A Labor of Love

What you are about to read is the complete "narrative statement of significance" from the National Register of Historic Places Nomination on the Sparta, Tennessee Historic Residential District Boundary Expansion. The boundary of this historic district was officially expanded to include the house that is pictured above by the United States Department of the Interior on May 8, 2019. This home becomes the thirty-second contributing resource within the district.

The history of White County, Tennessee can be traced back to the year 1806. The county was formed out of present day Warren County, Tennessee. The area was popular to settlers due to its location along waterways such as the Caney Fork and Calfkiller Rivers. The town of Sparta was commissioned in 1810. The name comes from the Greek town bearing the same name. Sparta became home to various places of commerce, churches, and elaborate homes. This Gable Front and Wing style home was constructed ca. 1870 just north of Sparta’s courthouse square and commercial district. Members of the Dibrell Family owned and lived at the house until it was sold in 1904 to J.H. Eagle. A photograph taken of the house after the sale referred to the house as the “Eagle’s Nest”. In 1942 Eagle’s heirs sold the property to Rebecca Turner Jenkins. She and later her son, William Warren Jenkins, owned it until 2001 when James C. Rascoe purchased the property. The current owners purchased the property in 2014.

About the same time as the house’s construction in 1870, other homes were constructed nearby, creating one of Sparta’s first residential neighborhoods. The buildings represented a wide variety of late nineteenth and early twentieth century styles and house forms, including Queen Anne, Italianate, Colonial Revival, Craftsman Bungalow, American Four Square, Central Hall Plan, Gable Front and Wing, Minimal Traditional, and others. In 1991 this area, known as the Sparta Residential Historic District, was listed in the National Register of Historic Places for local architectural significance. According to the original district National Register nomination, “the architecture of this district reflects the stages of economic development and population growth of Sparta during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This economic development and population increase resulted from the continuing growth and variety of industrial, commercial, and service related opportunities that were emerging during this time period.” For unknown reasons, this house was left out of the original boundaries.

This house is an excellent example of an 1870 Gable Front and Wing home with Folk Victorian details. According to Virginia Savage McAlester’s A Field Guide to American Houses, the Folk Victorian style first gained popularity about 1870. Decorative details such as jigsaw cut trim and brackets were frequently applied to post-Civil War house forms, such as the Gable Front and Wing. The house retains its characteristic Gable Front and Wing form and incorporates details reminiscent of the Folk Victorian style. These details include a prominent decorative wood belt course between the first and second levels, pilasters on the second level, and decoratively cut brackets in the cornice. Windows feature entablatures and patera details. A prominent second-level window on the west elevation features cut trim and ornate brackets.

The residence is one of the few examples of the Gable Front and Wing form and Folk Victorian architectural style within the district. Constructed in 1870, it is also one of the earliest examples of the Gable Front and Wing and Folk Victorian architectural styles in the area as the form and style was only beginning to be popular. As the original nomination stated, “The earliest period of residential development dates to the Victorian era of 1870 to 1890 when Sparta was largely a sleepy little rural county seat, attempting to recover from the Civil War years and developing new economic structures to meet the demand for a "New South" during the reconstruction period.” The Sparta Residential Historic District’s original Period of Significance was c.1876-1941. The Period of Significance should be expanded to 1870-1941 to more accurately reflect the historical and architectural development of the district. This house contributes to the local architectural significance of the district and therefore justifies expanding the boundaries of the National Register listed Sparta Residential Historic District.

Following the death of William Warren Jenkins in 2001, this home sat empty for the next thirteen years. When the current owners purchased the property, it appeared as it does in the above photograph. It truly took a "labor of love" for this restoration to be carried out. I will never forget being shown these before pictures of the home, and then walking through and around the home for the first time. To say I was both speechless, surprised, and happy would be an understatement. I am so thankful for these folks and am thankful to call them both clients and friends. This home has shown me that no matter how "run down" a building is, with the right mindset, it can still be saved.

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.