she knew to help her. Bishop Robert Elliott, the first bishop of West Texas died in 1887 at the age of 47. His widow came to live in Sewanee and bought this house in 1888. She came with her family of three daughters and two sons. The house easily became a center of social life and activity. Mrs. Elliott died in 1894. Lionel Colmore, an Englishman, had been "Commissioner" of the University in 1895. He lived in several other houses before he bought this one in 1905. He was then Commissary of the University. His three sons had finished college and never lived in this house. Harry had been killed in an accident, Charles was later bishop of Puerto Rico, and Rupert a physician in Chattanooga. Colmore was very popular with the students, who called him General. He died in 1922, leaving the house to his daughter Dora. Both she and her sister Eva lived here. Dora, a famous cook, built a flourishing catering business during the Guerry regime. Eva died in 1948 and Dora lived on, an invalid for several years until her death in 1963. The house was rented in the summer for several years and was bought by Mrs. Jean Tallec in 1966. Mrs. Tallec, her daughter, Christi Ormsby, and the two Ormsby boys lived there until the home was burned down on December 16, 1971. A modern home has since been built on the site by the Rev. Herbert Wentz, called the Wentz House.
This house was built by Mr. C. J. Schofield, a contractor, builder, and also Secretary to the Vice Chancellor, for Dr. J. W. S. Arnold in 1887. The same year, Mr. Schofield built the Colmore house. Professor Arnold had succeeded Dr. John Elliot as Professor of Chemistry. With him he brought a laboratory worth over $30,000, containing some of the “finest apparatus in the world”. This laboratory was housed in a small building on the back of his property. This one-room cottage, built by Bishop Quintard for Mr. Kline and Mr. Hale, was moved from “opposite St. Luke’s”. Dr. Arnold was also active as University Medical Officer. Already suffering from asthma when he came to Sewanee, his health obliged him to retire after one year. He died in 1889. The next owner of the house was Mrs. Henry Edward Young of Charleston. Two of her sons attended the Academy and the University. Captain Albert McNeal lived here while Dean of the Law School from 1901-1907. This was probably the liveliest period of the house’s history. He was a widower with three popular daughters. The oldest, Miss Kate, kept house for him. The younger daughters, great belles, married students and the two sons attended the University. The next owner in 1907 was Edmund “Kirby” Kirby-Smith, the oldest son of General Kirby-Smith. He was an engineer and plantation owner in Mexico. In 1895 he married Miss Virginia Tellez of Salgepas, Mexico, who lived here for some time with her four children. He changed the house by putting a porch around it. The next owners in 1920 were Mr. and Mrs. Grover Sykes. She was one of the Hamptons from Tracy City who were connected with the management of the coal mines there. In 1924 Miss Marie Truslow and Miss Charlotte Elliot bought the house and lived here until they died within ten days of each other in 1958. First arriving in Sewanee in 1871, she was the granddaughter of Bishop Stephen Elliot, first Episcopal bishop of Georgia, and niece of Sarah Barnwell Elliot. She was educated at the Atlanta Female Institute and at St. Catherine’s School in Brooklyn. A dramatic soprano, she was once a member of the Metropolitan Opera Chorus and for seven years was affiliated with the department of music of the Library of Congress. During her life in New York City she gave many concerts and there was soloist at the Episcopal Church of Zion and St. Timothy’s. In NYC during WWI Miss Charlotte met again her school classmate, Miss Marie Jermain Truslow, who, because of the war, had just returned from her sculpture studies in Florence, Italy. Together they opened the Home Studio for young ladies interested in studying music and art. In 1924 they closed the school and retired to this home in Sewanee, which for nearly 30 years was the center of much of the community’s musical activity. Miss Charlotte taught music and speech at the University and gave her concert wardrobe to the student dramatic society. For all of these years the house was known as the Truslow-Elliot House. They made many improvements inside as well as the brick terrace visible on the outside. After their deaths, Stephen Puckette, a cousin of Miss Charlotte’s bought it for his home. When he left for the University of Kentucky in 1966, it became the home of the Drs. Anita and Marvin Goodstein of the University Faculty. It is now owned by Joseph DeLozier as of 2016.
