The Abner T. Shaw House
The Abner T. Shaw House traces its origins to 1848 when Abner T. Shaw purchased 137 acres in the Union Hill section of Davidson, County, Tennessee. The house was built in two stages, with a two room, single floor section completed first. The earliest section of the home has a central fireplace with separate opening into each room and three entrances. The main wing was built later and its long axis is perpendicular to the early wing. The main house has two floors with four rooms and a central foyer on each room. There is an end chimney and fireplace in each of the rooms. The front entrance is in the Greek Revival style with a two story portico. The main wing may have been completed just before, or during the Civil War between 1861 and 1865. Abner T. Shaw died in 1884 and his family continued to live in the house until around 1890, when Josiah W. and Rosetta Phelan became the owners. Members of the Phelan family lived in the home until about 1981 when the home and surrounding lands were sold at auction. The home was purchased in 1981 by Carl and Janis Bailey who beautifully restored the home, winning the Metro Nashville Historical Commission architectural award in 1985. The home was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. The Abner T. Shaw House was built with a construction method described in most accounts as layered poured concrete construction and may be one of only two surviving examples of this type of construction in the United States. The home and surrounding eleven acres were purchased by the Cowan family in 2005. Presently, the home sits on eleven acres and is bordered by a five-acre tract comprising the site of the original guest house for the estate. The original barn and spring house for the estate lie across Brick Church Pike (which appears to have originally been the driveway of the home) and are separately owned. Additional buildings on the site include a three-bay carriage house with living space and a small horse barn (both build by the Baileys after 1981). The original family cemetery, including the graves of Abner T. Shaw and several family members, are located behind the carriage house. Preservation, restoration, and landscaping projects are ongoing. |
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