Endangered Home to be Saved by Old North Knoxville Resident's Father

By: Kim Davis (Old North Knoxville webmaster)
August 14, 2001

You may have noticed this majestic house gracing the entrance to the Gibbs Drive Historic District from the Target parking lot across the street.  Threatened by neglect and possible demolition, this prominent residence, located at 2805 Gibbs Drive, had the dubious honor of being one of Knox Heritage's most endangered historic sites in all of Knox County.  But the uncertain future of this historic property suddenly took a turn for the better, as of a few days ago.  Its savior came in the form of Joe Whaley, who is the father of Old North Knoxville's David Whaley (married to Tomica Miller).

Built in 1922-1923 by contractor B.L. Chambers for himself and his family, the house was purchased by one of its more famous occupants, George Dempster (1887-1964) five years later.  Dempster held over 25 patents as an inventor, his most famous invention being the "Dempster Dumpster." He later served as Mayor of Knoxville in the 1950s.  Mr. Dempster contributed to many other noteworthy causes, including starting Goodwill Industries, and fighting vigorously against the interstate coming right through downtown (he was quoted as saying "It's a Cadillac for a Ford town"), which ended up causing the demolition of over 400 homes in the historic Fourth and Gill neighborhood alone. 

Later, the home sold in foreclosure to the Francis family, who were area coal magnates. Ms. Francis loved the home, although in the end she thought it stood in the way of "progress" on Broadway, and was even quoted in a 1980s newspaper interview as saying she "wanted it torn down."  Her aunt owned Park Place across Broadway, which was the magnificent 21-room brick Baumann Victorian mansion razed in 1980 to make way for... Target.  Ahhh, progress! (Is the moral here: "One man's trash is another man's treasure"? Or the other way around?)

Mr. Whaley plans to live in the 12-room house, after addressing roof repairs and updating electrical/plumbing systems, the kitchen and bathrooms.  He will also be be busy stripping wallpaper and woodwork.  The 1 1/2 acre yard contains many artifacts of a bygone era that he plans to restore, including two lily ponds, a fountain and a shuffleboard court.

I am pretty sure I can say, without reservation, that area preservationists are eternally grateful to Mr. Whaley for stepping forward and saving this piece of Knoxville history.