Preliminary Site Assessment, 2013 Marble Springs State Historic Site Knoxville, Knox County, Tennessee December 2013 2 Preliminary Site Assessment 2013 Marble Springs State Historic Site Knoxville, Knox County, Tennessee Prepared for: The Governor John Sevier Memorial Association and The Tennessee Historical Commission Prepared by: Center for Historic Preservation at MTSU Ginna Foster Cannon, Graduate Research Assistant Brad Eatherly, Graduate Research Assistant Ashley Poe, Graduate Research Assistant Jessica White, Heritage Area Fieldwork Preservationist Dr. Carroll Van West, Director December 2013 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements 4 Marble Springs History 5 Existing Conditions Overview – Exterior Smokehouse 7 Building One 9 Building Two 12 Building Three 14 Springhouse 17 Needs Assessment – Exterior Smokehouse 18 Building One 19 Building Two 23 Building Three 28 Springhouse/Overall Property 34 Interior Descriptions Building One 37 Building Two 44 Needs Assessment – Interior Building One 52 Building Two 55 Interior Description Building Three 63 Needs Assessment – Interior Building Three 71 Furnishings Building One 75 Needs Assessment 79 Building Two 82 Needs Assessment 92 Building Three 94 Needs Assessment 96 Appendices Appendix A 97 Appendix B 103 Appendix C 108 4 Acknowledgements Located in Knox County, Marble Springs, the home of John Sevier was purchased by the state in 1941, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971, and has been operated by the Governor John Sevier Memorial Association since 1979. The nomination form for the National Register of Historic Places listed its primary significance as it being the “only remaining home of Tennessee’s first governor, John Sevier, who occupies a place in importance second to none in the building of the state.” Its date of significance was listed as the 1790s. Secondary significance is listed as “architecture, typical of the style of the early Tennessee frontier which is rapidly disappearing.” (See Appendix.) The Center for Historic Preservation gratefully acknowledges the hard work and discernment of the three MTSU pubic history graduate students – Ginna Foster Cannon, Brad Eatherly and Ashley Poe – and Jessica White, Heritage Area Fieldwork Coordinator who undertook the study under my guidance. Cannon, Eatherly, Poe, and White with the assistance of Dr. West, measured, photographed, and assessed the condition of principal historic buildings on the site (Smokehouse, Building One, Building Two, Building Three and the Springhouse) as well as inventoried the historically significant furnishings. Work on the project was broken up as follows: Eatherly documented and assessed the exteriors with Dr. West; Cannon documented and assessed the interiors with White: and Poe documented and assessed the interior furnishings with White. In future reports, we will recommend amending the nomination form and interpretation for the site to reflect recent findings. According to The Historical Dendroarchaeology of Two Log Structures at Marble Springs Historic Site, Knox County, Tennessee (2007) conducted by University of Tennessee, Building Two dates from the early to mid-1830s – more than fifteen years after the death of John Sevier (See Appendix). This is the oldest building on the site. The revised significance of the site will be architectural (circa 1830s-1850s) for a farm in Tennessee on the eve of the Civil War. Secondary significance will be ascribed to the land being owned by John Sevier. Special thanks go to Mike Bell, curator at the Tennessee State Museum, for his generous assistance in evaluating the interior furnishings. We also thank Ethiel Garlington, current board chair of the Governor John Sevier Memorial Association and Ashleigh Oatts, Interim Director of Marble Springs for providing access to the site. Carroll Van West Director The Center for Historic Preservation 5 Marble Springs History The “Marble Springs” entry in the Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture by Dr. Carroll Van West (last updated February 2011) provides a historical overview of the site. “Marble Springs is a state historic site that documents the Knox County farmstead of General John Sevier, the first governor of the State of Tennessee. As a soldier in the Revolutionary War, Sevier received 640 acres from North Carolina in 1785; his property was located at the foot of Bays Mountain, where deposits of marble had been found as well as large springs. Thus, Sevier named his farm "Marble Springs." He established his farm residence before 1792, and he and his family periodically lived in this Knox County three- room log residence, as well as in a fine Knoxville dwelling, until his death in 1815. Three years later, the property was sold to James Dardis. Restoration efforts at Marble Springs date to 1941, when the state purchased the remaining original log residence and 40 acres. The John Sevier Memorial Commission directed the property's restoration with the assistance of the Tennessee Historical Commission. Since 1964 the John Sevier Memorial Commission, the Sevier Family Association, and the Sevier Community Club have promoted and maintained the site. In 1971 the property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Eight years later, in 1979, the Tennessee Historical Commission appointed the Governor John Sevier Memorial Association to manage and guide future restoration at Marble Springs.” Source: http://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entry.php?rec=833 Accessed November 25, 2013. Note: As part of future interpretive planning, a full history of the property, from 1790s to 1979, will be developed. 