Form 10-300 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR STATE: (July 1969) NATIONAL PARK SERVICE Tennessee COUNTY: NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES Sevier INVENTORY - NOMINATION FORM FOR NPS USE ONLY ENTRY NUMBER QATE (Type all entries — complete applicable sections) 7/3.V7* oe>c& -3^i#/7/ |;|;i;:;ii$$l^ COMMON: Sevier County Courthouse AND/OR HISTORIC: JIHiiiiiiifiiiiiiiiiii STREET AND NUMBER: Court Avenue CITY OR TOWN: Sevierville STATE CODE COUNTY: CODE Tennessee OM-7 Sevier 155 illllli!^^ CATEGORY OWNERSHIP STATUS ACCESSIBLE (Check One) TO THE PUBLIC G District g] Building KJ Public Public Acquisition: O Occupied Yes: i — iii . j K3 Restricted D Site Q Structure D Private | | In Process | _| Unoccupied "-1 i —. _ . 1 1 Unrestricted D Object D Both [ | Being Considerec LJ Preservation work — in progress 1 — ' PRESENT USE (Check One or More as Appropriate) \ | Agricultural [XI Government | 1 Park Q] Transportation 1 1 Comments Q Commercial D Industrial Q Private Residence l~l Other fSoecifv) O Educational CD Military Q Religious | | Entertainment f~1 Museum [ | Scientific ................... OWNER'S NAME: U) Sevier County 59UU9.T.3 > STREET AND NUMBER: n Court Avenue STA n Cl TY OR TOWN: TE: CODE CD fD Sevierville Tennessee 04-7 ft) COURTHOUSE, REGISTRY OF DEEDS, ETC: COUNTY: Sevier County Register of Deeds bevie STREET AND NUMBER: Court House T Cl TY OR TOWN: STA1TE CODE Sevierville Tennessee Ol, 7 Si TITLE OF SURVEY: '^"'" U ENTR .. 'v n '.'..'•'' *<L •n NUMBERV O DATE OF SURVEY: . Feder'tfJ/.- Q -'State | | County Q Local ^4 70 DEPOSITORY FOR SURVEY RECORDS: | ""-;' Z ^ TJ % Cn ^ "V ^.; C o en STREET AND NUMBER: ,' "/ rn O i-z CITY OR TOWN: / % STAT fe D ^s m (Check One) n Excellent £3 Good D F°" 1 1 Deteriorated a Ruins PI Unexposed CONDITION (Check One) (Check One) D Altered 5) Unaltered D Moved O Original Site DESCRIBE THE PRESENT AND ORIGINAL (if known) PHYSICAL. APPEARANCE Located in Court Avenue in Sevierville, at the forks of the Little Pigeon River, the Sevier County Courthouse commands an outstanding view of the surrounding valley. Due to the imposing height of its tower, it can be viewed from a great distanceI'"By "the approaching visitor. Begun in 1895 and completed a year later, the building is of the" style of Beaux-Arts Classicism," a style \ised frequently in public and quasi-public buildings in the United States at that time. The New York Public Library and the New York Grand Central Terminal are examples of the Beaux-Arts Classicism style. The architect for the Sevier County Courthouse utilized the typical feature of arches^ with massive brick arches over the front entrance and the windows on either side of the entrance, as well as a system of arches over a second-floor balcony by the main rn courtroom. At each corner is a decorative mass with a central cupola, surrounded by three smaller minaret-type structures. A system of arches and columns, combining the Greek and Roman influ­ z ences, is repeated in the tower, which is the dominating feature. oo The tower, measuring seventy-five feet, rises to a height of one hundred and thirty feet from the ground, and is crowned by a metal- clad dome^ Midway up the tower is a large clock. A rectangular building measuring eighty-five feet by seventy feet, the courthouse is built upon a limestone foundation with a thickness of twenty-four n to thirty inches, similar to the basement walls. The exterior walls -H up to the main t floo.r are of hand-shaped limestone. From thejTiairi floor up, the exterior walls are brick, with those on the first floor being rusticated. A slate roof covers the building. .The .floor construction is of wood jo.ist,S.,. : and the roof construction is of wood trusses made of heart pine ten-inch by sixteen-inch members, some hand-hewn. The massive tower construc­ tion, a masterpiece of design, is of wood columns ten-inch by ten- inch rising from wood trusses. The floor in the lobby is of native white marble, and has stood well the wear of many years. Other floors throughout the building are wood. PERIOD CCheck One or More as Appropriate) O Pre-Columbian | D 16th Century Q 18th Century 20th Century [3 15th Century D 17tr» Century SI 19th Century SPECIFIC DATE(S) (If Applicable and Known) 1895-96 AREAS OF SIGNIFICANCE (Check One or More as Appropriate) Abor iginal I | Education n Political j | Urban Planning 1 (U 'Prehistoric [ [ Engineering C] Religion/Phi­ [j Other (Specify) {~| Historic | | Industry losophy | | Agriculture I | Invention I| Science (53 Architecture || Landscape I | Sculpture D Art Architecture I I Social/Human­ | | Commerce [ | Literature itarian [ | Communications n Military Q Theater | | Conservation Music I | Transportation TATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE . : ,-, It is very significant that such an excellent example of Beaux-Arts Classicism architecture should be found in a rural county such as Sevier County. The