Built for W.S. Arnold, professor of Geology and Chemistry, in 1887. Ownership passed to Mrs. Henry Edward Young of Charleston out of Arthur Middleton Rutledge Family. 1901-1907 Dean of the Law school lived there Captain Albert McNeal. Bought for $7,000 by Edmund Kirby- Smith oldest son of The General in 1907 The Kirby-Smiths sold it and moved to Mexico to manage family silver mines for a few years. Mr. & Mrs. Grover Sykes with ties to the coal industry in Grundy County owned it. In 1924 Ms. Marie Truslow and MS. Charlotte St. John Elliott ( a Granddaughter of Bishop Elliott of Georgia one of the Founding Bishops) bought it living there until 1958. Stephen and Upshur Puckette then owned it from1958-1966. Stephen a great grandson of Bishop Elliott lived there while he was teaching math. In 1966 they left for him to teach at the University of Kentucky. It is now owned by an alumni Joseph DeLozier
Built for W.S. Arnold, professor of Geology and Chemistry, in 1887. Ownership passed to Mrs. Henry Edward Young of Charleston out of Arthur Middleton Rutledge Family. 1901-1907 Dean of the Law school lived there Captain Albert McNeal. Bought for $7,000 by Edmund Kirby- Smith oldest son of The General in 1907 The Kirby-Smiths sold it and Moved to Mexico to manage family silver mines for a few years Mr. & Mrs. Grover Sykes with ties to the coal industry in Grundy County owned it. In 1924 Ms. Marie Truslow and MS. Charlotte St. John Elliott ( a Granddaughter of Bishop Elliott of Georgia one of the Founding Bishops) bought it living there until 1958. Stephen and Upshur Puckette then lived there from 1958-1966. Stephen, a great grandson of Bishop Elliott, lived there while he was teaching math. In 1966 they left for him to teach at the University of Kentucky. It is now owned by an alumni Joseph DeLozier
Letter to Mrs. Chitty from Annie Armour? Mrs. Chitty, Here are two accounts that support your belief that the EQB club once met in the house Mrs. Beasley has bought: ...we finally decided to have a regular meeting place, which could be furnished as a reading and recreation room. We secured the lot back of Thompson Hall, now known as the "Union", and, by assessment on the members, raised the money to build the small wooden house, which is now used as an office by the Health Officer, and there we held our meetings for several years. A billiard and pool table was installed in the back room and was in constant use. On rainy days especially we found it a delightful exercise. When the Vice-Chancellor decided to build a permanent Supply Store, we consented to donate our cottage and accept the two rooms over the Supply Store for our EQB quarters and that location we greatly enjoyed until the Supply Store was burned, and then we built another home for the Club in Elliott Park... (Bishop Gailor-Some Memories) An account by Telfair Hodgson says: ...in 1889 it moved into a club house which it had built at the rear of Thompson Hall, on the spot where the doctor's office is now. This was a small one story house with probably three rooms and it was used by the club for about ten years until 1899. Later when the movie addition to Thompson Hall was built this house was moved by the University down the street to a location just below Dr. Torian's residence. Another account It was said to be the office of Dr. R.M. Kirby-Smith, dates unknown. It was moved down the hill to its present site in 1941 to be the residence of John Hodges. Mrs. Echols and her niece lived there for a time. the the residents more or less in order were John and Ellen Webb, Harry and Jean Yeatman, Cruse and Jim Clark, who sold it to Ed and Elizabeth Camp. The Camps added the left wing. The most recent resident was Peggy Reavis, who was living there no later than 1969.
This house stood on University Avenue on the lot where the stone house owned by the University next to Mrs. Wyatt-Brown's is now.It was built in 1871 by Dr. Buchanan and described then as "large and commodious". It was a big square two storied house with a hall going through and rooms on each side. A Mrs. Corpening acquired it in 1878. she had 3 sons who went to the Grammar School. Charles went on to the Naval Academy and got his B.S. there in 1885. Richard V. entered college here in 1879, and J.M. seems to have left after Grammar School. She took other students to board. The Mountain News of April 4, 1879 says, " A new front and piazza have been added to the home of Mrs. Corpening". In 1888 Mrs. H.M. Dwight acquired the property and then there were various other owners. The names of E.C. LeGare, Mansfield, and Miss Graham, sister of the Deaconess who lived in the Dr. Elliott house across the street, appear on the lease. It was made into apartments but nobody lived in it long. Dr. Lear had his office there at one time. In 1925 Miss Barnwell from Charleston who was later Mrs. Pringle was the last owner. She left it to the University and it was used for storage for a while and pulled down in 1961 when the stone house owned by the University was built.
This house stood on the road which ran to the north of the present Quintard building and curved around to the station. It was built by Rev. Franklin L. Knight, the first chaplain of the University and the instructor in Greek and Latin. The second resident was Doctor William M. Harlow. Harlow entered the University in 1873 and was so entranced with Sewanee he never left. After school, Dr. Harlow launched his publishing career and positioned himself as the premier journalist of the town. He was responsible for many of the University’s newspapers, including The University News, The News, The Semi-Weekly University News, University Gossip, and The Mountain News. Many of these publications were printed by “Wm. M. Harlow and Co.” and were subtitled: Free, Frank, and Fearless—his personal motto. It is believed that his printing press was a house in the village that was razed in 1969. Dr. Harlow also was the first person Preston Brooks, Jr. partnered with for his general store in the village. When Brooks retired, Harlow acquired the store and turned it into his family home. The house was colloquially known ever after as “The Harlow Place” or “Harlow’s.” Dr. Harlow operated his store as “Harlow and Co. Stationers” where he sold notebooks, pens, and dictionaries, but also household goods like wallpaper and imported pictures. He even kept French harps and Italian violin strings in his inventory. The Flea (another Harlow newspaper) declared in 1882, “‘Brains and Pains’ is the business motto of Harlow and Co. They take the pains to use their brains to please the public and add their gains’” Other ventures of Dr. Harlow’s were poetry, real estate, and medicine (hence Doctor Harlow). He died in Sewanee in 1891. The house’s third resident, Sam Slack, lived with his family in this house for some years. Slack was a clergyman who graduated from the college in 1891 and taught at The Sewanee Military Academy in 1893-1894. As an alumnus, he wrote his reminiscences for Purple Sewanee (pages 29-30, 67, 72-73). The house burned at the turn of the 20th century. Chace, J. B. (n.d.). Ancient Mariner - The Life and Work of Henry Chase. Gailor, C. (1970). Old Sewanee Houses; The First Fifty-Years, 1860-1910. Unpublished manuscript, Sewanee: The University of the South, Sewanee.
This house was built by Dr. John Barnwell Elliott in 1874. Dr. Elliott was the second son of Bishop Stephen Elliott and came to Sewanee in 1869 at the age of 28 to be the resident physician and instructor in chemistry. Since the University had been struggling at that time and his underpaid father had left him little money, he designed the house to fit ten student boarders. As a small boy he had ridden up the mountain on the original cornerstone in 1860 when it was pulled up by "two yolk of oxen and 32 borrowed from neighbors" (Purple Sewanee, page 16). Dr. Elliott stayed until 1885 when he resigned to go to Tulane where he had been teaching during his winter vacations. He was very popular with the students as well as the faculty and his departure was much regretted. In 1887 the University gave him an honorary Ph.D. degree. Various people rented the house after Dr. Elliot’s departure. Mr. Colmore's family lived in it for a few years and then it was bought by deaconess Graham. She lived there with her sister until she died. The next resident was Dr. Yerkes, who lived there when he taught at St. Luke's. Dr. Loaring Clark purchased the house in 1924. He and his family lived in it for some years. When he accepted a church in Jackson, Tennessee, he sold the house to the University. The University demolished the house in 1959 when the Varnell house was built.
This house stood on the lot now occupied by Colonel Dudley's house, opposite the Sewanee Military Academy. Reverend Harvey O. Judd built the house in 1871. Harvey and his family were a staple of early Sewanee and Winchester life. When the Judds moved to Sewanee in 1859, Harvey went to the University and built a "Steam Laundry" near Mr. Hayes' mill in the village. Both he and his younger brother, the famous Spencer Judd, were photographers for the area. During the Civil War Harvey closed his gallery and went to Talladega, Alabama, where he made gun caps and bullets for the C. S. A. After the war he reopened his gallery and continued work until deciding to become an Episcopal clergyman. He built this house during this time and sold it in 1872 to eventually become Reverend at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Macon, Georgia. “He is a divinity student, was once on the stage. His manner is a little tragic but he is good and self-sacrificing. He has a nice little wife and pretty daughter, like little Phoebe.” – Sarah Barnwell Elliot to her brother. In 1873, Mr. William F. Graham, the director of the Chapel Choir, also of a "Cornet Band", bought the house. John Walker Weber who entered college in 1872 and later taught penmanship, was made temporary Headmaster of the Sewanee Military Academy, in 1880. His mother, Mrs. Henri Weber had the lease in 1884 and lived here after he left in 1889. In 1893 Dr. John S. Cain of Nashville became Dean of the Medical School and lived here with his daughter and son-in-law, Dr. and Mrs. Hayden West, until it burned in 1917. This fire was a real social event with all the ladies presiding over piles of china and household goods in the yard, while Dr. Cain, who was a little confused, threw all sorts of things out of the windows. Colonel and Mrs. Garland built the present house in 1938.
This house was built across the road from the Sewanee Military Academy by a Dr. Vaughan of Mississippi. It was on the lot where Mrs. Jackson's house is now. Dr. Vaughan sold it in 1869 to a Mr. W. P. Redwood. From then on it was known as the Redwood House, despite his only living there for a short amount of time. General Gorgas, Dr. Shoup, and Professor Dabney and his large family were some of the people who lived in it. “Mrs. Dabney is a large, handsome, loud voiced, kind-hearted, tactless, managing woman... Professor Dabney, a dear, delightful, abstracted, over run, learned, entertaining, over-worked man, delicate, refined, and venerable looking, although only 38.” – Sarah Barnwell Elliot to her brother. Dr. Dabney died there in 1876. The University Record says in May, 1875, "Professor Dabney and family have moved into the Redwood House." This house was noteworthy for being the place where Sewanee's first ghost was seen or rather felt. Two eligible bachelors, Major E.A. Green, Commandant of the Battalion and Charles Beckwith, Headmaster of the Grammar School, later Bishop of Alabama, used to walk to Proctor's Hall in the evening and they claimed that before they reached Redwood House an unseen companion would join them and walk along with them but would leave them always at Redwood Gate. It became known as the ghost of the Professor, the professor being of course Professor Dabney. He was the first member of the faculty to die on the Mountain, buried in the Sewanee Cemetery. Mr. Harry Easter wrote that Redwood was abandoned and dilapidated by 1877. It later on burned.
