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 The
Paris-Henry County Heritage Center is housed in Cavitt Place, a 1916
Italian Renaissance Revival mansion built by
Colonel O.C. Barton. Colonel Barton was one of the leaders of the
community in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
He was a state and local politician who invested in Paris Medicine Company
and Dr. Edwin Grove’s “Tasteless Chill Tonic,” which in 1900 sold more
bottles than Coca-Cola. Colonel Barton served as Mayor of Paris from
1893-1897 and later served as president of the City Board of Education. He
is reputed to be the first millionaire to reside in Paris.
The evidence suggests that
Colonel Barton’s title was honorary. Col. and Mrs. Barton did many things
to help the growth of Tennessee. They built Cavitt Hall, the girl’s
dormitory at Grove school; Barton Hall, at Union University, Jackson;
Woodie Barton Gibson settlement house, Nashville; Barton Building at
Baptist Orphan’s Home, Franklin; Barton Athletic Field, Paris; and they
gave large sums to build the First Baptist Church in Paris.
 Colonel
Barton, who married John Forney Cavitt’s granddaughter, Tillis (also known
as Tillie), built both Cavitt Places. The
first was a Queen Anne style ornate gingerbread home, which burned in
1910. He began construction on the second about 1912-13. The house was
finished in 1916 with full electricity. The electrical system was updated
in 1995, but some of the original light fixtures and switches remain. Both
houses were named Cavitt Place in honor of his wife, Tillie. The second
home was designed by Brinton Davis, considered to be one of the South’s
premier architects of the day. No expense was spared on Cavitt Place. It
was considered one of the most beautiful homes in the South.
After the Colonel
died, his daughter attempted to sell the home to the city, as she and her
family had moved north. Being in the grips of a national depression, the
city refused. The house stood empty for several years; in 1942, the
County purchased the home for approximately $8,000 from Matilda Gibson,
granddaughter of O.C. Barton. Since that time Cavitt Place has housed the
Camp Tyson headquarters, Tennessee Valley Authority, Henry County Health
Department, and Carey Counseling Center.
Camp Tyson was the first headquarters for the only
WW II barrage balloon camp in the country. The Tennessee Valley Authority
occupied the basement and ground floor from October 1943 to January 1968.
The Henry County Health Department occupied the second floor from 1942
until 1968 then moved to the ground floor until 1990. The Carey Counseling
Center occupied the second floor until the title was sold to the Heritage
Center.
The idea of a teaching museum
originated with Deanna Dunlap. Volunteering her time she was a driving
force behind the formation of the Heritage Center, and served as the first
Executive Director. In 1988, the North Poplar District was placed on both
the Tennessee and the National Registers of Historic Places. Cavitt Place
is one of the houses in the North Poplar District. In 1989 the commission
agreed to a quitclaim deed with two stipulations: The Heritage Center must
maintain the property “in a reasonable fashion,” and if the center ever
ceased using the property, title would revert to the county. Title to
Cavitt Place was received by the Paris-Henry County Heritage Center in
1992.
Exterior and yard
 The
cast iron fence, built in 1890, is the only surviving piece of the
original structure. The two-story brick house
is an excellent example of the Italian Renaissance style and retains its
original design. The symmetrical house originally had a hipped roof,
arched windows and door, and decorative terra cotta belt coursing. The
main entrance has an original eight-panel door with terra cotta surround
with floral decoration and rope molding. Above the door is a paneled
transom with floral designs. Over the door is a cartouche and garland
swag designs.
 The
windows on the first story are twelve-light,
French double casement design, above which
are decorative brick arches. Dividing the first and second stories is a
terra cotta tile belt course with panels of urns, cartouches and lions’
heads as well as garland and swag designs. The windows on the second
story are six over one sash with terra cotta tile surrounds.
Porter Room (Vestibule)
Some
of our rooms have been named in honor or memory of residents in Henry
County. The Porter Room was named in honor of William Porter, Sr., and his
descendants, and the early settlers of Paris and Henry County.
VanDyck Gallery
(Gallery)
 J.T. VanDyck was a 25-year
member of the county commission and a prominent farmer. The glass doors
were
the best way to get air circulation in the house, since there was no air
conditioning at the time. The portico on the far side was used when there
was a large amount of people. The carriages would pull around the
driveway, drop everyone off and move out of the way for any other
carriages.
Kesterson Hall (Entrance
Hall)
Millard M. Kesterson was the
founder of Kesterson Food Supply.
Jelks Room
(Formal Dining Room)
 Robert ‘Bobby’ Jelks was a long
time Henry County coach. The Jelks Room is used for our permanent
exhibit. An artist from St. Louis was commissioned to paint the mural that
circles the room The mural, depicting a Greek Garden scene, was painted on
canvas, and then applied to the plaster walls. Each of the white panels
under the mural is different. Though some are similar, no two are exactly
alike.
