1800s
The house was built in 1869 for Michael Goldman, who at one time was a merchant in Rutledge, and was County Court Clerk of Grainger County from 1865-1872. It was built by Major Sawyer, a veteran of the Union Army in the Civil War. Mr. Goldman gave Major Sawyer $1,000 to furnish all material and labor involved in building the house. After Mr. Goldman’s death, the house was occupied by his son, John N. Goldman, who was a lawyer in Rutledge. After John N. Goldman’s death around 1920, ownership of the house passed to Johnnie Alexander Long, the granddaughter of John N. Goldman.
Building the Bryan House...
The house was originally of frame construction, two stories high, and with a stairway leading from the second floor to a large unfinished room above that extended in length and width the size of the entire house below. The exterior walls were of poplar weatherboarding and had never been painted. The roof was of wood shingles, but the exact type of wood is unknown. There were front porches at the level of the first and second floor. These porches extended the entire width of the house (38 feet) and were eight feet deep. The upstairs porch was surrounded by a rather elaborate wood railing about two and a half feet high. At the back of the house there was a wing extending straight back that was one story high and consisted of two rooms. The room next to the house was the kitchen, and the room behind it may have been a utility or storage room. The front door opened from the porch into a hall eight feet wide and extended straight back to the door leading into the kitchen—a distance of 30 feet. On each side of this hall were two doors leading into two rooms. The four rooms were approximately the same size: 14.5 by 15 feet. The house differed from most houses of that period because at the time, extremely high ceilings were common. The ceilings of the first floor hall and rooms were eight feet and four inches high, and the second floor’s ceilings were eight feet high.
All of the woodwork (doors, door and window frames, floors, and wainscot) in the halls and rooms was of poplar or pine and dressed by hand—the plane marks being clearly apparent (planing mills for finishing lumber had not come into use yet when the house was built). The floors were of random width (pine 1.25 inches thick) and dressed only on the exposed side. All rooms and halls were surrounded by a wainscot two feet high. All of the woodwork was in the original state and never had been touched by paint, varnish, or any other finish in the 68 years since construction (as of 1936). There was no evidence of rot or decay. All of the walls were of wood lathe and plaster construction. The lathes were of pine and were split by hand. The plaster appeared to consist of sand and lime. In the two first floor rooms on the east side of the hall, the walls next to the hall were not plastered but were paneled in poplar lumber and had been covered by wallpaper.
There was a brick chimney built into the wall between the front and back rooms on each side of the house. These chimneys extended from the ground through the roof, and there were four fireplaces in each chimney—one in each of the rooms on the first and second floors. All fireplaces were framed by mantels of pine and/or poplar wood. There was also a third chimney in the back wing of the house with a large fireplace in the kitchen. The house rested on four hand-hewn oak sills 8 x 10 inches square and extended the length of the house (30 feet) from front to back. These are still intact, are as sound as ever, and are easily seen from the basement.
1900s
The house was purchased in early summer of 1937 from Mrs. Johnnie Long by Dr. and Mrs. L. C. Bryan for the sum of $1,100 for the house and contents (consisting of various pieces of furniture). Repair and remodeling was started at once and occupied by October 1937. “Doc” Bryan hung out his shingle in 1927 and practiced medicine for 67 years, retiring in 1994, at the age of 93. During his practice he presided over illness and injuries of every kind and also delivered 3,424 babies between 1927 and 1968 when he gave up obstetrics. “Doc” also ran the telephone company for 21 years and was the first Mayor of the modern Town of Rutledge. A “Doc” Bryan Hall of Honor is located in the Bryan House where visitors can learn much more about the man who dedicated his life to the welfare of his beloved Grainger County.
Modernizing the Bryan House...
The work on the house was supervised by W. C. Maples (the carpenter and builder). Others involved were Hugh Farmer (carpenter and brick mason) who did all of the brick work; Hugh Foster who built the rock wall behind the house and helped in all kinds of work; and Dr. Bryan hauled rocks from “Rocky Flat” in the trunk of his Ford Coupe. The house was then plumbed and electrified. The well, 139 feet deep was dug and a coal furnace and stoker were installed (this was replaced many years later with an oil furnace and even later with a propane gas unit). A new roof of asbestos shingles was laid over the old wood shingle roof. The front porches were torn down. The first floor porch was replaced, and six square columns were installed along the front border of the porch to support the ceiling above the upstairs porch. The porch was floored with pine flooring that eventually rotted out and then was replaced by tile about 10 years later. A brick patio was built on the east side of the house accessible through a double door from the living room. The back wing was torn down and replaced by a similar but larger wing consisting of a kitchen and dining space and garage. All three original chimneys were removed, and a large chimney was built from the basement up through the roof to serve a large fireplace in the living room. The living room was made by removing the wall separating the front and back rooms on the east side of the first floor hall forming a room 30 feet by 15 feet. The wallpaper that was on the poplar-paneled west wall was removed, and the same type paneling was applied around the chimney extending to the ceiling. The fireplace mantel that was originally over one of the eight fireplaces was removed. There was no basement under the house, so one was dug to take care of the coal furnace, stoker, and coal storage space. Later it was just used for basic storage. The floors were sanded, finished with shellac, and waxed. All walls were papered. None of the woodwork had ever been varnished or painted, and it was considerably darker in color than when it was installed originally. Two bathrooms were built between the two west rooms on the first and second floors. As a result, the dining room on the first floor and second floor northwest bedroom were made rather small because of the space used for the bathrooms. The third floor was remodeled into one large room, 38 feet by 14 1/2 feet wide, and used as a play room, sewing room, and utility room. There was also an attic over the kitchen and garage entered from the stair landing between the first and second floors for storage.
2000s
Following the death of Dr. Bryan in 2003, the house was purchased in 2004 from the estate of Dr. and Mrs. L. C. Bryan for $110,000. Clinch-Powell RC&D Council, Inc., a not for profit organization, acquired the home for use as offices and a community center.
A Hall of Honor was established for Dr. L. C. Bryan for his dedicated service as a physician and community leader. Visitors occasionally drop in to reminisce about Doc Bryan or get a glimpse of local history. He kept a record of all the babies he delivered, and over the years, many of them have come back as adults to see Doc's house and share their stories.
Lovingly restoring the Bryan House...
This new Clinch-Powell “family” renovated the house with respect and care with construction overseen by Clinch-Powell Construction Company. The knob and tubing electrical wiring was all replaced as was the original cast iron plumbing. The bathtubs were removed and new fixtures installed. The kitchen was converted to a handicapped accessible restroom and storage room. The garage was converted to a kitchen (as it had been originally).
Layers and layers of wall paper were painstakingly removed, and the plaster was repaired. Carpets were removed, and the beautiful original wood floors were revealed. Two sunrooms added in the mid-1900’s were removed, and the coal chute was closed and covered over. A picket fence was constructed in the same design as one removed when Hwy 11W was widened many years ago.
THE BRYAN HOUSE TODAY
Clinch-Powell RC&D continues in the footsteps of Doc as we work to pull people and places out of poverty while maintaining a healthy environment. Clinch-Powell is a 501C3 nonprofit organization with the mission of Building strong communities, Caring for people, and Protecting natural resources.
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