This house was on the site of Benedict Hall. R.W.B Elliott is the first name on the lease and he may have built it. Mr M.M. Benton, who was a Proctor-a salaried position for an in the early days lived there. First Mrs A.C. Hall, a friend of Mrs. Sessums, from New Orleans bought it in 1897 and owned it about 10 year. The person who lived there longest, was Charles Underwood, an alumnus of 1903, who was Commisioner of Bldgs. & Lands from 1922 to 1948 and Secretary to the Vice Chancellor from 1922 to 1938. He died in 1948 and after his death it was rented to various people for a few years. It was pulled down when Benedict Hall was built in 1963. Charlotte Gailor's account
Built by a family who had returned from France, this house was known for its elegant appearance and gilded chairs. Unfortunately, the name of this original family is unknown. In 1909, Benjamin L. Coulson purchased the home. Following the death of the next owner, Mrs. Emma Scott Dewey, the house passed to her children, Chauncey Dewey and Emma Dewey (later Mrs. Emma Dewey Lockwood). In 1923 the house was bought by George Washington Ely Atkins for his son, Reverend John Norton Atkins, and his family. The elder Atkins kept a suite with two south bedrooms, bath, and connecting closet for himself. Reverend Atkins was the Superintendent and Chaplain at Emerald-Hodgson Hospital. He had four children. Sometime prior to April 1932, Major General William Ruthven Smith, then Superintendent of the US Military Academy at West Point, visited the Atkins’ to inquire about the house. He wanted to retire there as Superintendent of the Sewanee Military Academy. Despite the Atkins’ disapproval, incoming Vice Chancellor Guerry granted Smith’s wish when Reverend Atkins resigned from Emerald-Hodgson in 1938. General Smith supposedly lived there until his death in 1941. Allen Tate was another notable owner. Mr. Tate, editor of the Sewanee Review, lived here with his then-wife, Caroline Gordon and their daughter Nancy Tate (Wood). It is speculated they lived in the house for about four years before their tempestuous marriage ???. However, during their time there Nancy Tate met her husband, Percy Wood, a student at Sewanee. A portrait of Caroline Gordon sits in the living room of the house. After the Tate years, many more families occupied the home, but for no longer than two years. The arrival of the Camps broke this spell, they lived in the house for 25 years. David Camp was a chemistry professor and eventually chair of the department. The Camps implemented many projects at the house. They built a stable for Mrs. Camp’s horses, constructed a goldfish pond that still exists, and planted several fruit trees. The Camps used the basement to store the vegetables from their land at Lake Cheston. David Camp would drink a quart of home canned tomato juice every day and put the extra vegetables on the front porch for anyone passing by. When the current owners purchased the house, they found the Camps’ jars of vegetables still intact on the back basement shelves. In the mid-90s the Bordleys bought the house. Mr. Bordley had his eye on the property the very day the Camps bought it. Mrs. Camp thought of it as a happy house and wanted the Bordleys to have it once she and her husband moved. Virginia and Chip Craighill, the current residents, purchased the house from the Thoni’s in 2002.
Mahogany with black marble tops, shaped apron over cartouche shaped mirrored backs, molded base with rounded ends and applied carved rosettes
Decorative coal bin that was originally housed in Rebel's Rest. Blue floral motif.
Glass front bookcase double-door with two doors at floor level.
Round table with gilded painting with brass swans on end of legs
4 spiral legs and center support. Top is one piece that folds to side of folded legs. Barkey twist legs
Carved wooden umbrella stand. circle and iamond design on top border-scalloped cross supports and spiral legs.
Oak chair with spindle legs and decorative backing
Dining room table with six leather chairs
Two Stickley straight back chairs with side table and lamp
Matching upholstered footstool that accompanies the side chair.
Square coffee table with glass top and three drawers
Plaid covered Stickley side chair with matching foot stool
American Eastlake Transitional Side Chair
Carved upper and lower portions of uphostered back and front stretcher, inciised carving on stiles and front legs, uphostered seat
This large frame house was one of the early licensed boarding houses for students. Boarding houses like this precluded the need for University dormitories initially. The house was built by Dr. DuBose for his sister-in-law Mrs. McNeely (Mattice) DuBose and named “Palmetto” to commemorate South Carolina. It housed 30 students which was a significant amount as Otey, the next largest boarding house, held only 26. In 1874, a student wrote of Palmetto, "We have splendid fare, turkey twice a week and dessert three times." Mrs. Sessums, mother of Bishop Sessums, and her sister, Mrs. Tucker, acquired Palmetto in 1880. For many years Mrs. Tucker ran it as a combined boarding house for summer visitors and dormitory for students. When Mrs. Tucker died in 1909, Palmetto was obtained by the University. It then had a wild life. Reportedly, the matron had very little control and students used to shoot through the ceiling, playing a game called “Corners.” Freshmen were expected to dash towards the walls of the second floor while upperclassmen would shoot the center of the ceiling. However, Arthur Ben Chitty noted this was probably an exaggeration as other sources only go as far as saying a student would shoot the ceiling to wake up the house. It was likely this happened only once or twice. Palmetto was razed in 1931. When it was being demolished, a championship ball marked "C.B. Ames, 1884" won by the Hardee Second Nine (baseball team) was found in the wall.
This house stood where the west wing of Gailor Hall is now. It was built by Dr. Richardson on the lease in his wife's name, Sally Richardson. Dr. Richardson was a pharmacist and was called doctor by everybody. He ran a soft drink shop in part of his house and would keep it open at night after dances. It was very popular with the students despite a rumor he had fished a kitten out of the oyster stew one night. Ely Green’s mother worked for the Richardsons and lived in the back of the house, as Green wrote about in his book, Ely: too Black, Too White. The house was next bought by Frank Lautzenheiser, a Swiss from Guetli. He was employed by the University and noted for the tubs of blue morning glories he planted on the campus. In 1917, Mrs. Florence Alexander Brown purchased the house when she and her daughter, Florence Lewis, came to Sewanee. They lived here until they bought Mrs. Cotten's house in 1922. Mrs. Fannie Kirby-Smith Wade bought the house in 1922 and owned it until her death. It then was purchased by the University and razed in 1953 when Gailor Hall was built.
