National Register of Historic Places News

Esso Filling Station

Listed 03/14/2024

(Brownsville – Haywood County)

The Esso Filling Station was listed in the National Register for its commercial and architectural significance. C.T. Hooper, Jr. built the Filling Station in 1937 at the corner of Franklin Street and North Washington Avenue in Brownsville, Haywood County. The station was a popular stop along the Memphis-Bristol Highway. Under the Hooper family, the station became known for its full-service approach to automotive care, providing such products as gasoline, tires, batteries, lubrication services, and oil additives. and was a popular stop on the highway. The Esso Filling Station is also an important local example of the Art Deco and Streamline Moderne architectural styles. Important features include its stepped parapet, smooth wall surfaces, belt courses, and curved canopy. The family sold the building in 1996 to Lawrence Baxter. Baxter Graphics now calls the Esso Filling Station home, and the current owners continue to preserve and respect the property’s long history.

Woodlawn Baptist Church

Listed 03/15/2024

(Nutbush – Haywood County)

Woodlawn Baptist Church, located in Nutbush, Haywood County, was listed in the National Register for its local architectural significance. Nutbush is one of the oldest communities in Haywood County, and the Woodlawn Baptist Church congregation has played a vital role in the community since it was founded in 1846. The nominated church was built in 1916 on land donated by the Solomon family after the previous church building burned in 1915. It was constructed in the Gothic Revival style, as demonstrated by its pointed arch windows. However, what separates the church from other local examples is its unique Akron Plan arrangement. This plan featured rooms along the sanctuary equipped with moveable doors and walls to create smaller spaces for religious or educational meetings. Woodlawn uses tri-fold doors on the interior to accomplish the Akron Plan. Other important features of the church include wood ceilings, wainscoting, and wood floors. The congregation continues to use the church and maintain it much as their forebears did in years past. 

Fort Amistead

Listed 12/11/2023

(Monroe County)

Located in Monroe County, Fort Armistead was listed as a National Historic Landmark for its association with events that have made a significant impact on United States history. In 1830, President Andrew Jackson introduced the Indian Removal Act. This act resulted in the forcible removal of the southeastern Indigenous people from their ancestral homes to lands out west. The Cherokee nation was one of the groups affected by the passage of the Act. When the elected leaders of the Cherokee refused to negotiate a removal treaty and comply with the act, the United States government opened negotiations with the minority of Cherokee in favor of removal. Major Ridge and his son John Ridge, the leaders of this faction, signed the Treaty of New Echota in December of 1835. This treaty ceded all Cherokee lands east of the Mississippi and consigned the Cherokee peoples to be relocated to “Arkansas County,” thus beginning the Trail of Tears. Fort Armistead was one of the federal military installations that facilitated Cherokee removal out west. Today, Fort Armistead is the only military post associated with the Trail of Tears that contains substantial archaeological integrity, including subsurface elements of buildings present during removal and artifact deposits. It is because of this potential to recover the stories and experiences of those during the Trail of Tears that Fort Armistead was declared a National Historic Landmark.

Cherokee Arms

Listed 03/06/2024

(Memphis – Shelby County)

The Cherokee Arms is located in Memphis, Shelby County and was listed in the National Register for its local significance in architecture and community planning. William E. Barnes, a local real estate speculator, acquired land from Mary T. Sullivan in April of 1921. Barnes hired G. Lloyd Preacher, a prestigious architect from Atlanta, Georgia, and local architect Charles Deas to design an apartment building for the newly acquired lot. Gude and Company, also of Atlanta, were hired to build the apartments, which were finished in 1923. Upon its completion, the Cherokee Arms became a locally important example of the Italian Renaissance style as expressed in a Block Type apartment building. Important characteristics of the style include its terra cotta inlays and coping, brickwork, fenestration patterns, compact massing, and central interior hallway. The Cherokee Arms was also significant as one several apartment complexes built to house the burgeoning middle-class arriving in the city during the early twentieth century. The current owners pursued National Register listing to assist with preserving the building and to recognize its beauty.

Scattersville Public School

Listed 02/07/2024

(Portland – Sumner County)

Located in the community of Scattersville in Sumner County, the Scattersville Public School was listed in the National Register for its educational significance. The school was constructed in 1928 on land donated by Henry Seten Bell and his wife Sarah Bell. It was a one room schoolhouse and housed grades one through twelve. At the time of its construction, it was the only school available for African American children in the Scattersville, Mitchelville, and Corntown communities. Students were offered courses in reading, writing, mathematics, industrial training, home economics, and physical education. Students also had access to a well-maintained library of over 225 books. The school closed in 1962, at which point students were bused to Union High School, an African American school in Gallatin. Sumner County fully desegregated eight years later. Since then, the Scattersville Public School has served as a community center. Softball games, fish fries, and even funerals were held on the property. Community members continue to preserve and maintain the property for future generations to enjoy.  

Townsend School

Listed 04/23/2024

(Winchester – Franklin County)

Townsend School is located on South Shepard Street in Winchester, Franklin County. The school was listed in the National Register for its role in the educational, social, and cultural history of the surrounding community. In May of 1933, the Franklin County board of education appointed a committee to build a school for local African American students after the previous school burned down. The Townsend School was finished later that year. Despite being completed after the Rosenwald building program ended, the Townsend School shares many design similarities with Rosenwald Fund school plans. The school building was improved in 1949, 1954, and 1962 by the county in an attempt to “equalize” schools and avoid integration. Throughout its history, the Townsend School served as the center of a vibrant and close knit African American community. In addition to offering a quality education, the school also hosted community events such as fish fries, plays, musicals, and patriotic events during World War II. Franklin County desegregated in 1964, and Townsend closed two years after. Today the school is known as the Townsend Center. It houses the Townsend Cultural Center and a museum with interpretive panels and artifacts. The community continues to use the building as a vehicle for positive community outreach and change.