Tennessee's most endangered historic properties unveiled

The Tennessee Preservation Trust unveiled its 2016 list of most endangered historic properties across the state Wednesday.

The annual list chronicles buildings and historic sites throughout Tennessee that are in danger of demolition or are no longer structurally sound.

Members with the Tennessee Preservation Trust presented the list at the Hiram Masonic Hall in downtown Franklin during Wednesday's event. The Masonic Hall was included on the list in 2015 but is now moving toward "saved" status because structural repairs are underway. More than 50 people packed the main hall Wednesday to discuss the sites and their preservation possibilities.

Michael Birdwell, chairman for TPT, said placing the properties on the annual endangered list, also known as "Ten in Tenn.," helps bring attention and possible funding to preserve the sites.

"The purpose of 'Ten in Tenn.' is for citizens to recognize buildings that are important to them or in their community and bring them to our attentions," Birdwell said. "So then we try to set things in motion to try and preserve them."

But it doesn't always work out, Birdwell said. For example, a mill in Johnson City that was placed on the list in 2015 burned down and was destroyed about a month ago.

Rachel Finch, another board member for TPT at Wednesday's event, said that while the list certainly helps in the preservation process, it's not the final step.

"Being on the list is valuable and it takes a place of prominence," Finch said. "But it's also incumbent upon that site to embrace a call to action and to recognize what is necessary toward preserving your site."

Below are the properties on this year's list:

Natchez Trace rural landscape

The Natchez Trace landscape encompasses property in northwest Williamson County bordered on the west by the Natchez Trace Parkway, the east by the Harpeth River, the south by Highway 96 West by the Harpeth River and the north at Old Natchez Trace and Sneed Road by the Harpeth River.

The area is under the threat of development, according to the trust.

In 2001, the conservation group Scenic America named the landscape a "Last Chance Landscape" and put it in the top 10 of most endangered scenic places in the country. The Old Natchez Trace includes eight National Register Historic Sites.

The Natchez Trace Parkway was put on the list in 2007, and in 2014, Old Natchez Trace, the 4-mile stretch of road in the area, was named to the list.

Aretha Franklin house

Aretha Franklin's birthplace home, at 406 Lucy Ave. in Memphis, is in danger of demolition by neglect, according to the trust.

Cleveland Masonic Female Institute

The Cleveland Masonic Female Institute at 633 North Ocoee St. in Cleveland, Tenn., is one of the oldest structures in the downtown historic district.

Built in 1854, the building served as a school for girls leading up to the Civil War. After the war, it was used again as a school before turning into apartments. It is now privately owned

The building is deteriorating and at risk of being lost, according to the trust.

Mid South Coliseum

The 1964 entertainment venue at 996 Early Maxwell Blvd. in Memphis closed in 2007 and is at risk of being demolished. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000.

Polk Building

The Polk Building, at 1110 Old Highway 64 in Bolivar, was built in 1932. The building was part of the Western State Hospital, which opened in 1889 as the Western State Hospital for the Insane.

Occupancy at the hospital reached its peak between the 1940s and 1960s when it held about 4,000 patients.

It has been unoccupied since 1999 and is at risk of demolition from neglect.

Clayborn Temple

The Clayborn Temple, known as the Second Presbyterian Church, is at 280 Hernando St. in Memphis.

It was built in 1891 and suffers from deterioration but appears structurally sound, according to the trust.

In 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered the first organizing speech at the temple after weeks of a strike from the city's sanitation workers. King also led a march from the temple to City Hall.

Miller Farmstead

The Dave Miller Farmstead, at 1015 Highway 143 in Roan Mountain, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The barn at the site is believed to have been built in 1870 and is in need of structural repair. The farmhouse and other buildings at the site reflect Appalachian lifestyle and subsistence farming in secluded mountainous regions, according to the trust.

Fleming Houston House

The two properties, at 269 and 279 S. Center St. in Collierville, are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The building at 269 S. Center St. was constructed around 1884. The shotgun structure at 279 S. Center St. was built sometime between 1910 and 1920.

The bank that owns both structures has requested a demolition permit for the properties.

Oak Hill Cemetery

The Oak Hill cemetery in Johnson City was founded in 1870. The cemetery is struggling with upkeep because of a lack of resources, according to the trust.

Stonecipher Kelly House

The Stonecipher Kelly House, at 964 Flat Fork Road in Frozen Head State Park in Wartburg, was built in 1814.

For more than 200 years, the saddlebag-style log house served as the home for two families, the Stoneciphers and the Kellys, both linked by marriages. Dozens of Morgan County residents can trace their lineage to the house and the two families, according to the trust.

The park plans to save the house and refurbish it. The house will be used as a living historical site to depict life of 19th-century Cumberland Mountain homesteaders.

Reach Ray Howze at 615-664-2251 and on Twitter @rayhowze1.