565 Beale St. Memphis, TN
Circa 1841. A classic Greek Revival mansion.Â
Col. Robertson Topp (1807-1876) and Elizabeth Little Vance Topp (1818-1895) married in 1837. Elizabeth’s parents were Samuel and Elizabeth Jane Vance. They resided near Clarksville, TN with a plantation of 4,000 acres.
From Library of Congress
Samuel had a chain of mercantile stores along the Cumberland and Ohio rivers as well as a line of small steamboats used for both supply and passenger transport. Topp was a lawyer, railroad land developer, planter and Memphis and Beale St. promoter. In 1838, Topp and his South Memphis Company bought over 400 acres of the Ramsey grant and developed parcel sites. Seven years later, about 1845, he incorporated the town of South Memphis which encompassed Union, Delaware, Walnut and East Streets. A fashionable neighborhood developed along Beale St., Linden Ave. and Vance Ave. Topp created the commercial and entertainment sector of Beale St. in 1841. He built and owned the Gayoso Hotel (1843) which became a Memphis landmark.
Memphis had just been established twenty years prior. The original Gayoso burned in 1899. The Gayoso Hotel was the first luxury hotel in Memphis with a plan to develop South Memphis with commercial buildings. Toop's influence was vital to bringing the Memphis and Ohio Railroad through Memphis.Â
After the Civil War, Topp’s finances were in ruins. After his death, his family remained in the house for several years. The property was finally sold at public auction in 1880 to Jenny Higbee for use by her school.
Jenny was a central figure in Memphis education and especially female education. About 1876, Jenny Higbee (1839-1903) had organized a school. She built a large 2 story building at Beale St. and Lauderdale, and the Topp House beside it became the dormitory for the Higbee School for Girls, and later The Highbee School. Teh school soon became among the best girls' schools in the country. After the death of Highbee, the school continued for about a decade - closing in 1914.
The Highbee campus was purchased by the Memphis Trades and Labor Council between 1921-1924, and because it was very deteriorated, the Topp house was razed by 1939, and the school buiding in 1972. Â
Sources:Â