Mechanicsville

Mechanicsville is significant for the architectural styles of its buildings and its social and economic history. The neighborhood contains one of the foremost collection of late 19th century architecture in Knoxville. Its social history involves not only individuals who had an impact on the development of Knoxville, but also economic development which reflects Knoxville's manufacturing prominence during the late 19th century.

Architectural styles in the Mechanicsville Landmark District include Queen Anne, Gothic Revival, Italian Villa and Eastiake styles. Notable Queen Anne style buildings include 1007 Oak and 243 Deaderick Avenue, Queen Anne cottages include the building at 415 Clark Street and 1103 Oak Street. Fire Station No. 5 is Italian Villa in style, while 224 Deaderick Avenue reflects the Gothic Revival style. Commercial buildings in Mechanicsville are Victorian Vernacular Commercial of brick construction.

Queen Anne - The Queen Anne style is rich and varied, with asymmetrical facades, irregular floor plans and a variety of forms, textures, materials and colors. Towers, turrets, tall chimneys, porches, bays and verandas are all characteristic of the style. Leaded and stained glass windows are frequently used, as are transoms and sidelights. The name comes from Queen Anne of England, but the style does not resemble architectural styles used in her reign. It was developed in England in the mid-19th century.

Queen Anne Cottage - The Queen Anne Cottage grew out of the Queen Anne style. It is a smaller, less elaborate variation of that style that uses Queen Anne architectural details. It is one story in height, with a hip and gable roof, interior chimneys and sawn wood ornamentation.

Gothic Revival - This popular style used steeply pitched roofs, wall dormers, and curved gingerbread trim. Stained glass, towers and battlements are often found. The style was developed in England in the mid-1700s and introduced in the U.S. in the early 19th century. Although pure versions of the style are rare, many buildings have elements drawn from Gothic Revival.

Italianate - The first Italianate houses were built in this country in the 1830s and were popularized by Andrew Jackson Downing, who published plan books during that time. The style was drawn from rambling Italian farmhouses, with round-headed windows, elaborate porch columns and railings and bay windows.

Italian Villa - Italian Villa is drawn from the Italianate style and was used in the same time period. Its chief feature is a tall tower rising from the roof. Round-headed windows, a low-pitched hip roof and very wide eaves are also hallmarks of the style.

Eastlake - This style was used at the same time as the Queen Anne style, and resembles it. It is usually more vertical than Queen Anne styles. Wood trim is characterized by applied bulls' eyes, rosettes, or "X" or other letter shapes. The style often refers only to interiors and closely imitates the Eastlake style of furniture popular at the same time.

Folk Victorian - Folk Victorian houses use architectural details from more formal Victorian styles like Queen Anne or Italianate, combined with smaller, more simple house plans. Shotgun houses are often Folk Victorian.

Craftsman - The Craftsman style was inspired mainly by two California architects who were brothers - Charles Sumner Greene and Henry Mather Greene. They began to design the simple Craftsman-style bungalows about 1903, which were well-publicized and spread throughout the country. They usually have low-pitched, gabled roofs, wide eave overhangs with exposed rafters, large front porches with tapered or square porch posts or columns and use dormer windows.

Victorian Vernacular Commercial - The commercial buildings built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries were usually Victorian Vernacular Commercial. They were simple load-bearing brick buildings with flat roofs, segmentally-arched windows, large storefront windows and entry doors with transoms. They are not attributable to any single architect, but grew out of the residential style traditions of Queen Anne, Italianate and Eastlake.

The area of present day Mechanicsville which contains the most intact number of historic structures was developed initially as Deaderick's Addition, J. W. Swann's Addition, and Moses Fairview Addition. This area contains the larger Queen Anne and Italianate houses built for factory owners and area businessmen, and the smaller cottages of factory workmen. The cohesiveness of the neighborhood comes from its tree-shaded streets and homes built on slight hills set equidistant from the street and each other.

The Mechanicsville Landmarks District derives its name from the large number of factories that developed just outside its boundaries during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was settled around 1880. By 1883, Mechanicsville had a population of over 2,000. Most residents of Mechanicsville worked in the factories and mills that surrounded the neighborhood. Mechanicsville, with its railroad and water source (Second Creek), quickly became the center for industrial activity in Knoxville.

A February 4, 1883 newspaper article in The Tribune described a bustling atmosphere with factories, handsome residences, small but comfortable cottages, three churches, two schools, six grocery and general stores, a greenhouse and-four stores. Knoxville annexed Mechanicsville in 1883. At that time it had the largest number of manufacturers in Knoxville.

One of the first industries to locate in Mechanicsville was the Knoxville Iron Company, incorporated in 1868. Captain Hiram S, Chamberlain, president of Knoxville Iron Company, was a Union Army Captain from Ohio and Chief Quartermaster of Knoxville at the close of the Civil War. He supplied the business knowledge, Welsh ironmasters furnished the technical knowledge, and a majority of Blacks served as the labor for the company. The Knoxville Iron Company manufactured bar iron, nails, and railroad spikes, as well as ornamental iron. Ornamental iron fences and trim on houses in Mechanicsville are probably products of the Knoxville Iron Company.

Other industries in Mechanicsville included Knoxville Brewing Company, Knox Standard Handle, W. H. Evans & Son (suppliers of Italian marble), The Pottery and Pipe Works, Knoxville Box & Keg Factory, a railroad turntable factory, a broom factory, a soap factory, Cudley Planing Mill and Knoxville Car & Wheel.

The neighborhood was racially diverse from the time of its founding. The Welsh and some other workers were white, but industries near Mechanicsville always hired a number of black workers. The people who lived in Mechanicsville were usually teachers, bookkeepers, salesman, and manufacturing or railroad workers.

A school was first located in the neighborhood in 1875, when Col. John L. Moses deeded the land on Arthur Street for Fairview School. It was built by Black citizens for the Black children of Knoxville. Moses School occupies the site of Fairview School.

Cansler Street was named for Professor Charles W. Cansler, a lawyer, author and educator. His mother was the first Black teacher in Knoxville and his family became teachers in area schools. He worked with E. E. Patton, a member of the Tennessee State Senate, for legislation to provide playgrounds and parks for Knoxville Blacks and for other legislation which extended the rights of inheritance to Black citizens of Tennessee. He also was responsible for the erection of a public library for Blacks in Knoxville with funds provided by the Carnegie corporation.

Although many of the uses have changed over time, the neighborhood still contains churches, some small commercial uses and the fire hall. Moses School (once known as Fairview School) is now used for offices. Deterioration of some structures has occurred; however, the last few years have seen a number of rehabilitation projects that have resulted in a greatly improved neighborhood. Mechanicsville is significant for its history and its architecture. It presents an important picture of growth and development in late 19th century Knoxville.