only building in the town with distinctive design, its value to the town is inestimable. Since it is so impressive in its appearance, a void left by its destruc­ tion would be hard to fill. Realizing the uniqueness of the building in the area, the citizens of the county exhibit pride in it, and are determined that it be preserved. u At the present time plans are being made to remodel the courthouse and build an addition to it. Plans call for the inter­ ior of the existing courthouse to be modernized, but the exterior will not be changed. Repairs to the tower will be made, retaining to its distinctive appearance. The design of the addition will be •z. compatible with the existing courthouse. The courthouse is the f[ijfth p_ne_ In ..the.,history of Sevier LU County, but is the first to be built on the present site. It was LJ built to replace an earlier one which had been destroyed by fire. The building committee appointed by the County Court selec- <- ted the firm of McDonald Brothers of Louisville, Kentucky^ to be the architects for the new building. A contract was awarded to C. W. "Brown for construction of the courthouse. With changes that were made during construction, the total contract price came to just over Twenty-one Thousand Dollars. It was reported that Brown lost so much money on the project that he was forced into bankruptcy. The huge clock in the tower was not included in Brown's contract, but was bought from Seth Thomas Clock Company for Thirteen Hundred Ninety-six Dollars, a sizeable sum in com­ parison to the cost of the building. Much of the material for the building, incl for the foundation, bricks, and lumber was prod-lu stone-cutter from Italy, said to have been blin cutting of the stone. Hammer, J. M. , "History of Sevier County," unpublished manuscript (1877) . Justus, C.C., "Sidelights, Sevier County," unpublished manuscript {j-jt-dj . Matthews, Fred, History of Sevier County fSevierville, 1 950) Minutes of Sevier County Court, 1895. County Court Clerk T s Office, Sevierville. Sharp, Joe A., "Sevier County's Courthouse,!' unpublished manuscript (n. d.) . LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE COORDINATES LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE COORDINATES DEFINING A RECTANGLE LOCATING THE PROPERTY ' J DEFINING THE CENTER POINT OF A PROPERTY j OF LESS THAN TEN ACRES ————————— ————————————————————————— ———————————————————————— | CORNER LATITUDE LONGITUDE LATITUDE ••' '' LONGITUDE Degrees Minutes Seconds Degrees Minutes Seconds Degrees Minutes Seconds Degrees Minutes Seconds NW ° ° 35° 52 • 03" 83 ° ' 33' 58" NE ° ° SE ° ° SW 0 i • OIK APPROXIMATE ACREAGE OF NOMINATED PROPERTY: L 6 S S than 10. ILIST ALL STATES AND COUNTIES FOR PROPERTIES OVERLAPPING STATE OR COUNTY BOUNDARIES STATE: CODE COUNTY^- ————-^ CODE m /\^-^—-^n\/<\\ \ 9 ; r>v m STATE: CODE /COUNTY: "X ' ^ CODE _____________________________J. ty ^\S\^,t\ \JV\ STATE: CODE ^OU^MO\^ \ i r :! ^ , N^ M STATE: COD^ AJpouN/rvRV \3C°V ^,n n-A\\. ,O/ ' ' ————CODE \ r\ r\lK®^ .-S ;< IliltifliliiiiiM c. NAME AND T.TLE: ^^l£\&^ Herbert L. Harper, Director of Fielaw~%erviop.s n ORGANIZATION DATE Tennessee Historical Commission •'••• 9-25-70 STREET AND NUMBER: M-03 7th Avenue, North >• CITY OR TOWN: STATE CODE Nashville -^ Tennessee ' -•• ' OM-7 |Ml^i^^l^ilM^^lM^ilPilli^lliiilii As the designated State Liaison Officer for the Na­ I hereby certify that this property is included in the tional Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (Public Law National Register. / ""V ' &9-66S), I hereby nominate this property for inclusion in the National Register and certify that it has been <\a A ,o / / evaluated according to the criteria and procedures set (l(JUAiJ~ (Ji^jUOviLldu forth by the National Park Service. The recommended Chief, Office of Archeology and Historic Preservation level of significance of this nomination is: National Q State Q Local 5JJ MAR 5 i 1971 Date Name ^K^B^L*^ h) ' tTsK/C^-vVv^L-*— ATTEST: 'Stephen S. Lawrence A>/* ' f Title Executive Director / / / ~~ } ** f ^^ //~~~~~~-~-2 Tennessee Historical (Jommissic n ^VUstcjUtrU 1 /^^L^f^ ^^ Keeper of The Rational Register 7 TJate // // h* ' i ——————————————Date ————— FEB 3g=; —1Q71 a/4————————— —————— L FRONT ELEVATION SCALE l/8"«l'-0M UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR STATE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE TENNESSEE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES COUNTY SEVIER PROPERTY PHOTOGRAPH FORM FOR NPS USE ONLY «/) (Type all entries - attach to or enclose with photograp t, ENTRY NUMBER DATE Z f/t 3. y/> ^^^ r ^k ¥/?/ mmm-im^mmmwmmmmmmm^ o COMMON: S-fc V JJSH COUNTY. COURTHOUSE AND/OR HISTORIC: u STREET AND NUMBER: '" r> COURT AVE. CITY OR TOWN: Ck: SEVIERVILLE l- STATE: CODE COUN rY: CODE «/> liLNNJCibo.Ci.Ci 047 £SEVIER 155 lii>illii^^ PHOTO CREDIT: DRAWING BY JAMES COYKENDALL.TTT-POMMTTMTrrv an*™™™* ^., —— —— — - » -vr ^v y ^^ j^^ ^ DATE OF PHOTO: SEPT.