This twenty-seven-room, five-story Victorian house of handmade brick was built in 1868-69 in Mossy Creek (now Jefferson City). Considered one of the state's most nearly perfect examples of Second Empire style, Glenmore is now an Association for the Preservation of Tennessee Antiquities (APTA) property. Only two families owned and occupied the house, originally named "The Oaks." John Roper Branner, president of the East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railroad, built the house. In the 1870s his brother Joseph established the Branner Institute for Young Ladies in the mansion. Milton Preston Jarnagin purchased the mansion in 1882. A banker, businessman, and lawyer, Jarnagin graduated from Maryville College in 1846. During the Civil War, he was appointed a judge advocate and later practiced law in Memphis, where he married Agnes Watkins. The Jarnagins had five children; they renamed the house Glenmore in honor of a son who died in infancy. Son Frank and his wife Mary lived at Glenmore for fifty-three years.
The architectural gem of the T-shaped house is the graceful winding staircase with a beautifully carved newel post. A small replica of the stairway is also in the "Dolltown" portion of the mansion, where the family lived in winter. The carved woodwork of solid walnut and cherry came from Baltimore. The arched frames over the doors, recessed arch windows, and fanlights are Victorian delights. Today's visitors to the mansion can enjoy Glenmore's beauty and tradition for hospitality.
Jefferson City is a city in Jefferson County, Tennessee, United States. It is part of the Morristown, Tennessee Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 7,760 at the 2000 census. The city was originally named Mossy Creek, but was changed in 1901 to honor Thomas Jefferson. Carson-Newman College, a Baptist college founded in 1851, is located in Jefferson City.
Notable Residents
Jefferson City is/was the home of:
Dana X. Bible, college football coach at Texas A & M, Nebraska, and Texas
Mark Dean, inventor and computer scientist
Phil Garner, ex-Major League Baseball player and manager
Jim Henry, minority leader in the Tennessee House of Representatives from 1981 to 1986
Robert Edward Lee Mountcastle, a member of the Republican National Committee
Carolyn Peck, former women's basketball coach, currently a basketball analyst at ESPN
Clyde Wright, ex-Major League Baseball pitcher
Kenneth Massey, famous American statistician
External Link:
Official site for Jefferson City
Source: Internet
