For Nashville preservationists, there may not be a subject in recent memory as sore the demise of Evergreen Place.
Originally, the property belonged to Thomas Craighead, a minister who founded Davidson Academy. Here, he build a log cabin which was eventually expanded to become a wood frame and brick Tennessee vernacular farmhouse. The property was sold a couple of times before the Civil War, but then it was inhabited by the same family for 125 years.
When I was born, Evergreen Place was the oldest home in Nashville. In 1980, the widow of country music singer Jim Reeves purchased the property and operated a museum in him honor. The home was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
After the museum closed, the home remained vacant for 15 years. All the while, people clamored for somebody to buy it and fix it up. That never happened.
Instead, a developer bought the property because it was at a prime location along Gallatin Pike (US31E). Knowing the old home was about to be turned into retail space, preservationists complained that people can't just come in and tear down history. The developers countered that nobody had stepped in for over a decade, so they might as well turn the area into something useful. The preservationists sued to prevent the tear-down, but the developers got tired of waiting and they tore it down anyway.
Today, the location is a prominent home improvement store, albeit one that a few bitter locals will never visit. Behind a new bank, two log buildings remain and one is labelled as a carriage house. To keep people out, the new owners have put a chain-link fence around the pair - because it would be bad if someone damaged a piece of history! Apparently, it's too much trouble to take care of the tall grass here. Before you know it, someone is going to call this an eyesore and there will be plans to turn this space into a hot dog stand.
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