Link back to Home.
Home  |   Air  |   Water  |   Land  |   Permits  |   Online Services   |   Contact Us  |  State Parks

Main content begins below.

For immediate release May 6, 2008

SEVEN TENNESSEE SITES ADDED TO THE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES

Nashville, Tenn. – The Tennessee Historical Commission has announced seven Tennessee sites have been added to the National Register of Historic Places.  The National Register of Historic Places is the nation’s official list of cultural resources worthy of preservation.  It is part of a nationwide program that coordinates and supports efforts to identify, evaluate and protect historic resources.  The Tennessee Historical Commission administers the program in Tennessee.

Sites recently added to the National Register of Historic Places include:

  • Bell Witch Cave – Many people know the Bell Witch legend, but few realize that the cave is an important example of recreation and tourism in the state. Located about one-half mile from Adams (Robertson County), the cave became a popular spot for tourists or thrill seekers as early as 1817. Tennessee has thousands of caves, but none of them compares to the Bell Witch Cave for having an enduring legend. Early in its history, the story remained regional in interest, but the legend has extended much further over the years. Now, approximately 17,000 visitors come to the cave each year.

  • Carolina, Clinchfield & Ohio Railroad Station and Depot – The brick building was erected in 1908 in two sections – a one-story freight depot and a two-story passenger station. Situated between commercial and warehouse districts in Johnson City (Washington County), the building is a good example of 20th-century railroad design. The decorative brickwork, arched openings, wainscoting and other wood trim are important architectural features of the building. In the area of transportation, the depot is the only remaining intact train station/depot still standing in a city that was developed largely due to the railroad. The building served passengers until 1955 and was used as railroad offices until the 1970s. A private owner is now rehabilitating it.

  • Cleveland to Charleston Concrete Highway – The one-mile section of the road, between Market and Water streets in Charleston (Bradley County), is the longest unchanged portion of the Lee Highway in the county. Finished in 1927, the concrete road was part of a 21-mile road in southeast Tennessee, which was part of the longer Lee Highway. Prior to the establishment of state transportation departments, local civic groups – or “Good Roads” associations – promoted early 20th-century road building. The Cleveland to Charleston Concrete Highway is an example of private and public groups working to build a road in this part of the state. While some groups focused on roads for farm-to-market use and others focused on roads for tourism, all worked together toward the goal of improving the region’s economy.

  • Cleveland Southern Railway Depot – Built circa 1911, the Cleveland Southern Railway Depot in Cleveland (Bradley County) is a noteworthy representation of the important role railroads played in the community. As in many Tennessee communities, the depot was the center of industrial and commercial development. Until 1970, the Cleveland Southern Railway Depot continued to be used for passengers, and freight was handled here until 2004. For most of its life, the depot was the primary way to get goods and people in and out of Cleveland. With few exterior changes to the brick building, its interior has been modified over the years. The Southeast Tennessee Human Resources Agency purchased the depot and plans to return the building to its original transportation use by converting it to a bus transit station.

  • McNabb Mines – Known informally as “Shake Rag,” the McNabb Mines are located in Prentice Cooper State Forest (Marion County). The site has the remains of worker housing, roads, railroad beds, industrial buildings and mine entries. In the late 19th century, this was a company town whose industry was bituminous coal mining. The surrounding forest was once used for timber, but today the forest is encroaching on the ruins of the mine operations.  The McNabb Coal and Coke Company purchased the property in the 1880s, and operations continued here until the 1910s.  The site represents post-Civil War industrial development in the South.  The remains are important to the social, engineering and industrial history of the Cumberland Plateau. The nomination was prepared with a matching federal grant received through the Tennessee Historical Commission.

  • Thomas Woodard Jr. Farm – The circa 1838 brick house is the center of the Thomas Woodard Jr. Farm. Located near Cedar Hill (Robertson County), the farm also includes turn-of-the-century barns, a family cemetery and a cave. The property is notable for its architectural importance and its history of agriculture and settlement patterns. Robertson County is well known for tobacco farms and whiskey distilleries, and this farm produced both products. The Thomas Woodard Jr. house, along with the contributing outbuildings and rural farm landscape, is representative of a typical agricultural economy of the county. The property illustrates the evolution of a farm in Robertson County during the late 19th century and early 20th century.

  • West End Church of Christ Silver Point – As an advocate of African-American education, the Rev. George Phillip Bowser began the West End Church of Christ in the community of Silver Point in 1909. Located approximately 13 miles from Cookeville (Putnam County), the church building was erected in 1915 and was used as both a school and church for the rural African-American community.  P.H. Black designed the one-story brick building, and it serves as an important representation of the early 20th-century ideals of the African-American community.  According to the nomination, “from its inception, the church and former school have provided a place of identity and congregation for the African-American community of Silver Point and western Putnam County, a community that was isolated by geography and culture.”

For more information about the National Register of Historic Places or the Tennessee Historical Commission, please visit the Web site at www.tn.gov/environment/hist.

For more information contact:

Meg Lockhart
Office (615) 253-1916

  Return to