Rose Glen is located at the junction of Bird's Creek Road and the Newport Highway near the East Fork of the Little Pigeon River. The home which was built in 1845 was said to be designed on a Monticello plan. Bilateral symmetry is notable in both the home and grounds. Standing beside the road (the Newport Highway) about sixty feet from the house are two small buildings which, along with the greenery of the hardwood,frame Rose Glen. The small building to the right (seen above) was the office of Dr. Hogsden (the original owner) and Dr. Hicks (the second owner); the one to the left was the loom house which was operated by the servants. The house itself is built upon a "T" plan with the central portion being two stories and the wings of the facade are one story high with fireplaces at each end. The exterior was covered in white clapboard and shutters trim the windows. The recessed entrance to the home is the most attractive aspect where two square columns and matching pilasters support the second floor.
The woodwork of the home, both the frame and interior decor, were completed by hand and put together by pegs. The ceilings and walls were plastered at the time of construction and the floors are of heart pine. There are four rooms on the first floor: a parlor and sitting room form the two wings which are separated by a piazza (designed as part of the entrance). The ceiling of the parlor is embossed with a cameo-like design. There is also a large bedroom and dining room downstairs. The kitchen is in the basement and access is gained by the exterior from which servants brought the meals upstairs. Upstairs there are three large bedrooms. A porch also runs down each side of the rear section and is enclosed in latticework (also seen above).
Rose Glen is important not only because of its exemplative architecture but also because of the prominence of Dr. Hogsden, the original owner of the property. The 1840's might be termed the "developing years" of Sevier County. Settlements had previously been made; it was a time when the fruits of one's toil were realized. Dr. Hogsden came to the Harrisburg vicinity from Maryville where he married Mary Brabson Shields in 1842 and set up practice in the county. Rose Glen was constructed from 1845 to 1850; the unusual design is like "The Maples" in Jefferson City. Dr. Hogsden had his office, a small two room structure, built to the side of the front yard; a house of the same design stands on the other side of the yard to complete the symmetry which is so apparent in the layout of the home. During his early medical career, Dr. Hogsden was the attending physician to one party of Cherokees (roughly 2000) during their forced migration to Oklahoma—commonly known as "The Trail of Tears" and later he was President of the State Medical Society. During the Civil War, he was a representative to the Confederate legislature. Rose Glen remained in the hands of another physician, Dr. Hicks, in the later nineteenth century and the property has remained in his descendants' possession.
The photograph above is through a chain link fence that surrounds the abandoned, decaying property even though it was added to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) on July 18, 1975. I hope that someone somewhere will be willing to obtain and save this piece of East Tennessee history. And, all of the information above was found on the original documents submitted for listing consideration that can be viewed here:
npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/AssetDetail/b984a07e-69f5-4421-bb7...
Three bracketed photos were taken with a handheld Nikon D7200 and combined with Photomatix Pro to create this HDR image. Additional adjustments were made in Photoshop CS6.
"For I know the plans I have for you", declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." ~Jeremiah 29:11
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