Eight Tennessee Sites Added to the National Register of Historic Places

Daugherty Furniture Building – Clinton’s Daugherty Furniture Building was designed by Knoxville architect Clem H. Meyers and constructed between 1938-1942. The four-story building has stone walls, metal casement windows, large interior display areas and office spaces. The building is a skillful example of a multi-purpose commercial building and is architecturally important to the town of Clinton and to Anderson County. Frank Gilbreath and Sebastian Maire were the stonemasons for the building, which was constructed at a time when nearby Oak Ridge and Norris Dam also were being built. The influx of people in the region helped the store become a major commercial center. Everything from furniture and hardware to appliances and flooring was sold in the store, making Daugherty’s historically important to the commercial history of the community.

Doe Creek School – Located in the vicinity of Sardis in rural Henderson County, the Doe Creek School was originally built in the 1870s and carefully reconstructed in 2007. The building was used as both a school and a church, with the last classes held there conducted in 1948. Historically, the Doe Creek School is important as an example of a rural, one-room school that would have been used by the surrounding communities. It also is notable as a log building. The one-story, single-pen (room) school is constructed of hewn logs, has half-dovetail notching and sits on a stone pier foundation. While it is unusual for a reconstructed building to be listed in the National Register, the Doe Creek School was accurately reconstructed according to a master plan and incorporated logs and other materials from the original structure. The Doe Creek Restoration Committee was responsible for refurbishing the building.  

First Presbyterian Church – Cookeville’s First Presbyterian Church was built in 1909-1910 by prominent local brick mason Joseph Francis Scott and remodeled in 1955 by Dero Darwin and his son. The Neo-classical style of the church is characterized by its pedimented gables and strong cornice lines. Its interior is Colonial Revival in style and reflects the 1955 remodeling. The church was born out of a schism, resulting from the union of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church with the Presbyterian Church of the United States of America that took place during the early years of the 20th century. Historically, the First Presbyterian Church in Cookeville (Putnam County) reflects the policies that resulted from this merger of two churches.  

Lebanon in the Forks Cemetery – Located near Knoxville, Lebanon in the Forks Cemetery is a significant representation of early settlement history in eastern Knox County. Established in 1793, the cemetery contains the burials of Knox County pioneers. Most of the 80 grave markers are simple limestone slabs, although the cemetery does contain a box tomb and obelisks. Until 1981, when it burned, there was a historic church associated with the cemetery. A commemorative pavilion marks the location of the church.  

Market Street Bridge – The Market Street Bridge, which spans the Tennessee River in Chattanooga (Hamilton County), is a unique structure in the state. Finished in 1917, a focal point of the steel and concrete bridge is the 310-foot bascule lift span that opens for river traffic. Ten deck girders and six concrete arches comprise the rest of the nearly 2,000-foot long bridge. The bridge was designed by Benjamin Davis of New York, with Ellis Soper of Chattanooga and W.C. Spiker of Atlanta serving as project engineers. The Vang Construction Company of Maryland did the concrete work and the Toledo Bridge and Crane Company was responsible for the bascule lift. When completed, the bridge was considered an engineering marvel due to its size and complex construction. Built at the height of the Good Roads Movement, which promoted local and interstate roads, the Market Street Bridge opened up North Chattanooga and was on several interstate routes, including the Dixie and Taft highways. The bridge experienced repairs and replacements in the late 1940s, mid to late 1970s, mid 1980s and most recently from 2005-2007.

Minvilla – The two buildings that comprise Minvilla were built in 1913 in an area of Knoxville (Knox County) that was rapidly expanding. The city’s expanding streetcar system resulted in commercial and residential growth in what were then the northern suburbs of Knoxville. Minvilla was built close to the streetcar line and originally consisted of 13 attached row houses for the emerging middle class. Knoxville’s H. Clay Bondurant developed the project with designs from the locally prominent architectural firm, Bauman Brothers. Their Classical Revival design of the buildings is seen in the canted bays, multiple-pane windows and single-story porticos. By the mid-20th century, the makeup of the neighborhood changed and the buildings were used as marginal, transient housing. The porticos were enclosed, obscuring the historic design.   A community partnership addressing Knoxville’s homeless formed and as a result, Minvilla was rehabilitated for use as 57 affordable apartments for the homeless community.  

Municipal Public Works Garage Industrial District – Historically and architecturally important, the six single-story brick buildings that comprise the Municipal Public Works Garage Industrial District were built circa 1940 as a New Deal project under the sponsorship of the Public Works Administration and the Works Progress Administration. Located in an area of Nashville known as Rolling Mill Hill, the buildings are constructed of load-bearing brick, have multiple-pane windows, parapet rooflines, bowed steel truss roofs and open interior spaces. These features are representative of the industrial styles promoted by many New Deal programs. Historically, the project that was responsible for erecting these buildings is a good example of how Depression-era programs improved the infrastructure of Nashville as the city moved from inter-urban trains and streetcars to automobile transportation. Immediately after construction, the district became the power base for Nashville’s public works commissioner. The property is located in a once industrial area of the city that has been rezoned for residential and commercial use. Owned by Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, the buildings are currently being rehabilitated by a private company.

Stone Hall – Located in the Donelson-Hermitage area of Davidson County, Stone Hall is comprised of the 1918 main house, a log guesthouse called Eversong and several outbuildings. Designed by Nashville architect George Waller, the two-story main building called Stone Hall is faced with coursed-ashlar limestone, has a hip roof and hip-roof dormers sheathed in concrete tile with tile coping, multiple light wood windows with limestone sills, a porch on the east, a patio on the west, a tall stone chimney and bay windows on the façade. In addition to the main stairway and paneled doors, the wood floors, plaster walls, two fireplaces and numerous closets serve as the notable interior features. Eversong is a two and one-half-story log building that was moved to the property in the 1930s and used as a guesthouse. In addition to the log exterior, the interior has exposed log walls, stone and wood trim. Both properties represent good examples of the popular early-20th century Colonial Revival style. The setting, gardens and outbuildings on the site add to the architectural importance of the property, which was acquired by the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County and Greenways of Nashville around 2007.