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native limestone by
Seth Smith, a
Pennsylvania
stonemason, the
Embree House is
said to be the third
oldest house in
Tennessee. The
solid stone walls are
two feet thick at the
base tapering to
eighteen inches
thick at the roof.
The original house
consisted of a single
large room on the
first floor known as
the "keeping room",
the sleeping
quarters on the
second floor, a large
attic and a slaves'
quarters. The
keeping room has
three exquisite stone
fireplaces including
an unusual double
fireplace on the east
wall. The slaves'
quarters has stone
walls and a fireplace
and several
published reports
state that a tunnel
led from the
quarters to a nearby
was accessed
through two oak
doors but no trace of
the tunnel or the
doors has yet been
found. The Embree
House was home to
Elihu Embree who
was an antislavery
activist and editor of
the abolitionist
newspaper, The
Emancipator. The
house was part of
the Underground
Railroad and the
site of the
September 8, 1863
Civil War Battle of
Limestone Station.
A total renovation of
the house began in
1985 and a wing
housing a kitchen,
bedroom, two baths,
laundry and garage
was added in 1990.
Another wing
consisting of a
bedroom, bath and
office was built in
2003. The Embree
House was placed
on the National
Historic Register
February 14, 1978.
