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| History |
Built in 1791 of 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 the 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. Several published reports
state that a secret tunnel led from the
slaves' quarters to a nearby spring. The
tunnel was accessed through two oak
doors but no trace of the tunnel or the
doors have 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.
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 the 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. Several published reports
state that a secret tunnel led from the
slaves' quarters to a nearby spring. The
tunnel was accessed through two oak
doors but no trace of the tunnel or the
doors have 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.
Slaves' Quarters
Keeping Room
Dining Room
| The Embree House |
| A 1791 stone farmhouse once part of the underground railroad and site of a Civil War battle located just minutes from Historic Jonesborough |