6 Overall Site This report covers the principal historic buildings on the site shown below. 7 Exterior Elevation Descriptions Smokehouse The smokehouse (12’-3 x 12’-2”) is a single pen log structure that features a cantilevered gable roof, half-dovetail notching, limestone and Portland cement chinking, and a stacked limestone foundation. The roof is composed of cedar shingles and vertical wood planks enclose the eaves. The structure has a single entryway on the north façade. The building is not original to the property and it is unknown when it was brought to the property. The structure might not have always been interpreted as a smokehouse but perhaps also as a corncrib. 8 Figure 1-1: Front façade, facing west. Figure 1-2: South elevation. 9 Figure 1-3: North elevation. Building One The kitchen (18’-3” x 13’-11”) is located to the east of the Main house and is connected by a breezeway. This single story log building features a cedar shingle gable roof, dovetail notching, a shed roof porch, limestone and Portland cement chinking, and log chimney. The south elevation features a central entryway and a six-light casement window on the southwest corner of the elevation. The west elevation features an exterior log chimney. The chimney has been fashioned out of hewn logs similar in fashion to those that comprise the rest of the cabin. As the chimney increases in height, the logs become much smaller. Limestone and Portland cement has been used for the chinking for the chimney. Historically, the chimney most likely would have been a "catted chimney." A "catted chimney" would have used stone or brick for the firebox while the stack and the exterior would have been made from a mixture of clay or mud and sticks. Because of the potential fire hazard involved, the chimney most likely would have been built leaning away from the main structure so that it could be easily pulled down if it caught on fire. The north elevation features a central entry door beneath a shed roof porch. This back porch typically would not have been a part of the structure and it is doubtful that Governor Sevier's original structure would have had one. 10 Figure 1-4: Front facade. The kitchen is on the right. Figure 1-5: East elevation. 11 Figure 1-6: Northeast elevation Figure 1-7: North elevation. Kitchen is in the center. 12 Building Two The main house (22’-3” x 18’-0”) is connected to the kitchen by a breezeway. This two story log building features a cedar shingle gable roof, half-square notching, and limestone and Portland cement chinking. The front façade features a single center entryway with a six-over-six single hung window on the southwest side. The east elevation features a six light casement window on the second floor. The north elevation features a single center entryway underneath a shed roof overhang. The west elevation includes an exterior stone chimney. Figure 1-8: Front facade of the Main House, with breezeway on the right. Notice the sag in the roof of the Main House. 13 Figure 1-9: North elevation. Main House on right. Figure 1-10: West side elevation. 14 Building Three The Walker Tavern (23’-2” x 20’-2”) is located approximately 73’ to the southeast of the main cabin. It is not original to the property and was moved to this site in 1987. This two-story log dwelling features a cedar shingle side gable roof, dovetail notching, a limestone block chimney, and limestone and Portland cement chinking. The front façade features an off centered entryway with two symmetrical six-over-six double hung windows on either side. The top floor features two three light awing windows. The west elevation features a centered single entryway and a small vent hatch on the top floor. The south elevation features an off-centered entryway with a centered six light awing window on the top floor and another small non-functioning entryway on the southeast side of the structure. The east elevation features an exterior stone chimney with a three-over-three double hung window to the left of the chimney. Figure 1-11: North elevation. Notice the sag in the roof. 15 Figure 1-12: West elevation Figure 1-13: Southwest elevation. 16 Figure 1-14: South elevation Figure 1-15: East elevation. 17 Springhouse The springhouse (9’ x 9’) is a single pen log structure featuring a cantilevered gabled roof, round log notching, limestone and Portland cement chinking and a stacked limestone foundation.