National Historic District - North Maney Avenue History

Brief History

The North Maney Avenue Historic District presents a major concentration of vernacular and stylistic architecture in Murfreesboro. The district consists of 129 buildings, almost exclusively residential, in an approximately sixteen-block area focusing on the avenue which once formed the tree-lined driveway of Oaklands, an antebellum mansion designated to the National Register in 1978. The houses in the district present a diversity of architectural styles and materials dating from 1835 to 1935, although most buildings in the district were constructed between 1870 and 1920. The buildings share a similar scale and setback which provides visual consistency in the historic district. Most buildings are vernacular with Classical, Colonial Revival or Queen Anne ornamentation. Clapboards are the most popular siding material used in the district although some buildings are faced with brick or stucco. Decorative wood shingles, half timbering and ornamental woodwork on porches and along eaves are commonly seen decorative elements. Building lots are wide but shallow and there were no or few fences or plantings to inhibit the view along the streetscapes. Almost all blocks retain large shade trees. In many places mid-to-late-nineteenth century brick sidewalks are still in existence, as are several mounting blocks.

Architectural styles found in the North Maney Avenue Historic District include Federal, Greek Revival, and Italianate residences. The Childress House, an 1860 Greek Revival building with late nineteenth century alterations was placed on the National Register in 1979. the predominate architectural styles found in the district are Queen Anne and vernacular residences. A few Queen Anne houses are stylistically correct buildings of two stories with multi-gable roofs, wraparound porches, bay windows, turrets and elaborate woodwork, but most are vernacular adaptations of the style. These residences are characterized by their smaller size, usually one and one-half stories in height, with L-shaped plans and gable roofs or hip roofs. Less elaborate in detailing than the stylistically correct Queen Anne buildings, they have sawn or turned ornamental porch woodwork and bargeboards.

Many other vernacular residences in the district are one story with L-shaped plans and gable roofs or one-story hip roof buildings. These have little if any ornamentation, often only seen in Classical porch columns. One vernacular building is a turn of the century log house and another is an 1890 commercial building, the only one in the district. A few examples of Stick Style, Craftsman, Four Square, Mediterranean Revival and Tudor Revival are also located in the district. Two more styles frequently seen in the district are Colonial Revival and Bungalow. The Colonial Revival buildings are minimally detailed cottage sized structures with gable returns, Classical porch columns and multi-paned windows while Bungalows are usually characterized by gable roof dormers and front porches.

The North Maney Avenue Historic District has retained much of its architectural integrity. The district contains only twelve intruding buildings constructed after 1935 and most residences have undergone few major exterior alterations. Unified by building scale, setback, and a concentration of late nineteenth and early twentieth century building designs the district presents a cohesive streetscape in Murfreesboro.

The North Maney Avenue Historic District consists of 129 structures of which 112 are considered to be contributing to the district, and 17 are considered to be non-contributing to the district. As with the East Main Street Historic District structures considered to be contributing are fifty years old and possess architectural and/or historical significance. Non-contributing buildings are either less than fifty years old or do not possess architectural or historical integrity.

District Description

Although the City of Murfreesboro was founded in 1811 and served as the capitol of Tennessee from 1819 to 1826, most of the North Maney Avenue Historic District developed post Civil War. Originally the street was part of the tree-lined carriage lane to Oaklands, the plantation home of Dr. James Maney and Sally Hardy Murfree Maney, but in 1868, at a time when many southern plantations were being broken up, the Maney family sold off some of their land. This property was split into lots for residential development and became known as Maney’s Addition of Murfreesboro.

Many residences were constructed along North Maney Avenue and adjacent streets immediately after 1868 resulting in the high concentration of one and one-half story Queen Anne and vernacular style cottages that are included in the district. One of the highlights of the district is the 1847 Childress House at 225 N. Academy. John W. Childress, a prominent attorney and businessman in Murfreesboro and the brother-in-law of President James K. Polk, lived in this house from 1874 until his death ten years later. Another outstanding building is the 1856 Italianate style Woman’s Club at 221 E. College, possibly constructed by the same craftsmen who built the present façade of Oaklands Mansion. In the 1890’s Adeline Maney, widow of the last Maney occupant of Oaklands moved into the house at 322 E. Lytle. The district continued to develop into the twentieth century and contains fine examples of Colonial Revival, Arts and Crafts and Mediterranean Revival styles of architecture.

Although individually many buildings are not eligible for the National Register of Historic Places as a whole the North Maney Avenue Historic District, with its diversity of late nineteenth and early twentieth century building styles, brick sidewalks and uniform scale and setbacks forms a cohesive and architecturally significant residential district in Murfreesboro. Overall the district has suffered few intrusions or building alterations and has retained it architectural integrity.**

**United States Department of the Interior National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places – North Maney Avenue Historic District, Nomination Form, 1985.