Mulberry Avenue
The East Side
101 Mulberry Avenue - ca. 1854. First Presbyterian Church was organized in 1812 as "The Church of Fayetteville" and originally met in the log courthouse. In 1832, a building for the "Fayetteville Presbyterian Church was erected on the present site. Nineteen years later (1851), this building was destroyed by a cyclone. The old part of the present building was erected from bricks burned on the spot and dedicated in 1854. Oral tradition is unanimous in saying that the Union Army used the upstairs of the building for a hospital and the basement as a stable, during the Federal occupation of Fayetteville. It was May 3, 1908 that the Session met and officially changed the name to "First Presbyterian Church of Fayetteville, Tennessee". In 1917, the front of the Church was extended twelve feet and the original two columns replaced by four column. The present education wing was added in 1967.
108 Mulberry Avenue - ca. 1930. Originally constructed as a service station and is known as the home of the first automated car wash in Fayetteville. The building now houses the office of Stephen H Guerin, PSYD and The Hair Company.
201 Mulberry Avenue - Davis Auto & Antiques was originally a filling station owned by Mr. and Mrs. W. B. Posey, who opened it in the 1930s. It later became Halcomb and Posey Buick dealership in the 40s, and became Roy Warren Buick dealership in the 60s. Johnny and Pat Davis opened an auto repair shop in the 1970s. Johnny now restores classic and antique cars. Pat opened the antique shop in 1985.
207 Mulberry Avenue - ca. 1880. Mr. and Mrs. John B. Thomison acquired the property in 1900. The Thomisons' are the grandparents of Mr. Jack Thomison (624 Mulberry), Mr. Hubert Holman (628 Mulberry), and Mr. Burke Holman, Jr. (deceased), and Evalyn Holman Frierson (211 Mulberry).
211 Mulberry Avenue - ca. 1850 & 1930. Built by Mr. Cornelium Allen, the original style of this house is unknown. It was purchased by Mr. Burke Holman and in 1904 he remodeled the front porch. The entire house was then remodeled in the 1930s into its current Greek Revival appearance by the Holmans.
303 Mulberry Avenue - ca. 1854. This Greek Revival home was built by Reverend Matthew Martin Marshall minister of the First Presbyterian Church during the Civil War. The smokehouse to the rear of the main house was constructed out of the same brick as the church. The house was remodeled in 1951 by Mrs. Johnson who had an antique shop there for many years. The current owner is the estate of Mr. Samuel Ashby, Jr.,the late owner of Dale-Rees Hardware, on the east side of the public square until the 1980s.
307 Mulberry Avenue - ca. 1909. This house was originally built by Mr. and Mrs. W. G. Cowan. Their children, Dolly, Betsy, W. G. Cowan, Jr., and Martha all grew up here. Current owner, Mrs. Martha Cowan Patrick's grandfather was Dr. Cal McGuire, senior surgeon of First Army of Northern Virginia - CSA, and personal physician of General Robert E. Lee. The ownership of this house has stayed within this family throughout the years.
311 Mulberry Avenue - ca. 1805. Built by the Whitakers, this Colonial Revival house originally had two porches, one facing Mulberry and one facing Green Street. During the 1890s it was a school for girls. It was remodeled in the mid 1920s by owner Mr. and Mrs. Robert Fulton. Mrs. Fulton was a drama teacher (known at the time as "expression and physical culture"). It is said that she "had one extravaganza of a play (a Japanese one) and everybody in Fayetteville (young ladies) all had a red and black kimono and a wax paper umbrella for the children to sport..." Current owners of the house are M. G. and B. R. Schrimsher.
405 Mulberry Avenue - ca. 1920. Mrs. Sorrells had this Bungalow style house built. She is the grandmother of W. Michael McCown, our present District Attorney. The house is currently owned by Mr. and Mrs. Dallas Williams.
409 Mulberry Avenue - ca. 1880. Originally built in 1863 as a one-room carriage house, this Italianate style house was owned by Mr. and Mrs. Silvertooth who also owned the Crystal Stream Laundry at the city limits. Later owners included Mr. and Mrs. Frank B. Kelso, grandparents of Admiral Frank B. Kelso. The crooked front doors that were installed in 1883 were left intact (and crooked) when the home was restored in 2000.
Vacant Lot - Mr. and Mrs. Frank B. Kelso sold the large two-story house on this lot to Mr. and Mrs. Ernest McGehee. The 1952 tornado which ripped down Mulberry Avenue demolished this house, killing Mrs. McGehee. The lot is now part of the Robert W. Stevens estate.
415 Mulberry Avenue - ca. 1900. Built by a Mr. Heymann, at one time an owner of a jewelry store on the northeast corner of the public square. Mr. Heymann sold the house to Mr. and Mrs. Tom Strong, and after several owners, in 1956 the house was bought by Mr. Robert Stevens. Mrs. Robert Stevens, Lera Strong Stevens is the daughter of former owners. Flo Carter, owner of Cahoots Restaurant and niece of Ms. Lera, is the current resident.
