1711 Old Hillsboro Rd . Franklin, TN
Circa 1840. 2-story red brick with 4 Corinthian colomns on front porch
One of the Perkins family mansions, Walnut Hill was built by Nicholaus Perkins (1779-1848) for his daughter and her husband. It was the same year his wife Mary Hardin Perkins Perkins died (1794-1840).
Photo from Your Williamson- rebuilt Walnut Hill
The original Walnut Hill was located on Old Hillsboro Rd. The 2 story brick home originally had 4 large Corinthian columns on the front and was inherited by their daughter, Sara Agatha “Sallie” Perkins Marr (1831-1884) when she married Nicholaus Lafayette Marr (1824-1856) about 1848.
When Marr died, Sara Agatha remarried to Major Radford G. Ellis (1820-1863), a wealthy businessman from Rutherford County within a couple years. The acreage near Walnut Hill grew to about 1,420 acres along both sides of Hillsboro Rd. What became Old Charlotte Rd. was cut through the southern portion of the land. Unfortunately, after Ellis died, the farm had to be sold in parcels to satisfy debts. In 1867, Sara Agatha sold the property and 692 acres to Turner Foster.
Two years later, in 1869, the property was purchased at public auction by Samuel Fielding Glass of Pleasant Hill for his son and daughter-in-law, William Henry (W.H.) Glass (1847-1916) and Mary Dedman Glass (1852-1924). W.H. and Mary moved to Williamson County, became prosperous planters, and W.H. served on the Board of National Bank of Franklin. At that point, Walnut Hill was likely 600 acres of farm land and about 90 acres of woodland.
Walnut Hill was then inherited by daughter, Willie May Glass Polk (1880-1950), at her marriage to William Julius Polk (1875-1956) in 1899. The Polks resided there until 1908, then moved to a new home on 3rd Ave in Franklin. While Walnut Hill was destroyed in a 1918 tornado, the Polk family continued land ownership until 1956.
In 1958, Claude W. Callicott and Catharine Hardy Dorris Callicott bought the 700 acre property for the land only since the house had been destroyed in 1918 by a tornado. Callicott rebuilt the home and renamed it Eventide because of the tranquility and peace he expected. In the mid-1970s, son Clint Callicott (1949-2015) and wife Carolyn took over the farm operation and inherited the property. He became a long-serving Williamson County executive - including Mayor from 1998-2002. He helped form the Williamson County Parks and Recreation system and the Ag Expo Park. In 2014, the Callicott Arena at the Ag Center was named in his honor. Clint also served eight years as a Tennessee legislator. At some point, the Callicotts sold Eventide in 2000. In 2022, the property was known as Walnut Hill again and on the market. See Pleasant Hill
Sources:
Historic Williamson County Old Homes and Sites
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