Wheatlands (Sevierville, Tennessee)
Wheatlands | |
Location | NW of Sevierville on Old Knoxville Hwy. |
---|---|
Coordinates | 35°55′7″N 83°40′6″W / 35.91861°N 83.66833°W |
Built | 1825[2] |
NRHP reference No. | 75001785[1] |
Added to NRHP | July 7, 1975[1] |
Wheatlands is an
Wheatlands, named after its large annual wheat crop, was established as a family farm by Revolutionary War veteran Timothy Chandler in 1791. Chandler's son, John Chandler (1786–1875), inherited Wheatlands in 1819, and under his direction the plantation grew to become one of Sevier County's largest farms, covering 3,700 acres (1,500 ha) by 1850.[3] Chandler's freed slaves inherited part of Wheatlands in 1875, and formed the Chandler Gap community in the hills south of the plantation.[4]
Location
Wheatlands is located at the corner of State Highway 338 (Boyds Creek Highway, sometimes called Old Knoxville Highway) and Cedar Springs Valley Road in the
History
State Highway 338 roughly follows what was once a section of the 18th-century Native American trail known as the Great Indian Warpath. In 1780, John Sevier followed the path across the French Broad River to engage and defeat a Cherokee force at the Battle of Boyd's Creek, which took place at the future site of Wheatlands.[5] Early settlers also followed the trail into the Boyd's Creek area, among them Timothy Chandler, a Revolutionary War veteran from Virginia, who moved his family to Boyd's Creek in 1791.[2]
After Timothy Chandler died in 1819, his son, John Chandler, inherited the family's Boyd's Creek farm. The original Chandler farmhouse burned in 1823, and John Chandler built the present plantation house at the site to replace it.[2] By 1850, Wheatlands had become one of the largest farms in Sevier County, covering some 4,600 acres (1,900 ha) worth $7,000 (US$256,368 in present terms[6]), and included fifteen horses, ten mules, forty cattle, fifty sheep, and three hundred hogs. Chandler and fourteen slaves produced 3,000 bushels of corn, 400 bushels of oats, 200 bushels of sweet potatoes, 12 bushels of buckwheat, 10 tons of hay, 150 pounds of wool, 200 pounds of butter, and 200 gallons of honey. The plantation's distillery produced 6,000 gallons of whiskey, worth $4,500.(US$164,808 in present terms[6]).[3]
Wheatlands was used as Winter Quarters for the Union by Tenth Regiment Cavalry out of Michigan and the 8th division from Western Pennsylvania. They ran raids into Sevierville, Gatlinburg and Newport. They sent troops to the Brabson Plantation and took over their Ferry and occupied Bartley Chandler's home in Sevierville as a prison. Two cannons were sent to "Battle of Fair Garden" and shot over the Rose Glen Plantation.[citation needed]
When Southern slaves were emancipated during the American Civil War (1861–1865), Chandler started paying his freed slaves to remain at Wheatlands. Upon his death in 1875, Chandler left his former slaves a portion of land along the south side of Wheatlands known as Chandler Gap. The Chandler Gap community remained a predominantly African-American community well into the 20th century.
In 2011, three Pigeon Forge businessmen purchased Wheatlands, and announced plans to restore the house, and possibly re-establish a distillery on the property.[7]
Historical structures
Original structures at Wheatlands include the mansion house (rebuilt around 1825 after a fire), a
The interior of the house retains most of its original design elements, which include hand-planed railings and windows. The mantel designs were based on
A frame storage shed built sometime around 1825 still stands a few feet behind the house. The shed, which has beaded
See also
References
- ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
- ^ a b c d e f Robbie Jones, The Historic Architecture of Sevier County, Tennessee (Sevierville, Tenn.: Smoky Mountain Historical Society, 1997), pp. 203-204.
- ^ a b Jones, p. 24, 29.
- ^ Jones, p. 42.
- ^ David Templin, The Lesser Franklin. Retrieved: 2009-09-25.
- ^ a b 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
- ^ Joan Brock, "Developers Plan Renovation of Sevier's Historic Wheatlands," Knoxville News Sentinel, 27 July 2011. Retrieved: 28 July 2011.
- ^ Jones, p. 311.
External links
- John Chandler — entry at Smokykin.com