501 Mulberry Avenue - ca. 1950. This house was completed in late 1952 and occupied by Mr. Don Steuart, an executive with the Borden Company, and his wife from 1953 until 1960. He was transferred to Lewisburg in 1960. Roy and Golda Harris purchased the house in 1954 and have lived in this house since 1960 until the present time.
505 Mulberry Avenue - ca. 1910. This bungalow style house was owned at one time by Mr. and Mrs. Walter Bunn. Mr. Bunn was manager of Fayetteville's electric power plant and system before TVA. Another past owner, Mr. Lavoy Raby, was Lincoln County's Register of Deeds for many years. The current owners are Mr & Mrs. Easley.
509 Mulberry Avenue - ca. 1930. Built by Hugh Joseph Cummins for Mr. and Mrs. James D. McKinney, Jr. Mr. McKinney and his father owned McKinney's Drug Store on the northeast corner of the public square. Years later the home was sold to Mrs. Alonzo Simmons. In 2001, Mr. Cummins Great Grandson, William Joseph Cummins III made the most recent renovations for the current owners, Don and Carolyn Denton.
513 Mulberry Avenue - ca. 1860. This Italianate house was built by William Bright, son of James Bright. Among the various owners were the Redd Family, and Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Eakin. Mr. Eakin was the manager of the Fayetteville Milling Company, on the corner of Norris Street and Front Street. Mr. and Mrs. Blake Copple are the current owners.
601 Mulberry Avenue - ca. 1882. One of the two Queen Anne style homes on this street, the first house on this site burned the night before the Henry Gillespie family was to move in their new home. The present house was then constructed. The home remains in the family of Beverly and Sarah Buchanan Young. Mrs. Young's parents, Mr. Robert F. Buchanan, was the owner of "The Lincoln County News" (now the Elk Valley Times.)
605 Mulberry Avenue - ca. 1910. This Bungalow style house was built by Mr. and Mrs. Collier Rees. They moved away for several years and during this time Mr. and Mrs. Diemer Lamb and their family (504 Mulberry) lived here. Mr. Rees, along with his father and brother owned a dry goods store, R. A. Rees and Sons. The current owner is Mr. and Mrs. Leach.
609 Mulberry Avenue - ca. 1895. Known as the "Ladd House", this two story Colonial Revival structure was built by Mr. and Mrs. W. H. Ladd. Mr. and Mrs. John Groce were the next owners. Mr. and Mrs. Francis Tucker completely restored the interior as well as the charming backyard playhouse. Current owners are Mr. and Mrs. Michael Everett Stewart.
613 Mulberry Avenue - ca. 1900. Mrs. Laurine B. Spray and the late William C. Spray purchased the home from the Arthur Carroll estate in 1975. This uniquely shaped two-story home was once owned by Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Bagley and Mr. and Mrs. William Young (Mrs. Young was the sister of Mrs. Bagley).
617 Mulberry Avenue - ca. 1905. This house built by Mr. and Mrs. Cole Feeney. Mr. Feeney was a cashier at First National Bank. Later, the Feeney's next door neighbors, Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Carroll, purchased the house. The former owners, Mr. and Mrs. Patrick Bingham, did extensive restoration to the interior of the house to bring the structure back to its original shape after it had been made into apartments. Current owners Ms Marie B. Lott.
The West Side
200 Mulberry Avenue - ca. 1895. This house was first used as the manse for First Presbyterian Church. It is currently owned by Mrs. Charles Harmening.
206 Mulberry Avenue - ca. 1920. Presently owned by the family of Mrs. W. B. Posey, the mother of Mrs. Charles Harmening (200 Mulberry). The structures is a two-story Colonial Revival style home. One of the previous owners, Mr. and Mrs. Robert H. Terry, owned a dry goods store on the west side of the town square.
210 Mulberry Avenue - ca. 1895. Known as "The Robertson House", this structure was originally located on Washington Street. Mr. J. R. Hiller, a lumber and planning mill operator purchased the house and moved it to its present site. The current owners are Mr. and Mrs. Robert Hamilton who moved from Charlotte NC in 1996.
304 Mulberry Avenue - ca. 1911. This house was originally built by Mr. and Mrs. Henry Bonner. Mr. Bonner was a passenger train engineer for the Nashville, Chattanooga, and St. Louis Railway. Some of the early occupants were the C.S. Caughran family, and Mr. and Mrs. Robert F. Buchanan, and the current owner is Mrs. William Johnson.
310 Mulberry Avenue - ca. 1905. This Colonial Revival house was built by Mr. and Mrs. Andy Wright. Mr. Wright owned Wright's dry goods store on he northeast corner of the public square. Subsequent owners include Mr. and Mrs. Hiram Higgins, Mr. and Mrs. Jack Johnson, and the present owners, Mr. and Mrs. William F. Thomas.
400 Mulberry Avenue - ca. 1900. Mr. and Mrs. W. D. Medearis were early owners of this Colonial Revival home. Mr. Medearis owned and operated a tannery on a site adjacent to the small stream which became known as Tanyard Branch. He later obtained the first Coca-Cola franchise in Fayetteville. He was also an early manager for the Bell Telephone Company in Fayetteville. The current owner, Mrs. James Holland, is the granddaughter of Mr. and Mrs. Medearis.
