Photo by rossograph
211 West Smith St. Gallatin, TN
Circa 1838. 2-story Federal style
Trousdale-Baskerville House (aka Baskerville House, Maywood) was originally built in 1838 by Richard H. May and Elizabeth May (1787-1844) in Federal style. May primarily owned several plantations in Natchez. The property itself had previously been owned by Felix Grundy, who helped lay out Gallatin, Robert Morris Boyers (1829), businessman who owned a local warehouse for riverboat commerce, and Henry Hunt (1831). During this time, the May family called the place Maywood.
In 1839, Benjamin Franklin Simpson (1796-1851) and Eliza Odom Tarver Simpson (1801-1858) bought the property. Then Col. George Elliott of Wall Spring owned it in 1842. He owned a local racetrack and had stables and a stud farm.
In 1846, Dr. John Washington Franklin (1819-1905), prominent physician and prosperous planter in the area, was the next owner. He married his first wife in 1842, Florida Mercer Franklin (1826-1845). Then, in 1849, he wed his second wife, Sarah Frances Baber Franklin (1831-1906). Sarah's parents were Thomas and Lucy Baber of Bellemont. Dr. Franklin started his practice in Memphis in 1842 and three years later, in 1845, moved to Gallatin, In 1846, they purchased the Trousdale home while the architect Wm Strickland built the plantation home, Oakley, for the family. They resided there for 11 years until 1857. There were several owners in short succession: in 1857 to James Webb; 1858 to John Head; 1864 to Charles Parker; 1866 to J. R. Barry.
In 1869, after serving in the Confederate States Army and enduring leg amputation from injuries suffered during the Battle of Chickamauga in 1863, Capt. Charles William Trousdale (1838-1900)was discharged from service. He and wife Eleanor Katherine Odom Trousdale (1841-1866) bought the mansion which was a block from his father’s home. His parents were Gov. Wm & Mary Ann Bugg Trousdale of Trousdale Plantation. He lived there until his death in 1900; whereupon his daughter Eleanor Katherine Trousdale sold to Mrs. Rebecca Donelson Dismukes (1840-1911) in 1901. Rebecca was the daughter of Gen. Daniel S. and Margaret Donelson of Hazel Path. David J. Dismukes (1837-1903) was her husband. They also owned Walnut Grove for years.
Ten years later, in 1911, she sold to James Thomas Baskerville (1871-1904), a well-known attorney and wa a TN state senator. He and Lua M. King Baskerville (1874-1962) had married in 1901.
After much renovation during their residence over thirty years, Baskerville family sold the home to Gordon Felix Cox (1905-1961) and Maxine Dye Cox (1904-2002) in 1945. They wed in 1931. Cox was a chiropractor in Gallatin, and Maxine was a teacher in Sumner Co. Over time, the home was transformed into apartment rooms and fell into general disrepair.
Since 2003, John Glover has owned the property. The house names derive from the more prominent families who owned the property. NRHP 2009 See Bellemont, Oakley, Wall Spring, Hazel Path, Walnut Grove
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