7 Tennessee sites nominated for National Register of Historic Places

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — A barn with the words “See Rock City” painted on its roof and the home of a former U.S. senator are among some of the spots across Tennessee that could soon be listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

The State Review Board is expected to meet on Friday, Sept. 20 to examine Tennessee’s proposed nominations to the federal government’s official list of sites, buildings, structures, districts, and objects deemed worthy of preservation.

Beginning at 9 a.m., the public is invited to attend next Friday’s meeting at the Tennessee Historical Commission, located at 2941 Lebanon Pike in Nashville. Individuals will also be able to attend the meeting virtually. For more information on the meeting, click here.

This year, the Board will vote on seven nominations from across the state. The nominations that are found to meet the criteria will be sent for final approval to the National Register of Historic Places at the U.S. Department of the Interior.

Below is a list of the seven sites that could be added.

Rosenwald Recreation and Community Center

The Rosenwald Recreation and Community Center was originally constructed in 1946 and expanded and renovated in 1965 and 1973. Set within a historically Black neighborhood in Shelbyville, officials said its creation was the result of a “long struggle” to erect quality schools for children in the area.

In addition to early education for children, the center provided tutoring, art classes, and even served as a spot for food distributions, family festivals, outdoor sports and band practice. There was also a playground with a variety of equipment.

Numerous Shelbyville residents that were interviewed by the Tennessee Historical Commission fondly remembered the impact the community center had on their lives, particularly those that attended the center’s programs as children.

“See Rock City” Signs in Tennessee

These signs began springing up along roads in 1937, compelling drivers to a spot near Chattanooga, where they could “See Rock City.” The roadside advertisement campaign, led by Frieda and Garnet Carter, the owners of Rock City Gardens, came at a time when transportation systems in America were expanding.

The Carters employed young painter Clark Byers to innovatively paint signs on barns along roads advertising their destination. Byers’ first sign was near Kimball, Tennessee along the Dixie Highway, which was chosen because it had become a major tourist route from Chicago to Florida.

Over the next few decades, Byers painted hundreds of barns with Rock City advertisements. The most common phrase was “See Rock City,” often paired with “See 7 States,” “Beautiful Beyond Belief,” or the “World’s 8th Wonder.” By 1956, Byers had painted more than 800 signs throughout the country.

“See Rock City” Barn”

The “See Rock City” Barn on the west side of Tennessee State Highway 68 is one of few remaining barns that were historically painted with the advertisement. Motorists can still see the lettering on the barn’s roof, which is periodically repainted, as they drive down the hill.

The message which states, “See 7 States from Rock City World’s 8th Wonder Chatt. Tenn,” was originally painted in the Spring of 1953. The exact construction date of the barn is unknown, but its design is typical of center aisle barns built throughout Tennessee in the 19th and 20th centuries.

The Rock City Gardens’ advertising campaign was a multistate effort to draw motorists to visit Rock City in Lookout Mountain, Georgia. While there were once hundreds of signs, the vast majority were removed or destroyed over the last several decades, leaving only a fraction remaining.

Southern Bell Telephone and Telegraph Building

Built in 1929, the Southern Bell Telephone and Telegraph Building facilitated the growth and expansion of the communication industry in Morristown and Hamblen County. The property housed communication equipment, offices for workers, and customer service facilities.

Those services provided Morristown and the surrounding region access to new technology, fueling economic growth. Eventually the property’s use as a communications facility came to a close in 1958 after the installation of a new dial telephone system in another building.

It then served as a library for a number of years before falling out of use. While Morristown has experienced further growth and development, much of the area surrounding the Southern Bell Telephone and Telegraph Building has remained as it was in the building’s heyday.

Mossy Creek Presbyterian Church

The Mossy Creek Presbyterian Church, constructed in 1871 and located at 721 Church Street in Jefferson City, is historically significant for embodying modest characteristics of the Gothic Revival style prevalent among religious facility construction in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The original portion of the building features a two-story bell tower, multiple small decorative brick turrets, tall arched windows, and more. In 1949, a rear addition was constructed using bricks salvaged from a 19th century residence that was demolished in the 1940s.

According to the Tennessee Historical Commission, the use of the salvaged bricks highlights World War II-era conservation practices as well as a commitment to maintaining the church building’s historic aesthetic.

R.C. Kefauver House

The R.C. Kefauver House was built by James Smith around 1830 on 200 Main Street in Madisonville. The 3,500 square-foot house is associated with Senator Estes Kefauver and was owned by the Kefauver family for 98 years.

Kefauver, who twice sought the Democratic nomination for president, served in the U.S. Senate from 1949 until his death in 1963. Today, the R.C. Kefauver House remains an “outstanding example of Federal style houses,” according to the Tennessee Historical Commission.

Some of the key features include the home’s double-hung windows, exterior end chimneys, two-story front porch, rectangular shape, and minimal ornamentation.

First National Bank Operations Center

Designed by renowned Memphis architect Francis Mah in 1971, the First National Bank Operations Center is an example of Brutalist architecture and its associated ideals. Now vacant, officials said it is one part of a small inventory of Brutalist buildings in Memphis’s downtown area.

“The building’s strong composition and fortress-like qualities are highly characteristic of this style of architecture, making it a prominent local example of architectural ideas being expressed across the globe at this time,” the building’s registration form states.

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