Drouillard House
Drouillard House | |
Italianate | |
NRHP reference No. | 77001267[1] |
---|---|
Added to NRHP | December 27, 1977 |
The Drouillard House is a historic house at Cumberland Furnace, Tennessee. Built in 1868–1870 in the vicinity of Cumberland Furnace, the three-story house was a summer residence for Nashville socialite Mary Florence Kirkman and her husband Captain James Pierre Drouillard. It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since December 27, 1977. It is also part of the Cumberland Furnace Historic District.
History
When established in 1795 by Gen. James Robertson, Cumberland Iron Works was the first furnace in Middle Tennessee.
Van Leer and partners operated the iron works for the next four decades, up until the beginning of the American Civil War. He shut down the iron works and moved to Nashville. Most of his relatives stayed in Pennsylvania. He offered his home as a Union headquarters.[8]
For a few years, the Cumberland Furnace was managed by Van Leer's son-in-low, Hugh Kirkman,[8] husband of his daughter, Eleanora C. VanLeer.[9] After the death of Anthony Van Leer on July 9, 1863, the furnace and the surrounding area, and 85 enslaved African Americans, were inherited by his grandchildren, Mary Florence Kirkman and her brother VanLeer Kirkman. After the war, all former slaves were kept on payroll.
Florence Kirkman married Union Army Captain James Pierre Drouillard in 1864, which was considered scandalous in Nashville, as Tennessee had been occupied by Union troops since 1862.[9] None of her friends or family attended the wedding.[9]
Captain Drouillard reopened the furnace after the war, and operated it until it was sold in 1889 to the Southern Iron Company.[10] He and Florence lived in the town, building a large house for their use as a country retreat.
Mary Florence Drouillard had their house designed after one she had seen in Newport, Rhode Island, a resort town for East Coast elite where she spent summers as a young woman while at school in New York.[9] The Drouillard House was built in 1870. The Drouillard couple hosted lavish summer parties for guests from Nashville and New Orleans until 1886. At that time, they returned to Nashville.[9] During the period when they lived at Cumberland Furnace, the Drouillards donated money to build a church for the community and a parish school to serve both white and black children. The St. James Episcopal Church is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[9]
Architecture
Completed in 1870, the
References
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- ^ ISBN 9780870498817.
- ISBN 9780788443879.
- ^ https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/33e0ccbd-9d73-4fe4-99de-1e6214e81ae1
- ^ "Historical Sites, Mortonson-Schorn Log Cabin". Gloucester County, New Jersey. Archived from the original on 2020-02-24. Retrieved 2020-02-24.
- ^ Lepley, Kristin. "The Charming Small Town In New Jersey That Is Home To One Of The State's Oldest Log Cabins And Churches". MSN.
- ^ "Historical Documents at Tennessee State Archives". www.vanleerarchives.org. Van Leer Archives. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
- ^ a b "Anthony Van Leer". Retrieved November 8, 2018.
- ^ Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture. Retrieved 2015-07-28.
- ^ a b Gail Hammerquist (March 1977). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory, Nomination Form: Drouillard House" (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved 2015-07-28. Five photos (1977)