The Bonds House is located just east of downtown Humboldt, TN in a residential section close to East Main Street. The Craftsman style of the house is seen in its low-pitched, hipped roof, deeply overhanging eaves, brackets under the eaves, and front porch beneath an extension of the main roof. Originally built around 1900 & extensively remodeled in 1923 for the James D. Bonds family, it has retained the characteristics reflecting its Craftsman architecture.
James D. Bonds, Sr. was born in 1851 on a farm in rural Gibson County, Tennessee, in an area between Humboldt and nearby Milan. According to the 1870 census, James was living at home and his occupation was listed as farm laborer. In 1877 J.D. Bonds bought a lot in the town of Humboldt, and in that same year he married Clara Viola Brown. The 1880 census lists the couple and two young sons in Greenfield, Tennessee, where James’ occupation is listed as a grocer. Between 1880 and 1888, James and the family moved to Humboldt. His older brother Thomas had moved to Humboldt in the 1860's and established himself as a merchant. In 1890, J.D. Bonds bought several properties in Humboldt, including a lot on the east side of Cannon Street (now 19th Avenue) from C.D. Allen for $100 including the land on which the Bonds House is now located. By this time, the Bonds family was well established & respected in the community including a publication from 1890 that lists J.D. Bonds as the Town Marshal for Humboldt. And, during the decade of the 1890's, the Bonds family bought several lots and tracts of land in Humboldt, and by 1900 the census lists J.D. Bonds, his wife, and nine children living on a farm in the Third Civil District (Humboldt). This farm house was expanded over the years to its current 1923 Craftsman appearance as seen in the photograph above.
In much of the South in the 1800's, cotton was “king” in Gibson County. By the 1870's, though, diversification of agriculture began to set in and tomatoes, cabbage, lettuce, sweet potatoes, and other fruits & vegetables became more common. In particular the production of strawberries, sweet potatoes, and corn became important industries in the area. In 1920, Tennessee led the nation in the production of strawberries, and the area centered around Gibson County was consistently one of the leading regions in the state. Humboldt, being strategically located on the crossing of the Mobile & Ohio and the Louisville & Nashville railroads, became a major shipping point for many of these farm products. According to the West Tennessee Strawberry Festival’s website, “a large number of shipping & processing industries developed to serve this growing and diversified agricultural base.” One such business was J.D. Bonds & Son, opened in 1898 on Front Street in the “Crossing” area of Humboldt. Later records indicate this firm was the first one of its kind in Humboldt. It is not known precisely how many fruit brokerage businesses were established in Humboldt but, based upon local records & advertisements, J.D. Bonds & Son was one of the first and the most publicly visible business of its kind in the area.
The Bonds House was determined to be eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) on August 30, 2010 under criterion C as a good example of a brick Craftsman style house in Humboldt and also under criterion A for its association with the locally prominent Bonds family whose profitable fruit brokerage in the operated Crossing area of Humboldt for nearly 70 years. The house highlights the Bonds family’s success in one of the town’s most prosperous industries in the early 1900's. All the information above was found on the original documents submitted to the NRHP for listing consideration and can be viewed here: catalog.archives.gov/id/135818333
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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