Historic home still standing after nearly two centuries
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His vocation placed him squarely in what 20th century pundits termed the ?Atomic Age,? but despite the years spent on these high-tech ocean-going vessels, Miller never lost his love of things historical, things created and hand-built by artisans from earlier times.
That?s why Miller has taken it upon himself to try and preserve a piece of that history right here in Warren County, the Rock Martin house. Miller purchased the two-story brick home and 237 acres when his uncle, E.Q. ?Tip? Miller, passed away in 1990.
?Rock Martin had the house built in about 1820, that?s the best guess,? Miller said. ?Then Wiley Miller bought it in about 1866 or early 1867, shortly after Rock Martin and his wife died. Then Wiley Miller sold it to my grandfather in 1901, William Van Dorn Miller, who was sheriff of Warren County.?
The house has gone through a number of changes during its almost two centuries of existence.
One section was burned and rebuilt, and an addition added at the rear of the structure had so deteriorated that Raleigh had to have it torn down during renovations. There was originally a Federal-style front entrance which was later replaced by an ornate framed porch.
?I?ve seen a picture of the house with Wiley Miller sitting on a small Federal stoop with his wife,? Miller said. ?Wiley Miller was as broad as he was tall and he wore a black hat. He was a funny-looking character.?
Miller, 74, says he bought the house mainly because he has such close ties to it, even living there for a year in the early 1940s when he was 10 years old.
?I?m a sentimentalist I guess,? Miller said. ?I told my dad and uncle Tip I wanted to keep the farm in the family.?
Miller doesn?t live in the house and has no plans to do so. Though he hired well-known restoration specialists Leatherwood, Inc. to renovate the exterior, particularly the chimneys which were losing bricks and endangering the structure?s roof, he has no plans to restore the interior, which needs extensive work.
He did say he would be interested in working out an arrangement with a preservation-oriented organization, perhaps even deeding the house and an acre of land, with the assurance the group would restore and maintain the structure for future generations.
According to research by Martin descendent Jacqueline H. Haley, who is the great-great-granddaughter of Rock and Jennie Martin, the property has a storied history. The Martins had a distillery nearby and kept overnight guests, where, as Haley says, ?The food was known to be good, the Apple Jack strong, and the card games fast.?
General Andrew Jackson was a frequent visitor, as was the Marquis De Lafayette and Nathan Bedford Forrest.
The house and farm, located at 1597 Old Rock Island Road, was formally placed on the National and Tennessee Registers of Historic Places by the National Park Service of the U.S. Department of the Interior on July 22, 2005. Miller was also recognized for Preservation of a Landmark Home by Heritage Alliance and the Warren County Historical Commission at the Warren County Preservation Awards recently for his efforts to preserve the home.
Miller says he feels it?s imperative we preserve Warren County history and its landmark buildings.
?You know, if we don?t know where we came from, we won?t know where we?re going,? Miller said, ?and this, to me, is an indication of where we came from, and I think it?s important to preserve it for that reason.?
Quick facts
? The home is on the National Registry of Historic places
? General Andrew Jackson was a frequent visitor as well as Marquis De Lafayette and Nathan Bedford Forrest
? The home has stayed in the same two families since it was built