THC Celebrates 30 Years at Clover Bottom

On October 23, 2024, the Tennessee Historical Commission will celebrate its 30^th anniversary of moving to Clover Bottom in Donelson. As one of the oldest farms in Davidson County, Clover Bottom has been a witness to some of Tennessee’s most important historical developments, including the establishment of the state’s major agricultural economy in the late 18^th and early 19^th centuries, the Civil War and the emancipation of enslaved people at its conclusion, the early 20^th century shifts new agricultural products, the development of suburbs, the establishment of government institutions providing crucial services to Tennesseans of all walks of life, and the rise of historic preservation as a vital tool of saving places that matter. The establishment of Clover Bottom as the home of the Tennessee Historical Commission is just the most recent episode in a long and varied history. 

History of Clover Bottom

The area known as Clover Bottom was so-named by John Donelson in 1780 for the white clover growing in the bottom land along the Stones River. In 1797, Revolutionary War veteran John Hoggatt purchased 360 acres, which he gradually increased to 775 acres by 1816. Since Clover Bottom’s establishment, its success as a farm was dependent on the labor of enslaved people of African descent. Census records note thirteen enslaved people at Clover Bottom during its first year, which increased to more than sixty by 1850.

In 1847, ownership passed to Dr. James W. Hoggatt who, with his wife Mary Ann Hoggatt, were responsible for the farm’s major growth and expansion. By the time of the Civil War, Clover Bottom farm contained approximately 1,500 acres, stretching from the Stones River in the north and east to slightly past Stewarts Ferry Pike on the west and as far south as McCrory’s Creek, near the modern-day Interstate 40.

Many of the buildings still standing at Clover Bottom were built during the Hoggatt’s tenure, including Clover Bottom Mansion. The mansion was originally constructed in 1853 in the Greek Revival style, which the enslaved people called the “White House.” In February 1859, the mansion burned, leaving only the masonry exterior walls and chimneys. The process of rebuilding began immediately with hired craftsmen and carpenters from Nashville. The Hoggatts decided to have their new house built in the fashionable Italianate style. Rather than the Greek Revival-style portico supported by large columns of their previous house (the remnants of which still remain in the front lawn), their new house had an ornate portico with detailed moldings and brackets. A side addition was built soon after, bringing the mansion to its present form.

The 1850s also brought changes to the enslaved population, much of which was recorded by John McCline, who was born into slavery at Clover Bottom. Published in 1998 as Slavery in the Clover Bottoms: John McCline’s Narrative of his Life During Slavery and the Civil War, McCline’s memoir provides rare and important details about life for enslaved Black people in Davidson County. McCline described all aspects of enslaved life, from work growing diverse crops, such as corn or strawberries, to social life, such as corn husking bees. Around 1858, a harsh new overseer had new wood-frame dwellings built in two rows, one near the rear of the mansion and the other near the fields. The dwellings replaced the previous cabins and houses which were “scattered about the place,” which the new overseer thought encouraged too much freedom. Two of those new dwellings remain at Clover Bottom, one of which still retains the overall appearance and arrangement of the board-and-batten single-room one-story cabin that housed entire families.

During the Civil War, Clover Bottom’s inhabitants witnessed the activities of both Confederate and Union forces. Early during the war, McCline remembered watching Confederate troops from Wilson County marching down Lebanon Pike, in front of the mansion, to Nashville. However, by 1862, Union forces arrived in the area and occupied Nashville. A group of a few thousand soldiers established a camp less than a mile from the mansion, and Union Generals Crittenden and Morgan briefly stayed at Clover Bottom. In December 1862, then ten-year-old John McCline seized his chance to escape slavery and joined the Union army as they passed the mansion on Lebanon Pike. McCline served as a teamster and went on to participate in campaigns at Murfreesboro, Lookout Mountain, and into Georgia as part of General Sherman’s march through Georgia and the Carolinas.

Following Dr. Hoggatt’s death in 1863 and the end of the Civil War in 1865, Mary Ann Hoggatt took over management of the farm. Many of the formerly enslaved people left Clover Bottom but many remained, some taking on the last name of Hoggatt (alternatively spelled Hockett) per custom of the time. Many became tenant farmers or waged labor on the farm. For instance, Sam and Katie Washington worked as chauffeur and laundress, respectively, while Edward Hill served as a domestic servant within the mansion for $15 per month. Many of the workers lived within the cabins on the farm, which were later commonly altered and expanded to suit their needs.

