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The John and Landon Carter Mansion

The Oldest Standing frame house in Tennessee

 

The home o f John and Landon Carter, the mansion was built Between 1775 and 1780.  

 

Realizing that most folks were living in log homes with mud and stick fireplaces, the elegance of the Carter home becomes quite apparent.  The interior is decorated throughout with hand-carved panels, crown molding, and chair railing.  Two rooms boast landscape paintings on the wooden panel directly above the fireplaces.  These are considered the earliest paintings executed in what is now Tennessee.

The property was acquired by the state of Tennessee in 1973 with only 4.2 of the original 640 acres remaining.

 

Tours can be arranged by calling Sycamore Shoals State Historic Area at 423-543-5808.

From Memorial Day through August 14, 2009, tours are conducted daily at 2 pm.

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While visiting the Carter Mansion, be sure to check out our historic gardens behind the Carter home place.

John Large, Keeper of the Gardens