Rippavilla Plantation, also known as Meadowbrook and Nathaniel Cheairs House,[2] is a former plantation, historic house and museum, located in Spring Hill, Tennessee. This plantation had been worked by enslaved Black people for many years.[2] It is open to visitors as a historic house museum.[3]
Rippavilla | |
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| Location | Spring Hill, Tennessee |
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| Coordinates | 35°43′54″N 86°57′14″W / 35.73167°N 86.95389°W |
| Built | 1852 |
| Architect | F. Stratton |
| Architectural style | Greek Revival, Colonial Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 96000773 [1] |
| Added to NRHP | July 19, 1996 |
It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 19, 1996, for its architectural significance.[2]
History edit
The Cheairs family were part of a 1810 land grant awarded by President James Madison.[2] Initially the property included a 1500-acre farm.[2] Nathaniel Frances Cheairs IV (1818–1914) resided on the property along with his wife, Susan Peters Cheairs (née McKissack; 1821–1893) until her death. Around 1860, the Cheairs family owned at least 40 enslaved black people.[2] Nathaniel Frances Cheairs IV served in the Confederate Army, however the Rippavilla Plantation sustained minimal damage during the American Civil War.[2]
The plantation house was built in several phases but was extensively remodeled between 1928 and 1932.[2] Its architectural style was antebellum Greek Revival, however modifications to the house were done in a 20th-century Colonial Revival style.[2]
His son, William McKissack Cheairs took ownership of the home until he sold it in 1920 to John G. Whitfield, a coal tycoon from Alabama.[2]
References edit
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Tennessee Historical Commission (June 10, 1996). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Rippavilla". National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. Retrieved June 21, 2021. (with 39 accompanying photos)
- ^ Littman, Margaret (19 March 2013). Moon Tennessee. Avalon Travel. p. 231. ISBN 978-1-61238-150-3.
External links edit
- [1] - official site
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