Cheekwood

Nashville's Cheekwood Mansion was constructed in 1929 for Leslie Cheek and his family. Cheek's father Christopher had come to Nashville in the 1880s and founded a wholesale grocery business. Leslie Cheek, along with his father, and cousin, developed a blend of coffee that was sold and marketed through Nashville's Maxwell House Hotel. In 1928 the coffee brand was sold to General Foods for $40 million. The coffee now exists as the Maxwell House Coffee brand. Leslie Cheek took his share of the $40 million and purchased 100 acres of land in western Nashville. He hired famous New York structural and landscape architect, Bryant Fleming, to construct a mansion and gardens. Cheek gave Fleming full control over the design of the mansion, gardens, and what types of plants and furnishings would make up the two entities. By the time Fleming had finished, in 1932, a 30,000 square foot Georgian style mansion had been constructed. The mansion was constructed primarily of limestone and was designed to match ones found in the English countryside. Just two years after moving into the mansion, Leslie Cheek died. His wife and daughter continued to live at Cheekwood until the late 1950s. Cheek's daughter and her husband then decided to give the mansion and gardens to the Exchange Club of Nashville, and the Horticultural Society of Middle Tennessee. In 1959, the Cheek's allowed pieces of artwork from the defunct Nashville Museum of Art to be put on display inside the mansion. To date the collection is made up of 600 painting and 5,000 prints. Following a 2017 renovation, it was discovered that unique wood and marble floors had been covered with carpet. These unique architectural features were left exposed. The gardens still remain much the same as the Cheek's designed them, with a total of 55 acres. In 2000 Cheekwood was nominated and listed in the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion C for its architectural significance. Today Cheekwood serves as a historic house museum, art gallery, and botanical garden.

  At Moore Historical Consulting my #1 priority is historic preservation. Do you own a historic home, commercial building, or farm? If so contact me today to learn more about the historic preservation strategies I offer. These include nominations to the National Register of Historic Places, nominations for a Permanent Conservation Easement, nominations to the Century Farms program, and writing text for historic makers. At Moore Historical Consulting I make exploring and preserving your past fun and easy.