In the very early years of the University there were several instances of Confederate widows who moved to Sewanee in order to afford putting their sons through school at the University. One such case was Mrs. Mary Dunbar. In 1873 she took out a university lease for a property on Tennessee Avenue and built an ell-shaped, three-room house for herself and her sons. Mrs. Dunbar ran an elementary school primarily for young girls in one of the outbuildings of the old Sewanee Inn (present day location of Elliott Hall). Mrs. Dunbar eventually bought the little building, had moved across the street and attached to the back of her house. It is unclear if she continued to run her school there . One can still see these structural connections in both the basement and the attic of the house. When the Dunbar sons moved away, they sold the house to the University. It then became a fraternity house for the medical school, whose members opened a big double door between the front and back rooms on the left side. In 1909, when the medical school closed, and the house was bought by a dentist, J. P. Corley. The dentist made the original main room (front of the house on the north side) into his office, using the bay window for maximum light around the dental chair. His patients entered by a staircase and small porch on the north side and the room’s old back porch became an entrance hall and waiting room. During WWII Corley’s family left Sewanee. The house was then a rental property and went into a long, slow decline with occupancy changing constantly until Waring McCrady, son of Vice Chancellor McCrady, bought it in 1972. W. McCrady, personal communication, June 6, 2017
The Sewanee News said in June 1873, Mr. Hoge had erected “a neat and tasteful cottage on rising ground west of the village." Mr. Samuel C. Hoge was a Postmaster and also had a store in the village. He died in 1902. The lease was still owned by Nannie and Nellie Hoge in 1922, and Mr. W.L. Myers bought it in 1923. The Myers family still owns it. The house has been encased in stone and looks very modern now. Ina Mae Myers said that her "grandparents, William Lawrence and Elizabeth McBride Myers, bought the Hoge House in 1923. My grandfather died in 1926, and my "grandmother continued to live there until her death in 1940. We moved into the house in 1942. There were two wooden houses, and a barn, on the lot. One house had only two rooms, which were rented to students. The other contained eight rooms. It was heated with grates. There was a wood burning cook stove and a well on the back porch. There were no closets and no bathroom. It was pretty primitive" Letter dated April 27, 2018 to Mary O'Neill
The Mountain News of April 22, 1879 reported, "Miss [Annie] Gibson is to have a residence built on what is known as the ‘Shaller lot’ West End is improving.” Mr. Shaller's name was on the lease in 1875, but evidently he never built on the lot. The Gibson family seems to have had the lease until 1906 when the dean of the Medical School, Dr. John S. Cain, bought the house. At the same time, Dr. Cain purchased the house next door (the Weber house). Dr. Cain’s son-in-law, Dr. Hayden West, had his office in this house and the West family lived in the other. Dr. West died in 1916. When a fire destroyed the Weber house in 1917, Mrs. West moved into the Webb house and lived there until her death in 1944. For a while during the early twenties, this was the chapter house of the Academy's Beta Chapter of Alpha Phi Fraternity. The Webb family purchased the house in 1948; P.H. Waring Webb was a professor of botany at the University. The following year Webb died suddenly of polio, just before the birth of their fifth child. His widow, Maria Tucker Webb, continued to live in the house until the children were grown. Maria was Sewanne Military Academy’s nurse for more than 25 years and was also night nurse at Emerald-Hodgson hospital for many years. In 1967 her generous gift to the Woods Laboratories provided its green-house, a memorial to her husband, professor Paul Hamilton Waring Webb. Over the years, the house grew with the family. In 1973 Maria moved into a smaller house and sold this one to Percy Warner Frazer who used it as a summer house for many years.
In 1868 Mrs. Sarah E. Cotten, a relative of Major Fairbanks, took a lease and built this large frame house to run as a boarding house on the site of the present Tuckaway Inn. She had originally come in 1867 to Sewanee to run Otey Hall. The house was called the Cotten House for many years, long after Mrs. Cotten had moved away. It was taken as an annex to the Hotel in 1883. Mrs. Stuart from New Orleans who was Dr. William Norman Guthrie's mother-in-law, had a dancing class there in the dining room. "Miss Queenie" Washington said she went to it as a small girl and Kirby Smith, John Hodgson, Pem Finley, Charlie Holland, Willie Garnett and Gus Boucher were some of the boys. Major Fairbanks bought it later and owned it and the cottage. Dr. Corley also had his dentist's office there at one time and rooms were rented to various people until Miss Johnnie Tucker bought it in 1913. Its name was changed then to Tuckaway for her. In 1926, while Miss Johnnie was on a trip to New York and Miss Dora and Eva Colmore were looking after Tuckaway for her, the house caught fire. It had been a big dance weekend and a girl had left the electric iron on! It was reported to be one of the most exciting Sewanee fires as students in dress suits tried to rescue the furniture before it burnt to the ground. The little white cottage in the yard was built by Mrs. Cotten for her daughter, Mrs. Houston. Major Fairbanks turned it over to Miss Flora Fairbanks and her friend, Miss Llewellyn, who lived there several years. Miss Tucker was forced into retirement at the prime of life, about seventy, by blindness and moved into the cottage. Nicknamed Little Tuckaway, it became a Mecca for returning alumni. At one magic moment, to relieve overcrowding on library walls, the oil portrait of a Sewanee bishop was hung over the fireplace of her dormitory. From Miss Johnnie’s cottage, with its mementoes of Sewanee’s past, came the imperious command, “Take that portrait down!” It came down. No one knew or asked, why. Miss Johnnie is alleged to have expelled one hapless student by the simple expedient of packing his trunk and having it moved to the yard. It was pulled down after the big house was burnt.