In 1878, Mary Ann Hoggatt began lease agreements with distant cousins in the Price family. Following her death in 1887, ownership of the farm passed to Andrew Price. A native of Louisiana, Price and his wife Anna “Nan” Margaret Gay initially used Clover Bottom as a summer home. Over the next several years, Price transformed Clover Bottom into a premier Thoroughbred breeding establishment, devoting more than $32,000 to construct a racetrack, stables, and purchase horses and equipment.

Among the farm’s most prized horses was Egotist, who was frequently touted in newspapers for his success on the track and as a stud who produced dozens of offspring that went on to become successful racehorses. Egotist Bell, for instance, was described as “the best trotter yet bred at Clover Bottom Farm.” Mares, such as Clover Belle and Anna Gay, were similarly praised, and Clover Bottom foals won such awards as Best Foal or Best Filly Foal at the Tennessee State Fair.

In 1906, state legislation prohibiting betting caused the horse race industry to decline. At the same time, Andrew Price’s health decline led the family to sell many of the horses, including his favorite horse Egotist. In 1909 Price died of Bright’s disease (now called nephritis, or chronic inflammation of the kidneys). After his death, Anna Price took over management of the farm until she elected to sell it to brothers Arthur Fuqua and Robert D. Stanford in 1918 for $220,000.

Natives of Hartsville, Tennessee, the Stanford brothers had made their success in the wholesale furniture business in Oklahoma City. When World War I negatively affected their business, they decided to return to Tennessee and purchased Clover Bottom farm. The brothers split the farm with Robert taking 464 acres north of Lebanon Pike and half of a 257-acre tract on the south side of Stewarts Ferry Pike, while Arthur kept the remainder. Over the next few decades, Robert Stanford subdivided his land and developed some of Donelson’s first suburban neighborhoods, including Millionaire’s Row on Lebanon Pike and the National Register-listed Bluefields neighborhood.

Like the owners who came before him, Arthur Stanford made significant changes to the agricultural character of Clover Bottom. Stanford converted the farm into a large dairy operation, which mirrored regional developments in agriculture as farmers switched from growing crops to livestock as a more profitable venture. Stanford constructed a larger modern 200 stanchion dairy barn to take care of the herd of approximately 250 Jersey and Guernsey cows. He sold most of the milk to the Nashville Pure Milk Company, which was then used in a variety of Tru-li-Pure pasteurized products. Bottom lands near the Stones River continued to be used to grow corn and silage. Stanford attempted to create his own grain brand and constructed a feed mill and silo to facilitate storage, production, and sale but the venture proved too great.

Other important changes were improvements to worker housing, including a campaign to build new tenant houses, possibly using salvage materials from demolished cabins. One such tenant house still stands to the rear of Clover Bottom Mansion, near the railroad tracks. By the 1930s, there were seven separate families living at Clover Bottom, most of whom were white. One such person was Thomas W. Patton, who as a teenager got up at 3:30 a.m. every morning to assist with milking the cows before going to school. He gave his $5 per month wage to his parents to help with the family’s expenses.

While Robert Stanford was the main land developer in the family, Arthur Stanford also contributed to the development of Donelson. In 1921, he sold 450 acres along Stewarts Ferry Pike to the State of Tennessee. The state established a school and residential home for people with intellectual or behavioral disabilities. Known initially as the State Training School and Home for Feeble-Minded Persons, the institution expanded over the years and was renamed Clover Bottom Hospital and School in 1961.

In 1927, Arthur Stanford married Merle Hutcheson. Stanford’s elderly mother, Lizzie, also lived at Clover Bottom until her death in 1934. In 1939, Arthur Stanford died, leaving Merle to manage the farm. She sold the farm to a mortgage company in 1947. After leaving Clover Bottom, she remarried and became Merle Davis. When she was in her 90s, Davis participated in oral history interviews with THC staff. Her memories have provided crucial detail about the Stanford era of ownership and Clover Bottom’s history.

In 1949, the State of Tennessee purchased the remaining acres of Clover Bottom for $150,000 as part of a plan to build new state facilities and expand existing adjacent institutions. In 1952, the state began construction on the new and modern Tennessee School for the Blind on the former location of the Hoggatts’ garden and the Prices’ horse track at the corner of Lebanon Pike and Stewarts Ferry Pike. Teachers and school administrators were housed in Clover Bottom mansion, which was subdivided into apartments. Throughout the following decades, the state began to develop tracts of land and sold other parts, primarily along the south side of Lebanon Pike. In 1966, the state used a corn field northeast of the mansion as the site of the new Tennessee Law Enforcement Training Academy. Other tracts became home to privately owned apartment buildings and big-box retail stores.

