|  Athenaeum, the name given to the temples
of Athena, goddess of wisdom, is a word
that has evolved to mean "seat of learning." In the Roman Empire, the
Athenaeum was a school for the study of the arts; the building may be
visited in Rome today. Several buildings in Western Europe and the United
States have been named Athenaeum.
The Athenaeum Rectory, located in Columbia,
Tennessee, is Moorish-Gothic architecture, not typical of the
general building style in 1835. It is the design of Adolphus Heiman,
architect in the early 1800's of many buildings and homes in the
Nashville and Middle Tennessee area. The Athenaeum Rectory was begun
in 1835 as a residence for Samuel Polk Walker, nephew of President
James K. Polk. It was completed in 1837 as the home of The Reverend
Mr. Franklin Gillette Smith. In 1837, The Reverend Mr. Smith came to
Tennessee to be president of The Columbia Female Institute, an
Episcopal school for girls. He was a native of Vermont and a
graduate of Princeton University.
In 1851, The Reverend Mr. Smith resigned from the
Institute to found The Columbia Athenaeum School and the Smith
family home continued to be the Athenaeum Rectory. It contained the
reception room and parlors for the Athenaeum. The bedrooms on the
first floor and an upstairs room were used by the Smith family. The
house never had a kitchen; however, the small two-room building was
probably built for that purpose but was never used as such since the
Smiths had their meals in the school dining room.
In the reception room, original to the house, is the
chandelier made of seven metals; and the front door side panels are
"flashed glass," containing gold made in Europe. Over the mantel
hangs a portrait of The Reverend Mr. Smith. A portrait of Mrs. Smith
is in the parlor. The floors are walnut and oak; the design is known
as wood carpeting. The 10-piece parlor set was made by Joseph Meeks
of Philadelphia in the mid 1800's. It was owned by Sally Ward Smith
Gustine, Mrs. Smith's daughter by her first husband, another Mr.
Smith. The harp in the front parlor is identical to those used at
the Athenaeum School. The fountain gracing the front lawn is French
and is original to the property.
The Columbia Athenaeum was in operation for 52 years
and developed a national reputation for its quality and breadth of
curriculum. The school offered students well-equipped departments in
art, music, history, and science. By 1890, a commercial department
was furnished with typewriters and telegraphic instruments. The
girls enjoyed gymnastics, bowling, croquet, and tennis, and were
given instruction in Bible and etiquette. The library contained over
16,000 volumes, and the department of natural science held over
6.000 specimens, a few of which remain today. The school buildings
and the rectory stood on 22 acres among a grove of large trees.
There were dormitory rooms for 100-125 boarding students in addition
to many day students.
During the Civil War, The Reverend Mr. Smith was a
refugee because of his outspoken sentiment in favor of the
Confederate cause. Mrs. Smith operated the Athenaeum. Two of the
Smiths' sons, Robert Davis and William Austin, were active in
Company B, Second Tennessee Infantry, known as the Maury Rifles.
Organized by Mr. Smith in April 1861, the unit saw action in
Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Georgia before surrendering in
North Carolina in 1865.
After The Reverend Mr. and Mrs. Smiths' deaths, the
Athenaeum was operated by the son, Captain Robert Davis Smith, until
1904. The property was sold by the Smith heirs, and the school
became the high school until 1914. In 1915, a high school was built
by the City of Columbia on the property. The rectory was retained by
the Smith family members as their residence until 1973, when it was
given to the Association for the Preservation of Tennessee
Antiquities for the use of the people of Maury County by Franklin
Gillette Smith's grand-daughter, Fannie Louise Smith Davis of
Lamesa, Texas.
|
