Bad news for Brentvale Cabin, Brentwood's nearly 200-year-old historic site

Nashville Tennessean

Brentvale was originally two cabins constructed in the 1830s on Old Smyrna Road. It served as a home for William Temple Sneed, the son of one of Brentwood's earliest European settlers.

Fast forward nearly 200 years.

Crockett Park's Brentvale cabin located in Brentwood, Tenn. stands surrounded by barbed wire on Sunday, May 15, 2022. Several assessments concluded it "unrepairable and structurally unsafe," according to the city.

The historical site at Brentwood's Crockett Park is scheduled this year to be disassembled. For now, it sits in the heart of the park, surrounded by barbed wire and signs warning passersby:

"Keep Out"

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Several recent assessments revealed that the settling of the foundation and natural deterioration have made the log structure unrepairable and structurally unsafe, according to the City of Brentwood. Anne Dunn, a member of Brentwood's historic commission, in April presented to the city's board of commissioners its recommendation to disassemble the home.

"The historic board hoped that it could be preserved; three assessments have been done," Dunn said as she announced the recommendation to the city's board of commissioners. "All three assessments said the same thing. It's a danger to the public the way it is right now."

Logs from one of William Temple Sneed's original homes were used to build Brentvale on Old Smyrna Road in the 1930s. Logs from other places were also used. The original Sneed home is believed to have been built in 1830.

The cabins were combined in the 1930s, and now reflect the history of families that lived there and renovated the site in later years, Dunn said.

In 1993, the home was sold to Roger and Barbara Mick. The couple gifted the home's core — the original log cabin — to the city, which was the relocated to Crockett Park.

Some parts, like the inside flooring, are newer additions, meaning the home isn't entirely historically accurate to its initial construction. So, the historic commission recommends salvaging parts that are historically valuable and eventually construct a structure in the cabin's place.

One assessment by Leatherwood Inc., a contractor specializing in historic restoration, recommended rebuilding the structure utilizing as much of the original fabric as possible.

Brentvale, a historic cabin located at Crockett Park in Brentwood, Tenn., stands surrounded by barbed wire on Sunday, May 15, 2022. The Brentwood historic commission recently recommended to the city that the almost 200-year-old home be disassembled.

"To repair this structure in place will be far more expensive than re-building without achieving the best possible results," the company's report said.

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The City of Brentwood now plans to hire a contractor to disassemble the home, while the historic commission plans to return to the city's commission with a recommendation for the site's future use.

Anika Exum is a reporter covering Williamson County at The Tennessean, part of the USA TODAY Network — Tennessee. Reach her at aexum@tennessean.com, 615-347-7313 or on Twitter @aniexum.

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