A Brief History of the Historic De Armand House
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Provided by Randall De Ford The De Armand/Gillespie/Anderson house at 1416 Clinch Avenue was built in 1894. The Queen Anne-style house, designed by Albert Benjamin and Joseph F. Bauman, was built in the much desired neighborhood of West Knoxville. The house was commissioned by, Richard T. and Ella E. De Armand. R.T. De Armand was a U.S. marshal and state law maker who lived in the house until 1807. He sold the house a year later to Hortense Booth Gillespie, the wife of John Gillespie, a partner in the Gillespie, Shields & Co. wholesale clothing firm on Gay Street. The Gillespies lived in the house until 1941. The Gillespies' daughter, also named Hortense, married Cecil Anderson and lived in the home with him until it was sold in 1980 to the Shagan family. The history of the block upon which the house was built is as intriguing as the house itself. Originally containing nine houses, five on the north side and four on the south, the 1400 block of Clinch became known as Widow's Row in the late 1890s. Prominent widows commissioned the Baumann brothers to build Victorian homes at 1401, 1402, 1414 and 141 5 Clinch Ave. After the De Armands left 1416 Clinch, another De Armand house was built on the same side of the block. The De Armand house at 1416 Clinch is an excellent example of the Baumann brothers interpretation of the Queen Anne style. The turreted roof, wrap around front porch and stained-glass windows are mindful of a time of strong, thriving downtown neighborhoods. Inside the house are cedar-lined closets, a grand entrance stair and parlors with pocket doors. |