Six houses – all over 100 years old -will be on the Rogersville Heritage Association’s annual Christmas Tour of Homes from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, December 10 in historic downtown Rogersville, Tennessee.
Sponsored by the Heritage Association, the tour will include four Victorian houses and two mid-1800s Federal style houses.
Tickets are $20 each and may be purchased the night of the tour at the Kenner House which adjoins the H. B. Stamps Library at 415 E. Main St.
Prior to the tour, tickets are on sale at the Heritage Association office in the Depot, at the Chamber of Commerce office in US Bank building, Mountain Star Mall, Beal Pottery or the Window Box on East Main St.
The Kenner House was built in 1835 by W. B. Mitchell, son of an early landholder, on land that was a land grant from the State of North Carolina to Thomas Amis.
After the property was sold to the Rogersville –Hawkins County Library Board, extensive renovation was done to the house by TVA and it houses a number of county offices.
The house features plaster medallions and egg and dart molding in a number of rooms, a winding cherry staircase and “Dutch” doors in the former dining room which could open onto what was once a terrace.
Across the street at 324 E. Main St. is a brick Federal-style dwelling which is owned by Dale and Becky Keith. Known as “the Simpson House,” it was built in 1848 by Archibald Carmichael, a doctor who came to Rogersville to invest in the marble industry. The Bart Simpson family owned the property for over 100 years and their heirs sold it following the death of Louise Simpson Hooper in 1996.
Mrs. Keith’s Christmas ornament collection and Christmas village will be on display.
The “Victorians” include the house owned by Brian and Laura Hartness at 318 E. McKinney Avenue. Built by E. M. Spears in 1891, this house was owned by the Clarence Richardson family who lived there for 55 years. The present owners have made extensive additions to the two-story house during the past two years.
Another Victorian is the John and Rosalyn Gray home at 300 E. Broadway which was built by William G. Nice in 1882 on a lot which was part of the John A. McKinney lands. Nice was in the hardware business and was once a partner of the late A. B. Rogan whose Rogan Hardware was known throughout East Tennessee. Hugh and Elsie Moles bought the house in 1946 and moved a log cabin onto the grounds. After their death, the house was sold to the present owners.
Down Broadway at the corner of Rogers St. is the Tim Mann house which is known locally as “the Arthur Hale house.” This lot was once part of the Joseph Rogers land and was built by John A. McKinney in 1859 – 60 and rented to his friend Crawford W. Hall who practiced law in Rogersville.
Kate L. Armstrong Hale bought the property in 1887 and her son, Arthur, later bought out other heirs and lived in the house until his death in 1992. The Manns acquired the property in 1997.
On Clifton St. in the eastern end of Rogersville is another stately Victorian known as “the Clifton House.” Ann and Brice Howe are the present owners of the two-story dwelling with wrap-around porch. The house was built in 1898-99 by Ervin S. Clifton, a Rogersville jeweler.
Two generations of the family lived in the house until 1972 when Alice Clifton Farris sold the property to John Lineback. Dr. Alan Cole later bought the house from the Linebacks and did extensive renovations. In 1986, the house was bought by John and Shirley Warner who lived there until 2001 when the Howes bought it. The house features oak stairways, mantles and woodwork.
The tour will conclude back at the Kenner House where refreshments will be served by Connie Reimann, chairman of the tour, and the Rogersville Heritage Association.
Rogersville is in northeast Tennessee between Knoxville and the Tri-Cities.