It was a wedding gift from William to Corinne.
Hillside, owned by William “Will” Luther Bigelow Lawrence (1828-1902) and Corinne Hayes Lawrence (1836-1914), was built in 1856. It was located on the Middle Franklin Turnpike (present day 12th Avenue South / Granny White Pike further south) and south of Caldwell Ave. The house likely stood where the current Hillside Apartments stand today. The farm stretched roughly from Acklen Ave. to the north, 12th Ave. South on the east, Ashwood Ave. and Delmar Ave. on the south, and Belmont Ave. on the west. They married in 1855.
It sat beside her sister Adelicia Acklen’s Belmont estate. Corinne’s parents were Oliver B. and Sarah C. Hayes of Rokeby. William’s parents were Dr. William P. and Nancy P. Lawrence of Nashville. William’s sister was Phila Ann Lawrence Donelson who wed Stockley Donelson and resided at Cleveland Hall. Pre-war, William was a lawyer. Post-war, he became a school teacher and managed the Hillside plantation. Corinne was the daughter of Oliver B. and Sarah C. Hayes of Rokeby; sister of Henry M. Hayes of Ensworth. Pre-Civil War, most of the estate was wooded; post-war, the land was devastated and opened up.
In 1936, the property was owned by Ward-Belmont College. See also Belmont, Cleveland Hall, Enswoth, Rokeby
Sources:
Nashville Pikes: Vol Two 150 Years along Hillsboro Pike, Ridley Wills II, p. 77
Commentaires