1833- Henry House

The Henry House was built in Blount County in 1833.

Location: 305 Henry Lane, Blount County; Southwest of Maryville, Southwest of Binfield

It was named after Samuel Henry, who built the house and had a farm there. Henry's farm was named one of Tennessee's Century Farms in 2009. The Century Farms program is administered by Middle Tennessee State University. MTSU issued a press release on September 22, 2009 that described what the Century Farms program is, and also had information about the Samuel Henry Farm:

"The Century Farm Program recognizes the contributions of Tennessee residents who have continuously owned, and kept in production, family land for at least 100 years. Since 1984, the CHP at MTSU has been a leader in the important work of documenting Tennessee’s agricultural heritage and history through the Tennessee Century Farm Program, and continues to administer this program."

BLOUNT COUNTY FARM JOINS STATE’S CENTURY FARMS PROGRAM

Samuel Henry Farm Becomes County’s 33rd Century Farm

(MURFREESBORO)—The Samuel Henry Farm in Blount County recently was designated as a Tennessee Century Farm, reports Caneta S. Hankins, director of the Century Farms program at the Center for Historic Preservation, which is located on the MTSU campus.

“Samuel Henry is a well-known name in the settlement of the territory that would become Tennessee in 1796,” noted Hankins, who added that as early as 1792, Henry built a fort, Henry’s Station, and planted crops on his land grant.

Married to Polly Beal, with whom he fathered six children, Henry was a quartermaster during the Revolutionary War and played an important role in selecting Maryville as the seat of government for Blount County. In addition to his civic duties, he constructed several mills in the area and also obtained a permit to install special stones for grinding wheat.

Through the years, Henry’s sons expanded the business with a wagon trade that reached as far as Atlanta, Ga. When the mail routes were established, one of the mills that was known as “Brick Mill” became a stop on the regular route.

The second generation to own the property was son James. He and wife Narcissa Howard, along with their five children, produced grain, hay and livestock on the farm. During this period, a substantial brick house, built in the Federal style, was constructed. According to family records, the home’s bricks were molded and baked by slaves from the red clay on the property. James died before the house was completed and under Narcissa’s direction it was completed. She lived there until her death in 1885.

The farm’s long history includes generations of owners, all of whom have kept portions of the historic farm in agricultural production.

Today, the farm is owned by Henry descendants Ginna E. French, Larry French and James French. Larry works the land, raising tobacco, hay and cattle. The 1833 Federal house, which was long the home of Narcissa, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

“The Samuel Henry Farm, linked to the history of this area throughout more than two centuries, is the 33rd Century Farm to be certified in Blount County,” Hankins observed.

The Wikipedia page for the National Register of Historic Places listings in Blount County, Tennessee has a pretty good picture of the Henry House, too.