This cottage was built in 1871 by Frank Marquet, a local carpenter and leaseholder. A decade later the cottage was bought by Bishop William Mercer Green for his eldest daughter, Sallie Cotten, and he provided improvements required by the 1880 leasehold agreement. Bishop Green was an Episcopal Bishop and fourth Chancellor of the University. His residence was Kendal, directly next door to the cottage. Sallie Cotten managed Cotten House as an inn. The inn is also referred to as Old Tuckaway and is where Tuckaway Hall stands now. Mrs. Cotten also served as manager of Otey Parish and has a memorial dedicated to her work. Her husband, John M. Cotten, a Confederate Army veteran, was part owner of a retail store in Sewanee and was postmaster for a time. Mrs. Cotten sold the cottage to Mrs. Jeremy Grant Johnson in 1910, after which it had various residents. Since 2004, it is owned by John and Julia Gatta
Susan Dabney Smedes built this cottage in 1894. It was named for her admirer and promoter, British Prime Minister William E. Gladstone, who sponsored the publication of Smedes’ book, Memorials of a Southern Planter, in England. A biography of her father, the book was received with almost superlative expressions from the press. It was valued not only as a mirror of life before and during the “war between the States”, but as a valuable addition to the history of the Reconstruction period as well, of which so little had been written. The book had been only meant for her father’s grandchildren, but her brother Virginus, a fellow writer who also tried to capture their father on the page, urged her to give the book to the world. Gladstone had been the one to take Southern Planter overseas (another supporter being Queen Victoria herself). He was reputed to have said, “Let no man say, with this book before him, that the age of chivalry is gone, or that Thomas Dabney was not worthy to sit beside Sir Percival at the round table of King Arthur”. After her novel’s success Susan, who had been a widow since 1890, felt the need of a permanent home among her own kind and was advised by one of her sisters to move to Sewanee. Relying on her father’s meager plantation money and her friendship with Bishop Quintard and Miss Lily Green alone, Susan and her other sister Lelia rented a house up on the hill and hosted student boarders. When the school shifted to student dormitories in 1894 the ladies decided to build. They chose the present site of the Gladstone cottage because it was secluded. When they cleared for the building of the cottage, they left nine special silver maple trees, named for the nine surviving brothers and sisters. It was said that as each one passed on, the tree that bore his or her name also died, except for Lelia and Sarah, which stood side by side as the sisters stood in life. Bishop Quintard was a frequent visitor to the cottage and often came unannounced. Sometimes he came to plant in their garden, other times he brought distinguished visitors to meet the ladies. Susan built a house next door to Gladstone Cottage in which she held classes, the children Sewanee coming to her for daily instruction. Susan lived at Gladstone until her death in 1913. Her charm, wit, and gracious hospitality to the families of Sewanee and distinguished visitors to the Mountain greatly enriched the Sewanee community. Portraits of Susan and William Gladstone have been handed down to each owner of Gladstone, as well as Burleigh (the plantation) dining room furniture. In 1928 the cottage was bought by Bishop William George McDowell. At the time he was Bishop of Alabama. The house is currently owned by Craig and Carol Stubblebine.
In 1866 the Rt. Rev. Charles Todd Quintard, Sewanee's first vice-chancellor, moved into a recently completed two-room log cabin. It was one of only two houses in Sewanee, the other being Rebel's Rest, and the two structures were similar. The original Fulford Hall was destroyed by a fire in 1889 and replaced by a larger frame building in 1890. Although it has undergone several significant renovations over the years, the 1890 structure still stands today. From the 1910s to the 1930s, the building functioned as a dormitory and an infirmary. Fulford Hall has housed seven vice-chancellors, Quintard in the 19th century and five from the tenure of Alexander Guerry through that of Robert Ayres. In 1989, Fulford Hall became home to Office of Admission, Office of Communications, and Office of Financial Aid.
The house is situated on Alabama Ave., which was originally known as St. Chrysostom Place. Allen Gipson moved from Roarks Cove to Sewanee where he ran a general store located directly across from the depot. Later, he and Tom Gipson co-owned a store in the building now home to Shenanigans. Ten years after Allen Gipson’s death, Mrs. Gipson was forced to put up the house for auction as her son had riddled the family with debt. She sold the modest four-room house for $575 to Lafayette O. Myers. In 1912, J.W. McBee, the police chief, bought the house. In 1917, the house was given over to McBee’s wife, Mary McBee Summers, who had remarried . After Mrs. Summers’ death Lawrence Green, owner of the City Café, lived there in the 1960s. Tom Wells and his wife then leased it as Mrs. Wells had an interest in older houses. Today the Gipson House is owned by Will and Becca Arnold who are both graduates of the University. Becca Arnold is the daughter of a former matron at the University, Susan Peek. Makris, P. S. (2006). Sewanee - People, Places, and Times. Ozark, Missouri: Dogwood Printing.
This house was built in 1889 by the Ecce Quam Bonum Club. They secured the lot back of Thompson Hall, now known as the "Union", and, by assessment on the members, raised the money to build the small wooden house. This house had probably three rooms which were used for meetings, reading, and recreation. A billard and pool table were installed in the back room and in constant use. Founded in 1870, EQB functioned as literary and social club. The club was originally a male society consisting of faculty members, administrators, and “gentlemen resident at Sewanee” who gathered twice monthly for lectures called “leads.” The house was used by the club for about a decade until 1899 when the University offered two rooms over the old Supply Store. This was so that they could build the Sewanee Union Theater on the house’s lot. Rather than tear the house down the University moved it just down the street next to Dr. Torian’s residence. There it became the fraternity house of Alpha Kappa Kappa, a medical fraternity. After 1907 it became the office of Dr. Reynold Kirby-Smith when he was elected Officer of the University and Chief of Staff of the Emerald Hodgson Hospital. Later it became the residence of John and Betty Hodges. The residents preceding them more or less in order were Mrs. Echols and her niece, John and Ellen Webb, Harry and Jean Yeatman, Cruse and Jim Clark, who sold it to Ed and Elizabeth Camp. The Camps added the left wing. The house is currently owned by W. B. Rodgers and Marion Beasley as of 1983.
