Burlington | |
---|---|
Alternative names | Elliston-Farrell House |
General information | |
Architectural style | Renaissance architecture |
Town or city | Nashville, Tennessee |
Country | United States |
Completed | 1816; 1859 |
Demolished | 1932 |
Client | Joseph Thorpe Elliston; William R. Elliston |
Design and construction | |
Architect(s) | William Strickland |
Burlington, also known as the Elliston-Farrell House, was a historic mansion on a plantation in mid-town Nashville, Tennessee, US. It stood on modern-day Elliston Place.
The plantation was established by Joseph T. Elliston, a silversmith who served as the fourth mayor of Nashville from 1814 to 1817. [1] In 1811, Elliston purchased 208 acres for $11,435.75 (~$222,274 in 2021) in mid-town, from "what is now 20th Avenue to a line covering part of Centennial Park, and from a line well within the Vanderbilt campus today to Charlotte Avenue." [1] He subsequently purchased 350 acres "along what is now Murphy Road, including the Acklen Park [West End Park] area." [1] It ran across West End Avenue, which had not yet been built. [2]
Elliston built a small house in 1816, and he named it Burlington "after the Elliston homestead in Kentucky." [3] The house stood on modern-day Elliston Place. [4] It was designed by William Strickland in the Renaissance architectural style. [5]
His son William R. Elliston, who served as a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives from 1845 to 1847, inherited the plantation in 1856. With his wife Elizabeth Boddie, he built a bigger house on his father's old house in 1859. [5] The Ellistons were slaveholders. [6]
The plantation was inherited by their daughter, Lizinka. With her husband, Edward Buford, a Confederate veteran, she built a new house in 1887. [7] By 1889 they had sold most of the land to the West End Land Company for development. [2] [3] Part of the land was also donated to build the campus of Vanderbilt University. [6]
The house was dismantled in 1932. [5] However, the materials were used by the Shepherds, who were descendants of the Ellistons, to build a new mansion called Burlington in Green Hills, designed by architect Bryant Fleming. [4]
In 2012, Vanderbilt University named Elliston Hall for Elizabeth Boddie Elliston. [6] In a 2017 article, USA Today questioned their decision to honor a slaveholder on their campus. [6]
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