In 1866, George R. Fairbanks, one of the Founders of the University of the South in Sewanee, TN, built the house pictured here that has stood virtually unchanged for 148 years. It is a Tennessee Historical site, and is the oldest standing house in Sewanee.
After a fire destroyed the second floor of this house on July 23rd, the University announced that 2 teams of engineers had evaluated the site and stated that:
- the house was not safe and had to be taken to the ground
- Tennessee state building codes prevented the rebuilding from what remained.
Our team of experts believes that what remains of the house CAN be saved, and that there is a lot of leeway in the code for historic structures such as this.
Also, the Tennessee Historical Commission has not ever been invited to evaluate the site since the fire.
1) Delay indefinitely the dismantling of the 148-year old Tennessee Historical site known as Rebel's Rest.
2) Invite the Tennessee Historical Commission team to evaluate the site and provide expert guidance and recommendations
3) Invite our team of independent Alumni historic preservation specialists, structural engineers, and other qualified interested parties to evaluate the site and provide 3rd party expert opinions on whether any portion of the site can be saved
4) Share the existing evaluations by engineering firms hired by the University with the undersigned and the interested Community at large
Our goal is to renovate and preserve what is left of the iconic Fairbanks family home. If our team of experts agrees with the experts previously hired by the University that the building must be dismantled, we would ask the University to:
1) Build a building on the site with a replication of the facade that honors the original Fairbanks home for whatever use the University has in mind, using the salvaged structural materials
2) Announce its intent to do so with clarity
Updates
Reached 100 supporters
November 13, 2014
52 Comments
Out here in Los Angeles we regularly obliterate the past. I hope Sewanee will instead bring the past forward into the future.
Come on University of the South......show some leadership and do the right thing. It's part of the campus history. Not restoring RR doesn't pass the "red face test". On an intellectual level,you know what the right thing to do is........
this is my family home, an icon of Sewanee, and one of Tennessee's most historic homes. it would be a travesty to not honor one of the founders of the University of the South.
That building is something you save. I got a call from the phonathon today. i don't think our money is doing any good building an endowment without preserving the ar hitectual heritage. Please save that building or whatever part can be saved.
My family stayed in this wonderful home when we first came to Sewanee, and it would be criminal for the University and its administration to do less than everything in its power to save as much of Rebel's Rest as possible.
A landmark worth preserving and evening replicating.
DO SAVE IT !
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In 1866, George R. Fairbanks, one of the Founders of the University of the South in Sewanee, TN, built the house pictured here that has stood virtually unchanged for 148 years. It is a Tennessee Historical site, and is the oldest standing house in Sewanee.
After a fire destroyed the second floor of this house on July 23rd, the University announced that 2 teams of engineers had evaluated the site and stated that:
- the house was not safe and had to be taken to the ground
- Tennessee state building codes prevented the rebuilding from what remained.
Our team of experts believes that what remains of the house CAN be saved, and that there is a lot of leeway in the code for historic structures such as this.
Also, the Tennessee Historical Commission has not ever been invited to evaluate the site since the fire.
1) Delay indefinitely the dismantling of the 148-year old Tennessee Historical site known as Rebel's Rest.
2) Invite the Tennessee Historical Commission team to evaluate the site and provide expert guidance and recommendations
3) Invite our team of independent Alumni historic preservation specialists, structural engineers, and other qualified interested parties to evaluate the site and provide 3rd party expert opinions on whether any portion of the site can be saved
4) Share the existing evaluations by engineering firms hired by the University with the undersigned and the interested Community at large
Our goal is to renovate and preserve what is left of the iconic Fairbanks family home. If our team of experts agrees with the experts previously hired by the University that the building must be dismantled, we would ask the University to:
1) Build a building on the site with a replication of the facade that honors the original Fairbanks home for whatever use the University has in mind, using the salvaged structural materials
2) Announce its intent to do so with clarity
Updates
Reached 100 supporters
November 13, 2014
52 Comments
This home is historically important, Personally, I know the families that will be affected by its future. There are many memories and stories that would be lost if it were not rebuilt.
Out here in Los Angeles we regularly obliterate the past. I hope Sewanee will instead bring the past forward into the future.
Come on University of the South......show some leadership and do the right thing. It's part of the campus history. Not restoring RR doesn't pass the "red face test". On an intellectual level,you know what the right thing to do is........
this is my family home, an icon of Sewanee, and one of Tennessee's most historic homes. it would be a travesty to not honor one of the founders of the University of the South.
That building is something you save. I got a call from the phonathon today. i don't think our money is doing any good building an endowment without preserving the ar hitectual heritage. Please save that building or whatever part can be saved.
My family stayed in this wonderful home when we first came to Sewanee, and it would be criminal for the University and its administration to do less than everything in its power to save as much of Rebel's Rest as possible.
A landmark worth preserving and evening replicating.
DO SAVE IT !
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This home is historically important, Personally, I know the families that will be affected by its future. There are many memories and stories that would be lost if it were not rebuilt.