408 Mulberry Avenue - ca. 1850 & 1852. This home is currently owned by Mrs. John V. Matthews. Mr. Matthews' grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. N. O. Wallace were earlier owners of the house and Mr. Wallace was also one of the early owners and operators of "The Fayetteville Observer" (now the Elk Valley Times). The house was demolished by the tornado of 1952 and the present structure was rebuilt from the remains of the original house.
504 Mulberry Avenue- “WOODLAWN” ca. 1843; This Greek Revival house was built by Colonel John Tilford Gordon who came here from Philadelphia. He later built the house at 606 Mulberry. Legend has it that one day a gypsy fortune teller told Mrs. Gordon that her husband was going to sell the house that they were living in. That night when he came in, he put the money he had gotten for it in her lap. Apparently the gypsy was correct. He sold it to antebellum Lincoln County’s wealthiest citizen and largest landowner, Dr. William Bonner. Dr. Bonner was succeeded as owner by his daughter, Mrs. J. B. Lamb. General Sherman stayed in the home when his troops passed through Fayetteville. He is said to have asked to stay in the finest home in the town, which is how he ended up at Woodlawn. The fifth generation, Ms. Susan Lamb, now lives in the house. Her grandmother, Mrs. Diemer Lamb, Sr. (Lila Motlow), completely restored the house in 1946. Her grandfather, Diemer Lamb, Sr. was a prominent Fayetteville attorney, and served as Attorney General for the 7th Judicial Circuit from 1918 to 1950.
606 Mulberry Avenue- ca. 1850 & 1925; This home was originally built as a Greek Revival in 1850 by Colonel John Tilford Gordon who came to the area from Philadelphia. He first built the neighboring home (504 Mulberry). Later a Mr. Barnett came here from Virginia and married one of the Gordon daughters and they lived in the house. Mr. Barnett’s father was a Union sympathizer and its those family ties that saved the homes on Mulberry Ave when Sherman’s troops marched through Fayetteville. During the Civil War the home was used as a hospital and Officer’s Quarters. The Barnett’s daughter married Dr. Buckner and they also lived here. Mrs. Claire Barnett Buchner, was not only a founding member of the (Sr.) Round Dozen who gave and maintained Fayetteville’s public library for over 50 years but, was one of Tennessee’s leading suffragists. She was very prominent in Tennessee’s (by one vote) ratification of the 19th Amendment, which gave women the vote. Mr. and Mrs. Roy Rees purchased the house from the Buckners and did extensive renovations. It was at this time (1925) when the size of the home was doubled and was made to be a Georgian Revival. Mr. William Robert Carter and his wife Mrs. Jane Strong Carter purchased the home in 1958. The Carters were owners of one of the largest construction companies in the Southeast – CFW. In 2014 Mr. Thomas Marion Malone & Mr. Bryant Carter Crowson purchased the home from the Carter estate. They are currently working to restore the home to how it would have looked in 1850.
616 Mulberry Avenue - ca. 1850 & 1930. Originally built by Judge James Chilcoat, the first Lincoln County Judge. Mr. Chilcoat was murdered at Mulberry during the Civil War by Yankees. Dr. T. A. Patrick Sr. first remodeled the original frame house adding a stone veneer to the exterior. Several more remodelings were made by other owners. The wife of owner Dr. Thomas Holman, Selina Moore Holman, was very active in the Woman's Christian Temperance Union and served as the organization's president for several years. Her portrait hangs in the state capitol. The current owners are Mr. and Mrs. Don Davis.
624 Mulberry Avenue - ca. 1865 & 1890. built circa 1865 by Robert E. Lee Bright, the original house was a two-story cabin with on large room on each floor. A new house was eventually built in front of the original one and the two were later joined (1890), forming the house as it is today. Mr. and Mrs. W. C. Thomison purchased the house in 1910 from the Judge Joseph Higgins and wife. Judge Higgins was the grandfather of our former city attorney, Mr. Thomas O. Bagley. Upon Mr. W C Thomison's death, the house was inherited by Mr. & Mrs. Jack Thomison. Mr. Thomison was born in the upstairs bedroom. Mrs. Thomison died in 2002 and the house passed down to the current owners Mr. & Mrs. William C. Thomision, II.
628 Mulberry Avenue - ca. 1900. Mr. James L. Newsom acquired this land in August of 1899 from Mr. George Sutton. Soon after, Mr. Newsom constructed this Queen Anne style Victorian home complete with slate shingles and curved glass windows in the turret. The original hitching posts still stand at the Porte cochere. Mr. Newsom was a traveling salesman and later operated a dry goods store on the east side of the square. Mr. Newsom died of typhoid fever at a young age and the house was inherited by Cullen B. Ervin (son of Mrs. Newsom by her second husband). Mr. and Mrs. Hubert Holman purchased the home in 1936 and it remained with his family until 2001. The home is currently being renovated by the new owners, Dr. and Mrs. Jerry G. McKinney.