Winstead House / Abbey Leix Mansion was built about 1868 on South Margin St. in Franklin.
Photo by Skye Marthaler
William O’Neal Perkins (1815-1895) and Martha Elizabeth Slaughter Perkins (1820-1880) built the 2 story brick home in Italianate style on the site of his previous home which burned down - likely by arson from a Federal deserter in 1863. Perkins was the son of Nicholas “Bigbee” and Mary Hardin Perkins of Montpier.] Perkins had been married previously to Julia Chambers Putnam Perkins (1830-1906) in 1885. William added to his family fortune by becoming president and superintendent of the Tennessee and Alabama Railroad in 1859. Perkins purchased the Public Clerk’s Office in downtown Franklin and used those building materials to rebuild his mansion by 1868. Perkins was a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives and was elected Speaker in the 1869-70 session. Post war, Willam and Martha’s fortune was quite reduced. In 1868, he mortgaged his home and estate to Randal Ewing for financial assistance.
In 1876, Perkins found he could not afford upkeep on the property. He sold the home to his niece, Ann Eliza Perkins Winstead and her new husband, William E. Winstead (1837-1911). William was the son of John Winstead of Pleasant Hill. The Winstead family kept ownership for eighty years until 1956. Winstead was post of clerk and master for the Williamson County Chancery Court. The home was known as the Winstead House. The Winsteads had two daughters. Margaret Ann "Maggie" Winstead Ewin married Benjamin Russ DeGraffenreid Ewin, and they resided in town at the corner of Fourth Ave. South and South Margin St. In the 1960s, the home was razed for the construction of Winstead Court, a condominium complex. Their other daughter was Katherine Neil Winstead White who married Dr. Sam Webb White and also stayed in Franklin.
In 1956, Asa Hickman Jewell II (1910-1989) and wife Margaret Loring Jewell (1914-2011) purchased the property. They married in 1937. Having graduated from MIT, he came to Franklin to help his family run their Jewell Tobacco Warehouse. He got in the horse and tobacco industries, and owned Blooded Horse Sales Company in Wilmore, KY. Having immersed himself in the community, he ran for and was elected Mayor of Franklin from 1961-1969. Margaret was an accomplished artist who painted a great deal of Maine scenes and portraits.
In 1970, Eloise Pitts O’More (1906-2002) of the O’More School of Design purchased the mansion with its 3 acres and used it as an administration building. O’More renamed the mansion Abbey Leix after her husband’s ancestral home in southern Ireland. In 2018, O’More College of Design merged with Belmont University and moved to its campus as the O’More School of Design at Belmont University.
In 2019, The Heritage Foundation of Williamson County purchased the Abbey Leix Mansion from Belmont and reopened the campus as the Franklin Grove Estate & Gardens with 5 acres. It will provide educational offerings, display collections, and will create the Idea Center for innovation and entrepreneurship. NRHP 1979 See also Montpier, Pleasant Hill
Sources:
Comments