Marble Springs facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Marble Springs
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| Location | S of Knoxville on Neubert Springs Rd. |
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| Nearest city | Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Built | 1790s - early 1800s |
| NRHP reference No. | 71000823 |
| Added to NRHP | May 6, 1971 |
Marble Springs is a special historical place in Knox County, Tennessee. It's also known as the Gov. John Sevier Home. This site was once the home of John Sevier (1745–1815). He was a brave commander in the American Revolutionary War. Later, he became the very first governor of Tennessee! Sevier lived here from 1790 until he passed away in 1815.
For a long time, people thought a cabin at the site was Sevier's original home. But new scientific tests show the cabin was built much later, in the 1830s. This was after Sevier had already died. Today, Marble Springs has several old buildings. Some were moved from other parts of East Tennessee. Others were rebuilt to show what a typical pioneer farm looked like in Sevier's time. The site covers about 35.4-acre (0.143 km2). It also has a pavilion and an outdoor stage for events. The Governor John Sevier Memorial Association helps manage this important historical site.
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Where is Marble Springs Located?
Marble Springs sits in a quiet valley. To the north is a low hill called Brown Mountain. To the south are hills that are part of Bays Mountain. These mountains are part of the Appalachian Ridge-and-Valley area. A stream called Stock Creek flows nearby. It eventually joins the Tennessee River about 10 miles (16 km) to the west.
The site is right off Tennessee State Route 168. This road is also called Governor John Sevier Highway. It connects to other main roads like U.S. Route 129 and U.S. Route 441. Marble Springs is completely inside Knox County. However, the lines for Blount County and Sevier County are not far away.
The Story of Marble Springs
John Sevier came to Tennessee in the early 1770s. He was originally from Virginia. He quickly became known as a skilled leader of frontier soldiers. He helped the American side win battles like King's Mountain in 1780. He also defeated the Cherokee at the Battle of Boyd's Creek that same year.
Sevier was the only governor of the short-lived State of Franklin. This was a new state that existed from 1785 to 1788. Later, he served as the governor of Tennessee for six terms. He was governor from 1796 to 1801, and again from 1803 to 1809. After that, Sevier was a state senator and then a U.S. Congressman until he died.
Sevier officially owned the Marble Springs land in 1796. But he was living there as early as 1790. The site was close enough to Knoxville, which was the capital of the Southwest Territory at the time. He named the property "Marble Springs" because of springs that flowed all year round. His farm had buildings like a springhouse, a corn crib, a smokehouse, and other cabins.
After John Sevier died, his children sold Marble Springs in 1818. It was bought by a lawyer named James Dardis. Dardis rented the property to the family of George Kirby. Kirby lived at Marble Springs in 1840. He later bought the property from the Dardis family in 1847. In 1941, the state of Tennessee bought Marble Springs. They wanted to fix it up and make it a historical site. The Tennessee Historical Commission helped with this restoration.
How We Know the Cabin's Age: Dendrochronology
In 2007, scientists from the University of Tennessee studied the logs in the "Sevier" cabin. They also looked at logs in another building called the Walker cabin. They used a method called dendrochronology. This is a way to find out the age of wood by looking at its tree rings.
The researchers found that the oldest logs in the "Sevier" cabin were cut around 1835. This means the cabin was built well after John Sevier passed away. It's likely that George Kirby, who lived there as a renter, built the cabin. The dendrochronology tests also confirmed the age of the Walker cabin.
Buildings at Marble Springs
Besides the "Sevier" cabin, other old buildings have been added to Marble Springs. These buildings help visitors imagine what life was like on a farm in the 1700s. In John Sevier's time, his large farm would have had many barns, smokehouses, and other buildings.
- The John Sevier Cabin: This cabin was built around 1835. It is the only building that was originally on this exact spot. It has a "dog-trot" kitchen. This was a common design for pioneer cabins in the area. The cabin now displays several items donated by the Sevier family.
- The Walker Cabin: This building was built around 1828. It was moved here from another farm in Knox County. At Marble Springs, the Walker cabin shows what a frontier tavern might have looked like. Its age was confirmed by the tree-ring dating (dendrochronology) in 2007.
- The McCall Smokehouse: This building was built around 1850. It was given to Marble Springs by the McCall family. Their farm was located a few miles south of Marble Springs.
- The Loom House: This building was constructed in 1970. It was made using logs from an old building on the McCall farm. Inside, you can see looms and wheels used for spinning wool and flax.
Other buildings at the site include a springhouse, a corn crib, and various work areas.
