Weakley-Truett-Clark House/ Fairfax Hall is located at 415 Rosebank Ave in East Nashville.
It was built in Federal style in 1820 by Samuel D. Weakley (1768-1832) and Sarah “Sallie” Vaughn Weakley (1776-1839) on 660 acres. They married in 1797 in their native Halifax County, VA. Weakley was a land surveyor and farmer. His brother, Robert Weakley, owned Lockeland on adjoining land. The Weakley brothers became trusted surveyors and helped settle boundary claims over the territory west of North Carolina. Samuel served as Davidson County surveyor in 1803, 1807 and 1823.
After Samuel died on a survey job, Robert bought the property and its 500 acres 2 years later in 1834 from Sarah. Sarah moved to Huntsville that same year. Robert (1764-1845) wed Jane Locke Weakley (1769-1838). He continued as a land speculator/ surveyor and also served as an eight term state legislator. After Robert died, his estate was divided among his heirs in 1851.
In 1855 Ezekiel Truett (1812-1872) and Winnie Adams Truett (1812-1900) bought the property consisting of 36 acres. They wed in 1832. Truett started the prosperous Rosebank Nursery and became regionally well-known. The street was named after the nursery business, Rosebank. His brother, Alphaeus Truett of Alphaeus Truett Place, also had a nursery business in Williamson County. The home and the nursery somehow survived the Civil War, and Truett kept running the business until his death. Next, son, Laban Adam Truett (1836-1919), owned the home. He was married to Clara Amelia Harsh Truett (1845-1928). He ran the nursery business until he sold the properties in 1880. Afterward, the Stewart and later Cleaves families owned it.
Photo by Sandylwilson
In 1935, Sheffield Clark, Jr. (1906-1988) and sister Margaret Clark Morgan purchased the properties. Sheffield bought out his sister, and he and his wife Anna Lou Anderson Clark owned the property which had been reduced to only 14 acres. After visiting Natchez, MS for a historic homes tour, the Clarks got ideas to remodel the mansion.
After a 1937 remodeling, cousins of the Clarks renamed the home Fairfax Hall. Sheffield’s father, Sheffield,Sr., had a firm that represented manufacturers in the wholesale and hardware trades which Sheffield Jr. continued to run, Sheffield Clark & Co. During the Second World War, Sheffield served as a SeeBee in the Pacific. They lived there until 1990.
Because no descendants were interested in Fairfax Hall, the Clarks sold the property to Mary H. Teloh that year. Mary is a special collections librarian and with the Vanderbilt University Medical Library. In 2019, Mary remained the owner. The family is remembered with Rosebank Ave. and the area known as Rosebank. NRHP 1989 See Lockeland, Alpheus Truett Place
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