| Bearden: Then and Now |
| Written by Shannon Cournoyer | |||||||||
| Friday, 29 February 2008 | |||||||||
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Bearden includes several historic neighborhoods. One of these is Sequoyah Hills. Three well-known historic homes on Kingston Pike are considered part of Sequoyah Hills: Crescent Bend, Bleak House and Westwood. In the late 1800s, the land which became the development almost became the home of a steel mill but the depression of the 1890s and the drop in steel prices ended those plans. When Sequoyah Hills was first envisioned, it was in 1925 and by E.F. Ferrel. The area had features such as underground utilities that were reserved for the elite of the day. A street car line at the Kingston Pike entrance allowed residents to easily travel downtown to shop. Ferrel named the development Sequoyah for the inventor of the Cherokee alphabet. Robert Foust came in a year later and began developing adjoining land for an area he called Talahi.
Westwood is another of Bearden's older neighborhoods. The Knoxville Suburban Corporation purchased land in the mid-1920s and in 1927 named it Kingston Pike Heights. By 1928, the development included 155 lots. The Knoxville Suburban Corporation also failed in the depression, but in 1938 the Westwood Corporation acquired much of the unsold land and the name "Westwood" became the new name for the development. Additional areas were added over the years so today there are over 200 houses in Westwood. The Westwood Homeowners Association has worked to make their community even better for the residents. They developed a new park to serve the area, Westwood Park, and it is now maintained by the city. They've even come into the 21st century with a yahoo users group for residents.
Today, Cherokee Country Club includes about 110 acres with about 90 devoted to the 18-hole course. The course itself is one of Scottish designer Donald Ross' from the 1920s and will be restored this year. The 75,000 square foot clubhouse recently underwent a multi-million dollar restoration so the 1980s addition now blends with and shares some of the features of the original 1927 section. The Brickyard was an area of Bearden from the early 1900s that was industrial and residential and had both African American and whites living side by side. Most of the residents worked at either the brickyard or at Cherokee Country Club. The kilns for the brickyard were where Krogers sits today and clay for the bricks was dug locally. The houses were "shotgun houses," a narrow house whose design is believed to come from West Africa via the Caribbean. This area today is more referred to as Homberg, taken from the Homberg-Baumann Hat Company which also operated here and the factory's building still survives. Highlands Grill opened in the 1930s and quickly became known as a place for Knoxvillians to come for dinner and dancing. It also held a secret. This was during prohibition and, if the owner knew you, he would let you downstairs to a speakeasy that had a band, a dance floor and bootleg whiskey. Original details such as the heart oak flooring and a massive fireplace are being restored as Tom Weiss of Weissco Inc. restores the building. A new building with complementary architecture is rising next door and both will be offered as retail space in the new development named Highlands Row.
Next time you're in the Bearden area, stop for a visit. Spring is an especially pretty time of year here when the trees are coming to life. Consider a walk on the greenway and read the historic signs. There's more of Bearden's history for you to discover.
          
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Bearden has grown over more than two centuries into the community we see today. It is filled with history around every corner including historic homes, a country club and a community where races lived together.
Today, the home owners association, the Kingston Pike Sequoyah Hills Association, works to preserve the area in a historic manner. They've worked with the Knoxville Utilities Board on numerous projects such as replacing worn streetlights in the Talahi area with a style that was typical of the past. With the condos and apartments which are included in the association, there are about 1700 homes in the organization.
Cherokee Country Club was Knoxville's first true country club. It was a definite cut above the cow pasture some golfers had rented near Chilhowee Park and upgraded with a rough nine-hole golf course. Founded by a group of 200 men who paid a $50 initiation fee and $2 per month dues, this new club opened in 1907. The first golf course was a ninehole course but the club purchased more land in 1910 and created East Tennessee's first 18-hole golf course.
Bearden becomes more beautiful every year, thanks in a great part to the Bearden Council, a group which has been involved in beautification since the mid-1980s. The Bearden Council has been the force behind the miles of greenway which now wind their way through Bearden. The group has also spearheaded many other projects including planting hundreds of trees, many of which bloom in the spring, and have been behind improvements such as the attractive covered transit stops which, like the greenways, have markers showing Bearden's history in the walkway.
