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Heritage Organizations
WALKING FROM PAGE 19
The SHEETS HOME is located next door. This establishment later became the family home of Dr. and Mrs. George E. Scott and the location of his dental practice. Today their son, Dr. Haden Scott, practices dentistry there.
The SAMUEL SNAPP HOUSE is next in line, and the RUMBOUGH HOUSE, home of a Confederate officer during the Civil War, is across the street. Both date to the 1840s.
Circling back to South Main Street at East Depot Street on the official “Walk With the President” route, one finds the governmental center of the county at COURTHOUSE SQUARE. Many of Greeneville’s most important historic events have occurred here, dating back to the days when the State of Franklin’s capitol stood there.
Other highlights include the Greeneville Union Convention of June 1861 and the funeral of President Andrew Johnson in 1875.
Monuments on the courthouse lawn honor, among others, John Sevier, governor of the State of Franklin and first elected governor of the new Tennessee in 1796; the many Union soldiers from Greene County who served in the Civil War, and Confederate Gen. John Hunt Morgan.
Near Courthouse Square is the tour’s next stop, the MANSION HOUSE. This house was the site of an 1835 reception for Andrew Jackson. It was also originally the home of John Dickson.
The current appearance of the home differs significantly from the original.
Once a two-story brick house with double chimneys, it now houses the business Adams & Plucker, CPA, and looks more like a typical storefront than the residential mansion it originally was.
Farther down South Main Street is the SEVIER-LOWRY HOUSE, Greeneville’s oldest standing structure and the second Valentine Sevier house on the tour route. Though covered with clapboards for more than a century, the core of this 1790s structure is actually constructed of logs. The mantel in the drawing room comes from the law office of Gen. Thomas D. Arnold, an attorney and congressman who lived in Greeneville from about 1830 until his death in 1870.
Next door to the Sevier-Lowry house is GREENWOOD, a two-story brick house that was begun in 1810 and expanded in the late 1840s. It was occupied by the McDowell family until the Civil War, then became the residence of William R. Brown.
Across South Main Street from Greenwood is the ANDREW JOHNSON HOMESTEAD — preserved by the U.S. government as part of the Andrew Johnson National Historic Site.
Johnson purchased his first Greeneville home, the brick house near his tailor shop, from Mordecai Lincoln, a second cousin to Abraham Lincoln, and also the man who performed the marriage ceremony of Johnson and Eliza McCardle.
A legal snag kept the title to the house from going through to Johnson for about 20 years.
When Johnson finally received the title, he traded the house along with $950 for the home that most people today associate with him — the Johnson Homestead. During the most momentous years of his public life, this was Johnson’s Tennessee residence.
Open to the public, this house provides a glimpse into the home life of Johnson and his family, and of domestic life generally in the mid-1800s.
On most days, guided tours may be scheduled hourly. Tour arrangements are made at the Andrew Johnson Visitor Center located on College Street at the corner of East Depot Street.
The next stop on the tour is the
GREENEVILLE-GREENE COUNTY
HISTORY MUSEUM, on West McKee Street at South Main Street. Reflecting more than 200 years of history, this museum contains artifacts from throughout Greene County illustrating various aspects of life here over the centuries.
Local Heritage Organizations
A number of organizations focus on preserving the rich historical heritage of the community. They include:
Andrew Johnson Heritage Association Contact: George Collins, President 525-0240
Blue Springs Historical Association Contact: Wilhemina Williams, President 257-4253
Dickson-Williams Historical Association Contact: Sarah Webster, Chairman 552-0426
Greene County Genealogical Society Contact: 638-5034 or 638-9866 (T. Elmer Cox Library)
Greene County Heritage Trust Contact: George Scott, President 502-0368
Greeneville-Greene County History Museum Contact: Betty Fletcher, Operations Director 636-1558; (W) www.greenevillegreenecountyhistorymseum.com
Overmountain Victory Trail Association Contact: Steve Ricker, Director of Interpretation 278-0439; www.ovta.org
Sons of Confederate Veterans, John Hunt Morgan Camp 2053 Contact: Todd Pierce, Commander 367-3722
Daughters of the American Revolution, Nolachuckey Chapter Contact: nolachuckey@tndar.org
Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, President Andrew Johnson Camp 70 Contact: Tim Massey 620-3813; horses319@comcast.net; www.suvcw.org
