Four Tennessee Sites Added to National Register of Historic Places

NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Historical Commission has announced four 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:

•  Bledsoe County Jail - Located on Frazier Street in the county seat of Pikeville (Bledsoe County) in southeast Tennessee, the Bledsoe County Jail was built in 1851 to hold five prisoners. It was originally constructed of brick with a stone foundation. Around 1880 changes were made that included wood doors, windows, a stairway and wood floors. In 1937, additions were made to the building and the exterior was changed to stone. Today, the two-story building can hold a maximum of nine prisoners. The building is a noteworthy example of local government’s role to provide law and order for citizens. The changes to the building over the years reflect the county’s efforts to modernize the jail and continue to provide a service to the community. The Bledsoe County jail is the oldest operating jail in the state. A new jail is planned for the county and the historic jail may be used as a museum.

• Glen Leven - This historic family farm in Oak Hill (Davidson County) is comprised of the imposing 1856/1890 house, garage, icehouse, smokehouse, barns and 66 acres of farmland. The property is notable as an example of settlement patterns and agricultural history in Davidson County.   John M. Thompson, who lived there from 1852-1919, was a significant farmer and horse breeder, a state legislator and state commissioner of agriculture. After his daughter died of diphtheria in 1888, Thompson modernized the house – ultimately trying to make it germ-free and added the Eastlake detailing on the 1856 building. As a result, the property is architecturally important for its initial design and the later changes. Until 2006 when the property was deeded to the Land Trust for Tennessee, it was a working farm. The property has an easement with protections for the land and buildings.

• Home for Aged Masons -Constructed in 1913 and designed by the Nashville architectural firm of Asmus and Norton, the Home for Aged Masons is important for its architectural style and as part of the social history of Nashville (Davidson County). With three and a half stories, the cut limestone building is a good example of the Colonial Revival style. The pedimented entry and interior staircase are two of the excellent design features of the building. Originally the building, along with several others, was owned and used by the Grand Lodge of Tennessee Free and Accepted Masons to house impoverished Masons.   The building became state property in 1941 and was used as a tuberculosis hospital. Vacant since the 1990s, a private non-profit agency is looking into using the facility. 

• Hale’s Bar Dam Powerhouse – The powerhouse was completed in 1913 by the privately owned Chattanooga and Tennessee River Power Company, which was founded by prominent Chattanoogans Josepheus Conn Guild and Charles E. James to build the hydroelectric complex. Located in Haletown (Marion County), which is approximately five miles east of Jasper, the powerhouse is part of the first multi-purpose dam and lock built on the Tennessee River. It provided power and improved river navigation. The powerhouse contained the generators and transformers for electric power. In 1939, TVA obtained the complex and 1952 they added an addition to house two more generators. Leakage of the dam was always a problem and in 1968 TVA built a new dam about six miles downstream. The Hale’s Bar Dam Powerhouse is an important reminder of early hydroelectric development in Tennessee.