Searching For Historical Places in East Tennessee (#1)

I decided that it was time for us to hit the road and explore our area looking for historic places and sites that we hadn’t discovered previously.  I do enjoy researching the National Register of Historic Places, identifying the places listed…and then actually searching for them.

This is the Cumberland Presbyterian Church of Loudon Tennessee.  This handsome church is located at 503 College Street.  The congregation was established in 1853…with official records dating back to the spring of 1855.  This is the congregation’s third home.  Built in the Carpenter Gothic style, it was completed and dedicated 136 years ago…in 1882!

In 1916, 1929, 1939, 1960 and 1968, refurbishing has been carried out and structural additions have been made without impacting the beauty of the original building.  The church is on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Loudon-Cumberland-Presbyterian-Church-322557969826/.

This is the old Dunbar Public School.  It’s located at 113 Steekee Street in Loudon.  With support from the Julius Rosenwald Fund, the African American community and public funds, this school was built in 1923 for $5,700.  It was the only school in the county for approximately 258 school age African American children at this time in 1930.  School desegregation began in the county in 1963 and it closed in 1965.

St. Peters Lodge #30 (Masons) purchased the school in 1966 and it became known as the Dunbar Community Center.

Note:

·         I wasn’t familiar with Julius Rosenwald so I had to look him up.  He is best known as a part-owner and leader of Sears, Roebuck and Company and for establishing the Rosenwald Fund.  That fund donated millions in matching funds to support the education of African American children in the rural south.  He also was the principal founder and backer for the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago.  To learn more, you can go to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julius_Rosenwald.

This is the Albert Lenoir House on River Road near Loudon.  The 3-story brick house was originally built in 1857.  While most homes in the area were white 1-story frame homes at the time, this house was befitting for a large plantation owner.  The large pillars were added later.  Originally the house had a 1-story porch.

The original owner of the home was Albert Sobieski Lenoir, an engineer and surveyor who laid out the city of Chattanooga.  His oldest daughter married a judge who later served as Postmaster General in President Rutherford B. Hayes cabinet.  Albert was the son of William Lenoir who founded nearby Lenoir City. 

L.M. Matthews purchased the home in 1903.  Two of his sons were Brigadier Generals, one with the US Army and one with the Marine Corps.  The house was subsequently purchased by Mr. and Mrs. William Butler, prominent business leaders in Loudon.

This is the Charles Owen House at 1019 Mayes Street in Sweetwater Tennessee.  The original 2-story portion of the home was built in the Federal style in 1827.  Charles Owen was a farmer, money lender, broker, an elder in the Presbyterian Church and an anti-slavery advocate.  It appears that no one is currently living in the home...

A 1-story Victorian style addition was made to the Owen house in 1857.  You can see touches of Victorian architecture in this photo if you enlarge it.  The home also has some Colonial Revival details from ca. 1929.  A carriage house was added in the mid-19^th century.  Charles Owen’s son Jesse lived here as well.  He served in the Tennessee General Assembly, was Sweetwater’s Postmaster for 12 years and he also served as an alderman and the town’s mayor.

This is the First Presbyterian Church at 601 Church Street in Sweetwater.  The congregation was formed in 1860 and the original portion of the church was completed in 1887.  That section of the church was designed in the Gothic revival style complete with a bell tower.  The original structure was built at a cost of $8,000.

A 2-story educational addition was built in 1917 and a modern structure was added at the rear of the complex in 1968.  The educational portion was in keeping with the “Akron Plan” which first surfaced at the First Methodist Episcopal Church in Akron in 1867.

FYI…The Akron Plan was a scheme for the design of churches and other religious buildings that housed Sunday schools.  Basically, the plan allowed for a number of classrooms for Sunday-school pupils of different age groups whereas up to that point pupils were generally being taught in a single large room.

For information regarding Sweetwater’s First Presbyterian Church, you can go to http://www.sweetpres.com/.

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for some local history!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave