Snowy Day at Moran Place 1897 & 1979

 Moran Place 1979 and 1897

Moran Place in 1979.  View from down the street.

 Moran Place in 1979.  View from the driveway entrance.

 Moran Place ca 1897.  View from near the carriage entrance.  

It's just Home

You would think if you lived in a Victorian fantasy home for 100+ years that there would be a proliferation of photographs of the exterior and interior.  But that isn't the case.   I suppose to those that lived there surrounded by history it was "old hat", nothing special, it would always be there so what's the rush. But history changes, families die out, move on, have a change in financial circumstances, or just get tired of the burden of living among the ruins.  And before you realize what's happened everything is gone.

To those of us looking from the outside in Moran Place is magic.  To the Moran's it was home.

Bicknell's Village Builder and Supplement

James T. Gunn was a carpenter and owned his own construction business.

From the paperwork I've been looking at he built everything from sheds to houses and even did house renovations.  

We have receipts and letters from Tennessee families with well known names like McGavock, Donelson and Johnson.  James was based in the Nashville area but for a period of time he lived in Pecan Point Arkansas where I believe he was doing work for some of the McGavock family who had moved from Nashville to Pecan Point.  Specifically Edward and John Jacob McGavock and James T. Gunn all resided within the Pecan Point vicinity according to the 1870 Census.  James was there as early as 1868 as that's when he married Margaret D. Brown.

In his file folder I came across an envelope addressed to James at Pecan Point with a Nashville Postmark.  The only thing inside was a newspaper clipping from American Agriculturist, November 1872.  On one side is an advertisement for Bicknell's Village builder and Supplement.

Clipping from James T. Gunn file

  

Amos J. Bicknell was not an architect.  He published several pattern books for  houses as did George Barber.  Moran Place is based on a George Barber design.  

The back of the newspaper clipping is interesting in its own right.  I especially like the Bickford Family Knitting Machine.  It looks a lot like knitting machines you can get today.

I think the house in the advertisement looks a lot like this design from Bicknell's book.  Bicknell's Village Builder and Supplement is available in its entirety online if you want to view the plans for this and other structures.

In case you're interested in what the full page looked like before it was torn out of American Agriculturist I've included them here:

Library Ceiling Fixture

They don't make them like this anymore.  This beauty is the lighting fixture that hangs in the library at Moran Place.  There used to be one similar to it in the dining room but it was replaced in the 1970's by Nathan Harrell Moran.  The home was built in 1895/1896 so electricity was added in later as were toilets and a bathtub.

Another Grand Victorian, ca 1905

If you think Moran Place is beautiful then this Victorian will knock your socks off.  We think it was the original home of Ida Moran and William G. Timberlake and was probably one of George Barber's Victorian designs.  I had actually come across a smaller not nearly as clear photo of this home with a woman standing on the porch.  Where the other picture was small and grainy, this picture is just perfect.  If you look closely you can see that it was actually snowing the day the photographer snapped this image.  I would love to have seen this home decorated at Christmas.

Kent remembers stories of the Timberlakes having a Victorian home in Madison County Tennessee.  Later, they moved into Jackson and lived at 399 Highland which is still there today and is home to a design firm.  We think the home in Jackson might also be a George Barber design.  The photo's of the interior of the home on Highland are just amazing.  They have a ghostly feel to them and just looking at the grand piano I can almost imagine Teatot (Ida's nickname) playing a waltz.

Fort Worth TX Landmarks ca. 1900

I know the Moran's took some trips out west and these pictures of Fort Worth TX landmarks could've been souvenir photo's of a trip. They also had family living in Fort Worth.  Maibelle Shumate of Newbern TN married Newton Temple Harris of Fort Worth TX  in 1906/1907.  So maybe these are from the Harris clan in Texas.  No matter what their origin they were important enough to someone in the Moran family to keep them.

I've included this image so you can see what they look without
any touchup.
Fort Worth City Hall

So far I've found five dark images of Forth Worth Texas Landmark buildings.  Each picture was annotated on the back which was very helpful.  Kudo's to whichever ancestor took the time to annotate the photographs: the Courthouse (Front and back view), Union Depot, the High School and City Hall.

They haven't been treated too kindly through the years and were in a trunk in the attic of Moran Place.  They are dark, water stained, and scratched. Plus the cardboard backings were warped which meant it was not easy to get a flat scan because I was worried the boards might break.

Fort Worth City Hall when I ran it through paint.net.
You can see barrels and trash from what we're assuming
is construction.

Fort Worth Courthouse from the back.

Fort Worth Courthouse from the front.

Fort Worth High School

Fort Worth Texas Union Depot.

1917 - The Cobb Home, Union City Tennessee

This picture postcard features the home of Marion Moran and her husband Charles Henry Cobb.  The home is located in Union City Tennessee at the corner of N. Home and E. Main Street. The little girl in the front yard is their daughter, Caroline Elizabeth Cobb.  The post card was sent to Marion's brother, Charles Harrell Moran.

"Teatot isn't coming until next Friday, however, would be glad to ha eyou spend this Sunday and next with us too.  Devotedly, Marion."  Dated Aug 20, 1917.  Teatot is the nickname they had for their sister Ida Morehead Moran.  Ida was married to William Gilmer Timberlake and they lived in Jackson Tennessee.

And this is how the house appears today.

 This is a front and side view.

Here we have a front view.

And this is a side and back view.

Ivy...nature's decoration

The beautiful ivy on the wall did not come from a craft or decorating store.  When left unchecked the outdoors will find a way inside.  This is from the upstairs boys room of Moran Place.  Also, that is not a border at the top of the picture. That molding went all the way around in every room of the home and was used to hang pictures and mirrors.  A much better system instead of poking holes in walls.  Unfortunately it calls for extremely high ceilings but that was no problem in this Victorian Gingerbread home.

Victorian Skittles

An Irish Blessing~

May all of your lives be as

colorful as those of the residents of 

Moran Place, Dresden Tennessee.

Moran Trivia, '95....1895 that is.

"Begun laying the foundation for the new house on Friday Aug 30 '95"  From Fannie Moran's Little Red Notebook.   Please note that the '95 refers to 1895 and that the "new house" isn't so new anymore but it is still standing and would always be known as "Moran Place".

Broken but still beautiful

High atop the Moran home... broken?  yes. Beautiful? absolutely.  Forgotten?  Not in our lifetime.