Locust Hill/ Hays-Kiser House "North Carolina house"
- Jay Brothers
- May 30, 2022
- 2 min read
Updated: Feb 21
834 Reeves Rd. Antioch, TN
Circa 1795/1804. 2-story brick Federal home
Locust Hill was built for Charles Hays (1777-1854) and Anne Blackman Hays (1775-1831) on 380 acres in what became the Antioch area southeast of Nashville. They wed in 1797, and Anne was his widowed sister-in-law. It is a 2 story brick home on Reeves Rd. on the east side of Mill Creek. Hayes was a prosperous merchant and founder of the Baptist Church at Antioch. The home was locally known as the “North Carolina house” because it was built while the area remained part of North Carolina.
Charles gave the home to their son, Blackman G. Hays (1806-1847) and daughter-in-law Minerva Gowen Hays (1808-1843), in 1837 and continued living there until his death. They wed in 1825. Charles eventually accumulated about 2,500 acres. Blackman was a farmer and was also elected to the Tennessee Legislature in 1837. The home then passed to Charles’ nephew Charles M. Hays, son of John Hays who had died. Charles M. was superintendent of Tennessee Prison. Charles M. sold the home to his nephew James Vaulx Hays in 1857.
James (1829-1885) was married to Minerva L. Rains Hays (1829-1888).
In 1870, the property was sold out of the Hays family to Peter Franklin Rieves (1812-1876) and Celetee Louise Cook Rieves (1829-1895). They wed in 1847. His first wife was a cousin Emily Anne Owen Rieves(?-1844). They lived at Hayes-Kiser House until their deaths. Their son Felix Roberton Rieves (1870-1954) got the home in 1895 with 90 acres and resided with his wife, Bettie Elizabeth Swain Rieves (1869-1956) until their deaths.
After 1956, part of the property was sold for subdivision development. In 1965, John W. and Jeanne H. Kiser bought and restored the home. John is an architectural historian and associate professor at University of Tennessee-Nashville.
In 1986, the Kisers sold to Raymond and Linda White. They sold to Will and Trudy Byrd in 1992. Will is an entertainment producer; Trudy is a real estate agent with Fridrich & Clark. In 1999, Chase Rynd bought the home. He was first director of the Frist Center for the Visual Arts. In 2003, he sold the home to Greg Estes. NRHP 1974
Sources:
Past Remembered, Paul Clements, p. 144
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