Mitchum Room
(Breakfast Room)
Mitchum E. Warren was a former
president of Golden Peacock Cosmetic Company. This room now serves as an
office for the Museum Volunteer Staff. The same artist from St. Louis
painted the mural on the ceiling.
Kitchen
This room has not been named.
The sink is said to be original to the house. The window pulls are Art
Noveau style. The windows were placed higher in all servants’ areas to
keep the servants from wasting time staring out the windows. The light
switches are located at the back entrance for the convenience of the
servants; they would be the first down in the morning and the last up at
night. The cabinets were added to the kitchen for the convenience of food
preparation during different functions such as weddings.
Clifty Farm Room
(Butlers Pantry)
 Clifty Farms is a local
distributor of country hams throughout the Southeast. This room once
housed the dishes
and other items necessary for serving in either the adjoining dining room
or breakfast room. The home was heated by hot water or steam, which was
heated by a coal furnace in the basement and then pumped through pipes
housed in marble cases. The plate warmer is original to the house.
Bathroom
It was said during those times
that it was rude and impolite to use the restrooms in someone else’s
house, so a small bathroom was squeezed into the ground floor for use
during emergencies. There were originally three full bathrooms upstairs.
Currier Room (Foyer)
 The Currier family is one of
the oldest families in the county. The light fixture (hanging down in the
center), the tile floor
and marble stairs are all original to the house. At the same time Colonel
Barton imported the marble and the tile, he imported a stonemason to do
the stonework. The mason did the stonework both inside and outside the
house. The banister is black wrought iron that was mass-produced at the
time. One of the centralized vacuum system ducts is in the foyer. The
parking lot in the back of the house was originally a tennis court.
During the early 1900’s, tennis courts were cultivated grass surfaces.
The tennis courts were destroyed when the cattle from the farmer across
the highway broke loose and came to graze on grass.
Williams Landing (Landing)
W.B. (Bill) Williams has been a
big part of the Heritage Center. Publisher of the Paris
Post-Intelligencer newspaper, he has active roles in the community and in
church. The ceiling crown molding is original to the house and was
mass-produced during that time. The ornate windows in the dining room, the
stairwell and the master suite upstairs were hand-blown and painted by
Albert’s Studios in Louisville, KY. Only two of the panes of glass have
been replaced since the house was finished in 1916.
Plumley Room
(Den)
This room, originally used as
Colonel Barton’s office, and now used as the Directors office, is named
for Harold and Opal Plumley. Harold Plumley was the founder of Plumley
Rubber Company in Paris, TN.
Inman Room
(Living Room)
 W.O. Inman was a county
historian and long time superintendent of education. The fireplace in this
room, as well
as those in the library and den, is original and burned coal. This room is
used as a temporary exhibit room, housing exhibits on the history of Henry
County. Butler bells can be seen throughout the house, which were
connected to servant’s rooms upstairs. The woodwork in the home is walnut
and mahogany.
Greer Room
(Library)
Lee M. Greer, Jr. was a
supermarket pioneer in Henry County. The marble case at the back of the
room as well as the other rooms is called a steam heater case. These are
what housed the pipes that kept the house warm. This method of heating was
used until 1988. Our collection of high school annuals from around the
county are kept in this room. The Heritage Center also has a video
library, which includes oral histories on different topics, historical
programs, and other important events. The videos and annuals are available
to the public.
The piano was donated by the
Upchurch family, and is one of the oldest surviving pianos in the county.
It was purchased by the Upchurch family for their daughter Maryland in
1880, but was manufactured in 1860. After the purchase, the piano was
brought down the river from Louisville and carried by a flatbed wagon from
Paris Landing.
Barrett Room
(Conservatory)
Mr. and Mrs. Frank Barrett were
Paris building contractors for 50 years. There has been much work done in
the conservatory. Due to water damage it had to be almost completely
redone. This room is used as a gift shop. The gift shop features
memorabilia and items made in and/or related to Henry County or Tennessee.
Plumley-Dana Entrepreneur
Center (Garage)
This was originally a 1912-13
one-story hipped roof garage. Built for carriages and Model T’s, it was
later used for storage. Renovation started in the fall of 2001 and was
finished in the spring of 2002. On June 1, 2002 it was dedicated and
opened as the Plumley-Dana Entrepreneur Center.
Works Cited
Alderson, William T. and Shirley Payne Low.
Interpretation of Historic Sites. Alta-Mira Press: Walnut Creek, 1996.
Second edition.
Cavitt Place [File].
Greene, W.P. The City of
Paris and Henry County, Tennessee. Crown Press: Paris, 1900.
National Register of Historic Places Home Page.
9 August 2002.
http://www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com
Prior interpretations.
Tayloe, Stephanie Routon. “O.C. Barton and
Cavitt Place.” The Newsletter of the Henry County Genealogical Society
of Tennessee. 5 (2002): 4-6.
Tour with Suzanne Ruark, past
Director.
Unknown. “Cavitt Place.” The
Inkwell. 1 (1989) 1 & 7.
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