Rose Glen 1850 Greek Revival Architecture Added to NRHP JULY 18 1975 Dr Robert Hatton Hodsden 1806-1864 he was a Sevier county resident, politician, and physician. In 1860 he was one of the county's wealthiest individuals in the area. Dr Hodsden was the attending phsycian on the Cherokee Indian removal, referred to the Trail of Tears. Dr Hodsden also represented Blount County in the late 1830's and between 1841-1845 in the state legislature. Hodsden was a slave owner, but he was pro union during the American Civil War, and was member of the Sevier County delegation at the East Tennessee Convention in Greenville in 1861. In 1843, after the death of his first wife, Hodsden married a widow, Mary Brabson-Shields (1818–1888), whose father, John Brabson, had established the Brabson's Ferry Plantation at Boyds Creek, and had given his daughter what is now Rose Glen as a gift for her first wedding. Hodsden and Brabson-Shields initially resided in Maryville, but eventually moved to Rose Glen, where they completed the plantation house and villa in 1850. The plantation was made up of 2,377 acres and many things were grown on the farm and sold in nearby farmer's markets in Knoxville, Tennessee. By 1860, Rose Glen had grown to 2,377 acres roughly worth $28,000, making it by far the most valuable farm in Sevier County. Livestock at Rose Glen included fourteen horses, thirty-seven cattle, sixty-seven sheep, four oxen, and one-hundred eighty hogs. Hodsden and fifteen slaves produced 3,400 bushels of oats, 360 bushels of wheat, 50 bushels of sweet potatoes, 18 tons of hay, 100 pounds of wool, 300 gallons of molasses, and over 3,000 pounds of butter, annually. Rose Glen's 1,200 pounds of rice was one of the largest rice crops in East Tennessee. The plantation also had a small winery The design of Rose Glen was modeled after architect Minard LaFever's "Design for a Country Villa," which appeared in both LaFever's Modern Builders Guide (1833) and Beauties of Modern Architecture (1835). The design called for a "five-part" villa, consisting of the central block and two wings, and two symmetrically-placed outbuildings aligned with the house's northeast and northwest corners. At Rose Glen, these two outbuilding which were used as an office and a loom house were connected to the main house by flower-lined walkways. The loom house and office have designs that match the house, with the same weatherboarding and brick chimneys. A rose garden was maintained in the space between the outbuildings and the main house and the remnants of the garden can still be seen. Also a smokehouse, outhouse, springhouse, double cantilevered barn, and a hay barn sit across the main road without a fence around it. Dr Hodsden's office is still on site as well. Dr. Hodsden being pro-union he actually had a saltpeter mine on the property and sold to the confederates. Civil War On the 26th of January 1864, Brig. Gen. Samuel D. Sturgis, having had various brushes with Confederate cavalry, deployed his troops to watch the area fords. Two Confederate cavalry brigades and artillery advanced from Fair Garden in the afternoon but were reported about four miles from Sevierville. Other Confederates attacked a Union cavalry brigade at Fowler’s on Flat Creek, and drove it about two miles. No further fighting occurred that day. On January 27, 1864, Rose Glen was a strategic point in a skirmish known as the Battle of Fair Garden, fought between Union forces led by Colonel Edward McCook forces led by Major-General William Martin (Martin was helping to cover James Longstreet's retreat after the Siege Of Knoxville. In 1873, Abraham Jackson Hicks (1841–1903) took control of Rose Glen when he married Hodsden's daughter, Mary Pasteur Hodsden (1854–1942). After Hicks' death, Rose Glen passed to eldest his son, John Hodsden Hicks (1874–1948) Union scouts observed that the Confederates had concentrated on the Fair Garden Road, so Sturgis ordered an attack there in the morning. In a heavy fog, Col. Edward M. McCook’s Union division attacked and drove back Maj. Gen. William T. Martin’s Confederates until about 4:00 pm. At that time, McCook’s men charged with sabers and routed the Rebels. Sturgis set out in pursuit on the 28th, and captured and killed more of the routed Rebels. The Union forces, however, observed three of Longstreet’s infantry brigades crossing the river. Realizing his exhaustion from fighting, lack of supplies, ammunition, and weapons and the overwhelming strength of the enemy, Sturgis decided to evacuate the area. But, before leaving, Sturgis determined to attack Brig. Gen. Frank C. Armstrong’s Confederate cavalry division which he had learned was about three or four miles away, on the river. Unbeknownst to the attacking Federals, Armstrong had strongly fortified his position and three infantry regiments had arrived to reinforce him. Thus, the Union troops suffered severe casualties in the attack. The battle continued until dark, when the Federals retired from the area. The Federals had won the big battle but the fatigue of continual fighting, lack of supplies and, ammunition forced them to withdraw. In present day, Rose Glen Literary Festival has been held on the grounds, in honor of the history and legacy of Rose Glen Plantation. Reese Marshall donated 67 acres of land to what is now, Walters State Community College, Sevier County Campus. The Rose Glen Literary Festival was held there from 2010 to 2013. Unfortunately even this quickly came to an end after three short years. Walter State Community College sits to the North of the main house and owns the land in which the cave/mine is on. The ridge to the North East is the main battle ground. Currently, the property sits in ruins, while the owner collects tax breaks for hosting horses on its land. The history sits forgotten, and underappreciated at this busy intersection. Students, residents, and Americans alike, passing its location without thought. There is one place on the historic property, which does get some attention, this is the Hodsden Cave, on Old Newport Highway which is still accessible. This cave is one of the few man made caves which still exist to show the last of the area during this strange era. This cave was used to mine saltpeter during the Civil war, and was the site of Dr Hodsden saltpeter mining operation at Rose Glen Rose Glen, has a history which is almost unbeatable, it has a past that is important to be remembered, so get out there, explore, and document history before it too is gone. #hikedontwalk #historicarchaeology #mikethehikingguide #roseglen #sevierco #easttennessee #civilwartrail #civilwar #fairgarden #battle -Thanks for reading Mike Looking out from the Rose Glen Saltpeter operation. Saltpeter in it's raw state "Change Something" I personally love this - Mike
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