Eureka Inn - Jonesborough, TN

Located in Tennessee's oldect City, this building has quite a history.

In 1797, the Mitchell family built a home here with wood joists, stone foundation and four fireplaces. In 1851, William Maxwell added a two story addition, a parlor on the ground floor and a large second floor room that held sequestered juries. In 1869, Laura Gosnel bought the house to use it as a boarding house.

In 1910, Peter Miller bought the house and added on to make it a hotel. The most prominent addition was the full length second story porch. His additions were so seamless that it made the entire building look like it was all built at once. This was the beginning of the Eureka Hotel.

In 1910, JR Russell bought the hotel and added even more, such as running water and the three third floor windows. Now, it was known as Hotel Russell.

In 1922, H.M. Gresham was the next owner to rename it after himself. The Gresham Hotel operated for 40 years, but to offset decline hotel occupancy ran the property as a restaurant, grocery store and taxi business on the ground floor. The next four decades saw the building gradually fall into disrepair until it was purchased by local investors in 1997 and spent three years and $3 Million restoring the Eureka to it's previous glory. The Inn is on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Jonesborough Historic District