2106 Young Ave. in the new Cooper-Young neighborhood
Circa 1898. Large 2.5 story home in Queen Anne style
The home was built by real estate developer Frank Trimble. In 1900, the home was purchased by Capt. C. L. Harris with 3 acres on a hill. Originally the home faced west; in 1925, the front was remodeled to face south on Young.
Capt. Cornelius Leroy Harris (1841-1916) and Frances Lee Craig Harris (1840-1908) purchased the new home. He was a Ripley, MS native as were two other founders of the Ripley railroad in the area: Col. William Falkner and Harris’ son-in-law Richard James “R. J.” Thurmond. Evidently, there was a major disagreement about the future of their rail line. The railroad company connected Ripley with the Memphis & Charleston Line at Middleton, TN. Thurmond fatally shot Falkner, and Harris hired a really good lawyer who got Thurmond acquitted of murder. Because of the pressure on the families in Ripley, the Harris and R.J. and Dora Harris Thurmond families moved to Memphis and bought the new home. Four generations of the Harris family resided there until 1935. The Thurmond family moved to Vance Ave.
In 1910, land was sold to the city of Memphis, and a school for the new neighborhood was opened - actually was the third attempt. Originally called Fleece Station for a nearby street, it was soon changed to Peabody School after a contribution from an American financier in London - the same George Peabody after which the downtown Memphis hotel is named.
In 1935, a renter Charles Hilman Brough Baker (1901-1977) and his new bride Eva Ada Mills Baker purchased the home. Baker had a relative, Charles H. Bough, who was an Arkansas governor. Between Capt. Harris and Armstrong, the home was an officer’s club during the Second World War - when the Second Army was stationed at the fairgrounds and later a lumberman’s association headquarters (1960-1977). It remains the second oldest house in the Cooper Young neighborhood.
In 1977, Chip and Meredith Armstong owned the home. He was a treasurer of Legacy Memphis. A large piece of the property was sold to the City of Memphis to build Peabody Elementary School. In 2023, the Capt. Harris home had been divided into 5 apartments. NR 1978
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