Mabry-Hazen House, Knoxville
Encyclopedia
The Mabry-Hazen House is an historic home located on a 5 acres (2 ha) site at 1711 Dandridge Avenue in Knoxville, Tennessee
. Also known as the Evelyn Hazen House or the Joseph Alexander Mabry, Jr. House, when constructed in 1858 for Joseph Alexander Mabry, Jr. it was named Pine Hill Cottage. The house was in what was then the separate town of East Knoxville. Stylistically, the house exhibits both Italianate and Greek Revival elements. Having operated as a museum since the death of Evelyn Hazen, it has the good fortune of containing its original furniture, as well as a collection of antique china and crystal. The present site consists of 8 acres (32,374.9 m²) on top of Mabry Hill. The house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
.
At the outset of the American Civil War
, Joseph Mabry, Jr., a wealthy Knoxville merchant and importer, outfitted an entire regiment of Confederate soldiers at an estimated personal cost of $100,000.00. He was given the honorary title of General in the Confederate army due to this philanthropic assistance. During the course of the war, both Union
and Confederate
forces occupied the strategic site adjacent to Fort Hill. Confederate General Felix Zollicoffer
set up his headquarters in the house in 1861, but it was Union forces who had the greatest impact when they fortified the grounds as part of their Knoxville defenses after later taking control of Mabry Hill.
After Mabry's death in 1882, his daughter Alice Evelyn Mabry and her husband Rush Strong Hazen resided in the house. Their daughter, Evelyn Hazen, a granddaughter of the builder, later occupied the house alone (except for many pet dogs and cats) for many years before her death in 1987. Her will
stipulated that the house had either to become a museum or be razed to the ground. The house opened as a museum in 1992.
also contains a 48 feet (14.6 m) high monument, consisting of a granite
base topped by a Confederate soldier facing north. The cemetery property includes a white frame house, built in 1886, known as the Winstead Mansion.
, Mark Twain
wrote about the gunfight that killed the home's builder Joseph Mabry, Jr., and his son, Joseph III. Mabry's daughter married Rush Hazen, a benefactor to Leonora Whitaker Wood, whose life was fictionalized in the novel, Christy
. More recently, Jane Van Ryan wrote The Seduction of Miss Evelyn Hazen, a book chronicling the sensational lawsuit
between Knoxville socialite Evelyn Hazen, granddaughter of General Mabry, and Ralph Scharringhaus, to whom she was once engaged.
Knoxville, Tennessee
Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...
. Also known as the Evelyn Hazen House or the Joseph Alexander Mabry, Jr. House, when constructed in 1858 for Joseph Alexander Mabry, Jr. it was named Pine Hill Cottage. The house was in what was then the separate town of East Knoxville. Stylistically, the house exhibits both Italianate and Greek Revival elements. Having operated as a museum since the death of Evelyn Hazen, it has the good fortune of containing its original furniture, as well as a collection of antique china and crystal. The present site consists of 8 acres (32,374.9 m²) on top of Mabry Hill. The house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
.
At the outset of the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, Joseph Mabry, Jr., a wealthy Knoxville merchant and importer, outfitted an entire regiment of Confederate soldiers at an estimated personal cost of $100,000.00. He was given the honorary title of General in the Confederate army due to this philanthropic assistance. During the course of the war, both Union
Union (American Civil War)
During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by 11 southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the...
and Confederate
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
forces occupied the strategic site adjacent to Fort Hill. Confederate General Felix Zollicoffer
Felix Zollicoffer
Felix Kirk Zollicoffer was a newspaperman, three-term United States Congressman from Tennessee, officer in the United States Army, and a Confederate brigadier general during the American Civil War...
set up his headquarters in the house in 1861, but it was Union forces who had the greatest impact when they fortified the grounds as part of their Knoxville defenses after later taking control of Mabry Hill.
After Mabry's death in 1882, his daughter Alice Evelyn Mabry and her husband Rush Strong Hazen resided in the house. Their daughter, Evelyn Hazen, a granddaughter of the builder, later occupied the house alone (except for many pet dogs and cats) for many years before her death in 1987. Her will
Will (law)
A will or testament is a legal declaration by which a person, the testator, names one or more persons to manage his/her estate and provides for the transfer of his/her property at death...
stipulated that the house had either to become a museum or be razed to the ground. The house opened as a museum in 1992.
Cemetery
Knoxville's Confederate National Cemetery, also known as Bethel Cemetery, located at 1917 Bethel Avenue, occupies about 4 acres (1.6 ha) near the house. It contains the graves of approximately 1,600 Confederate soldiers, 50-60 Union men (prisoners) and 20 veterans. The cemeteryCemetery
A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. The term "cemetery" implies that the land is specifically designated as a burying ground. Cemeteries in the Western world are where the final ceremonies of death are observed...
also contains a 48 feet (14.6 m) high monument, consisting of a granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
base topped by a Confederate soldier facing north. The cemetery property includes a white frame house, built in 1886, known as the Winstead Mansion.
In literature
Three generations of the occupants of Mabry-Hazen House have been referenced in literary works. In Life on the MississippiLife on the Mississippi
Life on the Mississippi is a memoir by Mark Twain, of his days as a steamboat pilot on the Mississippi River before the American Civil War, and also a travel book, recounting his trip along the Mississippi many years after the War....
, Mark Twain
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...
wrote about the gunfight that killed the home's builder Joseph Mabry, Jr., and his son, Joseph III. Mabry's daughter married Rush Hazen, a benefactor to Leonora Whitaker Wood, whose life was fictionalized in the novel, Christy
Christy (novel)
Christy is a historical fiction novel by Christian author Catherine Marshall set in the fictional Appalachian village of Cutter Gap, Tennessee, in 1912. The novel was inspired by the story of the journey made by her own mother, Leonora Whitaker, to teach the impoverished children in the...
. More recently, Jane Van Ryan wrote The Seduction of Miss Evelyn Hazen, a book chronicling the sensational lawsuit
Lawsuit
A lawsuit or "suit in law" is a civil action brought in a court of law in which a plaintiff, a party who claims to have incurred loss as a result of a defendant's actions, demands a legal or equitable remedy. The defendant is required to respond to the plaintiff's complaint...
between Knoxville socialite Evelyn Hazen, granddaughter of General Mabry, and Ralph Scharringhaus, to whom she was once engaged.