Miss Mary Miller bought this home in 1887. She was described as having a “strange and lovely Chinese face, romantic birth, and most Victorian outlook” She was born of missionary parents: her father English and her mother Chinese. Orphaned at a young age, she was sent to an uncle in the United States. She later fell in love with a clergyman and they were to be married. However, her uncle said that her parents had not been married, making her illegitimate and unable to marry a clergyman. Unfortunately, it was found out after her uncle died that Miller’s parents had indeed been married and her uncle lied to keep control of her financial affairs. Miss Miller presided over “Crazy Corner” (then the name of Miller Hall) as matron of the boarding house for many years. She left all her property to the University in 1911 and the gates in the cemetery were put up in her name. The next occupants, Mrs. Stewart from New Orleans and her daughters, Minnie and Clara, remodeled the house into two apartments. In 1922, the Rev. Charles Wright bought it for a summer home. Wright, brought from England by Bishop Quintard as a young child, was considered a member of the Bishop’s family. He went to the University and St. Luke’s, and was member of the Board of Regents for 20 years. He was rector of Grace Church, Memphis. He died in 1932. The house has been torn down.
Miss Mary Miller bought the home in 1887. She was described as having a “strange and lovely Chinese face, romantic birth, and most Victorian outlook” (Charlotte Gailor, Purple Sewanee, 1932). She was born of missionary parents: her father English and her mother Chinese. Orphaned at a young age, she was sent to an uncle in the United States. She later fell in love with a clergyman and they were to be married. However, her uncle said that her parents had not been married, making her illegitimate and unable to marry a clergyman. Unfortunately, it was found out after her uncle died that Miller’s parents had indeed been married and her uncle lied to keep control of her financial affairs. Miss Miller presided over “Crazy Corner” (then the name of Miller Hall) as matron of the boarding house for many years. She left all her property to the University in 1911 and the gates in the cemetery were put up in her name. The next occupants, Mrs. Stewart from New Orleans and her daughters, Minnie and Clara, remodeled the house into two apartments. In 1922, the Rev. Charles Wright bought it for a summer home. Wright, brought from England by Bishop Quintard as a young child, was considered a member of the Bishop’s family. He went to the University and St. Luke’s, and was member of the Board of Regents for 20 years. He was rector of Grace Church, Memphis. He died in 1932. The house has been torn down.
This house was first built by Richard Biddle in 1900. When it burst into flames in 1904, Mr. Biddle barred anyone from trying to save the house. It is said that he blocked the entry with his body and, brandishing a chair, threatened to hit anyone who attempted to interfere with the fated destruction of his property, which he deemed “kismet.” Mr. Biddle was considered eccentric and dubbed Sewanee’s man of mystery. After the fire he built a shack in the woods northwest of Sewanee. The house on Oklahoma Avenue was rebuilt in 1912 by Douglass Vaughn. Mr. Vaughn, a member of the fledgling municipal government for the University, later became the University treasurer. In 1914 the house was bought by David A. Shepard. Shepard was the first salaried alumni secretary of the University, serving from 1912-1920. During Bishop Knight’s tenure as vice-chancellor (1914-1922), most of the official entertainment for the University was done in the Shepard home because the bishop’s wife was considered an invalid. The spare room had to be ready for overnight guests or weekend visitors, and when VIPs were expected, the alumni secretary was home to receive them. These weekly visitors were likely the reason for the many additions to the once modest cottage. By the eighth addition the Shepards started to call the house “Topsy” after the famous character in Uncle Tom’s Cabin because the house just grew. For example, although it had been constructed of hand-hewn timber, in 1945 it was encased in stone to prevent future fires. After his time as alumni secretary, Mr. Shepard continued to make Sewanee his base of operations and ran several businesses from an office located in the back of the home. The house was passed on to Mary Waller Shepherd Soper and her husband Rev. Soper when he retired from the Episcopal priesthood in 1962. It was during their time that Topsy reached a total of nineteen additions to the house since its construction. The Sopers fittingly named their addition “Turvey.” The numerous additions have caused some quirks in the house, such as different floor levels and an unusual architectural montage at the back. But the additions are part of its charm. The Sopers hosted many of their own exhibits on the house and it was included in multiple historic house tours. The house is owned by Martin and Katherine Davis as of 2013.
“This was built by Mr. Roberts who had a livery stable in the Village. He kept riding horses to rent, and he owned the first public "hack"- A long ambulance with narrow slanting seats running lengthwise and no springs that were observable," wrote Miss Sada Elliott. In 1886 Mrs. Herndon, sister of Mr. Stanley Bell of Nashville owned it after her house on Alabama Avenue, "Bellewood”, had burned. She was post mistress and had three sons in the college. Her husband had been killed in the Civil War. After that, various people lived in it. Mr. Lebowitz, the shoemaker; Mr. J. B. Hunt, while the present Hunt house was being renovated; Mr. deOvies and Miss Lizzie Wadhams. Mr. William Hamilton finally bought it in 1929. After William’s death, his sister Mary Frances Hamilton took over the house. At one time in her career, she was the UT extension agent for the area and was an expert gardener. She had many exotic plants and flowers in the yard and had a full-time gardener. She never married and had no children, so when she died in 2001, she left it to her nephew,Webster. Webster never lived in it and tried to put it up for sale. Unfortunately September 11 attack happened right around that time and no house sold in Sewanee until the Askews bought it from Webster in August of 2012. The Askews have two outbuildings that they call cabins that they have rented to hundreds of alumni and parents over the years. Many have stayed there on their wedding night, others have proposed marriage in the cabin, celebrated anniversaries, attended the school of letters, and studied for comps. The cabins are not fancy, but people might come visit Sewanee in the future and try to remember where they stayed.
