Rippavilla Plantation, also known as Meadowbrook and Nathaniel Cheairs House, is a former plantation,

historic house A historic house generally meets several criteria before being listed by an official body as "historic." Generally the building is at least a certain age, depending on the rules for the individual list. A second factor is that the building be i ...

and museum, located in

Spring Hill, Tennessee Spring Hill is a city in Maury and Williamson counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee, located approximately south of Nashville. Its population as of 2022 is 55,800. Spring Hill is recognized as the 4th fastest growing city in Tennessee by th ...

. This plantation had been worked by enslaved Black people for many years. It is open to visitors as a

historic house museum A historic house museum is a house of historic significance that is preserved as a museum. Historic furnishings may be displayed in a way that reflects their original placement and usage in a home. Historic house museums are held to a variety of ...

. It is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

on July 19, 1996, for its architectural significance. (with 39 )

History

The Cheairs family were part of a 1810 land grant awarded by President

James Madison James Madison (June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison was popularly acclaimed as the ...

. Initially the property included a 1500-acre farm. Nathaniel Frances Cheairs IV (1818–1914) resided on the property along with his wife, Susan Peters Cheairs (née McKissack; 1821–1893) until her death. Around 1840, the Cheairs family owned 46 enslaved black people and up to 75 by 1860 (Rippa Villa, Battle of Franklin Trust). Nathaniel Frances Cheairs IV served in the

Confederate Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fi ...

, however the Rippavilla Plantation sustained minimal damage during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. The plantation house was built in several phases but was extensively remodeled between 1928 and 1932. Its architectural style was antebellum

Greek Revival Greek Revival architecture is a architectural style, style that began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe, the United States, and Canada, ...

, however modifications to the house were done in a 20th-century

Colonial Revival The Colonial Revival architectural style seeks to revive elements of American colonial architecture. The beginnings of the Colonial Revival style are often attributed to the Centennial Exhibition of 1876, which reawakened Americans to the arch ...

style. His son, William McKissack Cheairs took ownership of the home until he sold it in 1920 to John G. Whitfield, a coal tycoon from Alabama.

References

External links

- official site Antebellum architecture Colonial Revival architecture in Tennessee Greek Revival houses in Tennessee Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Tennessee Historic house museums in Tennessee Museums in Maury County, Tennessee Plantation houses in Tennessee Houses completed in 1852 Houses in Maury County, Tennessee National Register of Historic Places in Maury County, Tennessee 1852 establishments in Tennessee {{Tennessee-museum-stub