The farm continued to operate but became part of the Clover Bottom Institutional Farm. Patients at Clover Bottom Hospital worked at the farm, growing crops and taking care of the livestock. The original intent of the arrangement was to provide vocational training for patients, so as to assist them with securing employment upon leaving the facility. However, in reality, few patients left as many people still saw institutionalization as the best way to help disabled people. Critics argued that the arrangement was peonage, or involuntary servitude to pay a debt.

By the 1960s, Clover Bottom Hospital had come under fire for its overcrowded conditions and reports of abuse. The farm also had problems with profitability, possibly caused by depleted soils, despite the best efforts to utilize conservation techniques. In 1972, four former patients filed a class action suit in an effort to obtain back wages and benefits. The case went all the way to the Tennessee Supreme Court, who ruled against them in 1978. However, the case led to major changes even before the ruling. In direct response, the state ended the practice of unpaid labor at mental institutions. Meanwhile, other lawsuits led to the guarantee of rights and treatment. The combination of these lawsuits, other lawsuits in other states and at the federal level, negative press and legislative attentions, and changing philosophies in the mental health field resulted in a move towards deinstitutionalization and increased focus on educational programs and treatment. Accordingly, the hospital’s name changed to Clover Bottom Developmental Center in 1973 to reflect the change in mission.

Preservation of Clover Bottom

Following the tumultuous events of state ownership in the 1960s and mid-1970s, Clover Bottom was vacated. The mansion and its outbuildings began to deteriorate. Vegetation quickly became overgrown, and vandals regularly broke in and destroyed architectural features, such as the banister on the mansion’s wrap around staircase.

Alarmed by the property’s rapidly worsening condition, local people lobbied the State of Tennessee to save the mansion. The Tennessee Historical Commission successfully listed the mansion and the Hoggatt Family Cemetery in the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. Donelson residents created the Historic Clover Bottom Association (later the Donelson-Hermitage chapter of the Association for the Preservation of Tennessee Antiquities) and actively promoted fundraising drives. The association actively promoted reuse, such as partnering with the Middle Tennessee State University Historic Preservation Program and Center for Historic Preservation to explore possible options in 1988.

In 1992, the State of Tennessee committed to saving the property. Over the next two years, approximately $1.3 million was used to rehabilitate the mansion to serve as the offices of the Tennessee Historical Commission. The exterior was restored to its early appearance and modern amenities, such as elevator and restrooms, were added at the rear in the enclosed back porch. Since its dedication in October 1994, Clover Bottom has continued to house THC staff and the commission’s archives, serves researchers, provides free meeting spaces for government agencies and non-profit organizations, and hosts special events. The grounds are used for outdoor recreation, and photographers often use the outbuildings as backdrops to document everything from proms and engagements to family photos. 

The THC and the State of Tennessee have continued to preserve Clover Bottom’s larger property. The State of Tennessee provided funding to restore several outbuildings during the summer of 2015. Restored buildings included the ca. 1850 carriage house, the ca. 1858 slave/tenant cabins, the ca. 1920 chicken coop, the ca. 1895 horse stable, and the ca. 1920 privy. More recently, Boy Scouts whitewashed one of the cabins to ensure its continued preservation.

The THC has also continued to explore Clover Bottom’s history and tell the stories of its past, including those of the enslaved. Former THC survey coordinator, Steve Rogers, provided extensive assistance on research for the publication of John McCline’s memoir and published pieces about the farm’s history in the Tennessee Historical Quarterly. In May 2014, the THC sponsored preservationist Joseph McGill’s first trip to Middle Tennessee. McGill founded The Slave Dwelling Project which advocates for the interpretation and preservation of dwellings. Alongside lectures, McGill stayed overnight in slave dwellings at three local historic sites, including Clover Bottom.

In 2015, the THC awarded a Historic Preservation Fund grant to Middle Tennessee State University to conduct an archaeological field school, which located foundations that are believed to have been associated with demolished cabins for the enslaved. The students also investigated census records and other documentation to compile information about African Americans at Clover Bottom during the era of enslavement as well as post-emancipation. The MTSU investigation built upon the groundwork laid by the Tennessee Division of Archaeology, which assisted with rehabilitation efforts in the early 1990s by monitoring construction and recording information found during the project, such as the names of past builders recorded on attic boards. The work of Rogers, MTSU, and the TDOA has provided crucial information to understand and interpret Clover Bottom’s history, which led the THC to comprehensively update and expand the National Register listing for Clover Bottom in 2019. Though the Nashville area continues to witness record development, including in Clover Bottom’s vicinity, the THC remains committed to utilizing and preserving Clover Bottom as not only a tangible piece of our past, but also as a vital piece of Donelson’s local community and culture.