“This was built by Mr. Roberts who had a livery stable in the Village. He kept riding horses to rent, and he owned the first public "hack"--" A long ambulance with narrow slanting seats running lengthwise and no springs that were observable," wrote Miss Sada Elliott. In 1886 Mrs. Herndon, sister of Mr. Stanley Bell of Nashville owned it after her house on Alabama Avenue, "Bellewood”, had burned. She was Post Mistress and had three sons in the College. Her husband had been killed in the Civil War. After that, various people lived in it. Mr. Lebowitz, the shoemaker; Mr. J. B. Hunt, while the present Hunt house was being renovated; Mr. deOvies; Miss Lizzie Wadhams. Mr. William Hamilton finally bought it in 1929. After William’s death, his sister Mary Frances Hamilton took over the house. At one time in her career, she was the UT extension agent for the area and was an expert gardener. She had many exotic plants and flowers in the yard and had a full time gardener. She never married and had no children, so when she died in 2001, she left it to her nephew Webster. Webster never lived in it and tried to put it up for sale. Unfortunately he September 11 attack happened right around that time and no house sold in Sewanee until the Askews bought it from Webster in August of 2012. The couple have two out buildings that they call cabins that they have rented to hundreds of alumni and parents over the years. Many have stayed there on their wedding night, others have proposed marriage in the cabin, celebrated anniversaries, attended the school of letters, and studied for comps. The cabins are not fancy, but people might come visit Sewanee in the future and try to remember where they stayed.
This house was built by Dr. Reynold Marvin Kirby-Smith. A widely known physician at Sewanee and a son of Confederate General Edmund Kirby-Smith, Dr. Kirby-Smith was a Sewanee staple. He was educated at the Sewanee Military Academy and the University, where he received his Doctor of Medicine in 1895. Dr. Kirby-Smith served with the U. S. Army Medical Corps in the Philippines during the Spanish-American War and retired from the Army in 1907, but continued in the medical reserve and rose to rank of colonel. During World War I he was a surgeon in charge of two medical units of the Red Cross, establishing a field hospital in France and doing emergency service in Serbia during a typhus epidemic. In 1907 he became associate professor in the medical department of the University and built this house. The next year he became health officer of the University, a post he held for 40 years. He was also the former chief of staff of Emerald Hodgson Hospital. Because of his passion for accuracy, Dr. Kirby-Smith was a treasured source for Sewanee anecdotes. His earliest memory was going through St. Luke’s Hall when it was being built. He would have been four years old. He said his greatest childhood fright was when the McCrady house burned. He had been seven then and had hid in the hedge of the Galleher house. Dr. Kirby-Smith’s wife, Miss Maude, also had a stark impact on the Sewanee community. She was one of the founders of the literary society, the Fortnightly Club, and served as an officer in the United Daughters of the Confederacy. Perhaps her proudest office was as president of the Civic League, a club that ran a tea room and had rummage sales to make money to keep the University Cemetery clean and to see that the University grounds were neat and tidy. Miss Maude also was a member of St. Augustine’s that kept All Saints clean. Maude was noted to being a person most likely to be the first friend to come with aid and comfort to the homes of bereaved friends. At the house she held “Tuesdays at home.” People came to have intelligent talk and to enjoy cheese straws and chocolate cake. This custom mixed people of different ages and professions. Miss Maude will be remembered as a gracious and charming lady to everyone who knew her. The house was passed on to Dr. Kirby-Smith’s daughter, Catherine “Kiffie” Clark, when her father died in 1962. It was recently bought by the University from the Hursts and is intended to become a guesthouse.
This house was built by Dr. Reynold Marvin Kirby-Smith. A widely known physician at Sewanee and a son of Confederate Gen. Edmund Kirby Smith, Dr. Kirby-Smith was a Sewanee staple. He was educated at the Sewanee Military Academy and the University, where he received his Doctor of Medicine in 1895. Dr. Kirby-Smith served with the U. S. Army Medical Corps in the Philippines during the Spanish-American War. Although he retired from the Army in 1907, Kirby-Smith continued in the medical reserve and rose to rank of colonel. During World War I he was a surgeon in charge of two medical units of the Red Cross: establishing a field hospital in France and doing emergency service in Serbia during a typhus epidemic. After his active duty retirement in 1907 he became associate professor in the medical department of the University and built this house. The next year he became health officer of the University, a post he held for 40 years. He was also the chief of staff of Emerald Hodgson Hospital. Because of his passion for accuracy, Dr. Kirby-Smith was a treasured source for Sewanee anecdotes. He said his greatest childhood fright was when the McCrady house burned. He was seven then and had hidden in the hedge of the Galleher house. Dr. Kirby-Smith’s wife, “Miss Maude,” also had an impact on the Sewanee community. She was one of the founders of the Fortnightly Club (a literary society), served as an officer in the United Daughters of the Confederacy, and was a member of St. Augustine’s that kept All Saints Chapel clean. She also served as president of the Civic League. That club ran a tea room and had rummage sales to make money to keep the University Cemetery clean and to see that the University grounds were neat and tidy. At the house she held “Tuesdays at home.” This custom mixed people of different ages and professions; people came to have intelligent talk and to enjoy cheese straws and chocolate cake. When Dr. Kirby-Smith died in 1962, the house was passed on to his daughter, Catherine “Kiffie” Clark. It was recently bought by the University from the Hursts and is intended to become a guesthouse.