"The Gainesboro Historic District is located in the community of Gainesboro (pop. est. 1,204) in rural central Jackson County in Middle Tennessee. Gainesboro is geographically compact, being located in a small valley surrounded by steep hills which defy construction on their slopes. The western entrance to the town is the Granville Highway (State Route 53) which follows the contour lines around the hills into a valley formed by Doe Creek, which flows into the Cumberland River. When it enters town, it is known as Hull Avenue. At the intersection of Hull Avenue and Union Street, which enters the town from the south, off State Route 56, is the Courthouse Square.
The Square is located in the center of town and is comprised of nine blocks, of primarily commercial usage. The center block contains the Jackson County Courthouse, while the remaining eight blocks are one to two story commercial structures. For the purpose of this nomination, this style is called Twentieth Century Commercial Vernacular. Residential areas are two blocks to the north, two blocks to the west, and the area along Union Street until it joins State Route 56. There is a small amount of commercial development two blocks to the east of the square and along State
Route 56.
The Gainesboro Historic District is comprised of commercial buildings, two residences, two churches (one currently being used as a museum), a small cemetery, and a county courthouse. Taken together, the components of the Gainesboro Historic District successfully portray the historic appearance of a small Middle Tennessee town that is centered around a courthouse.
The Courthouse is a three story, yellow brick structure placed on an entire city block, bounded by Hull Avenue to the north, Gore Avenue to the south, Union Street to the west, and Main Street to the east. The structures facing the Courthouse are primarily one-story commercial structures with several two story structures scattered through the district. Of note of these is the Shamrock Hotel Building. This structure is a red brick Classical Revival style building with limestone details. The majority of the one story commercial structures are constructed of red brick and have plain facades with flat or stepped pediments. The store fronts are largely intact and are comprised of central entrances bordered by display windows with thin mullions. The store fronts' transoms are mostly intact and are constructed of clear glass, one light in height, and they run the width of the structures. Of special note are 103 East Gore with its decorative brick work of chevron patterns, 104-106 Hull Avenue with its triangular pediments and decorative Greek key brick frieze, and 102 Hull Avenue, which has a stepped pediment facade and a decorative yellow brick, diamond design.
There are two residences in the district. These are a stucco bungalow style structure at 207 Union and a mid-nineteenth century, one story frame structure with Victorian detailing at 106 Montpelier. There are two religious structures in the district. One is a one story frame building with a front-facing gable roof. This building is currently being used as a local museum by the Jackson County Historical Society. The other building is a yellow brick Classical Revival structure housing the First United Methodist Church.
The significance of Gainesboro rests in the fact that this county seat town has been and is the governmental, commercial, and agricultural center of Jackson County since its founding in 1820. The Gainesboro Historic District is being nominated to the National Register of Historic Places under criterion A for Commerce. This location was specifically chosen because it is the center of Jackson County. Architecturally, little remains from the early time period of the towns' history. Most of the structures date from the early twentieth century. In 1887, the south side of the square burned and, in 1904, the north side also burned. The town square was rebuilt during the early twentieth century and continued to be the center of trade for the county until WW II. The town is a good example of a small county seat, containing a courthouse square still laid out as it was in 1820. The structures in the district are largely commercial with the exceptions being the courthouse, two residences, and two religious structures.
Jackson County was formed in 1801 from Smith County and was named in honor of General Andrew Jackson. During the first years of Jackson County, court sessions were held at several locations. The first permanent county seat was Williamsburg, established by an Act of the Assembly which was passed on September 11, 1806.
On November 14, 1815, an act was passed to locate the center of the county and move the seat there. The new town was to be named Gainesboro in honor of General Edmond Pendleton Gaines of the War of 1812. This act did not result in the actual founding of the town. The act that actually relocated the county seat was passed on October 6, 1817, and Gainesboro was established at that time.
The town was laid off on forty acres of land that been given to the county by David Cox. The land was divided into lots and then put up for sale, with the proceeds used to pay for a courthouse and jail. Gainesboro was incorporated by an act of the legislature on July 7, 1820.
During the 1830s, the first hotel in Gainesboro was operated by John Clemens, father of Samuel Clemens. Their residence is thought to have been on the southwest corner of the square; the Anderson and Hale Drug Company is currently in that location.
Civic improvements in Gainesboro were noted as early as 1849 when the streets were paved and an open drainage ditch, running through the center of town, was replaced by a drain installed by Andy and Jim Poston.
In 1850, the town was afflicted with a cholera epidemic. It is reported that most families were directly or indirectly affected by this dreaded killer. Those who could left town until the first frost, when the epidemic was thought to have passed.
After the War Between the States, there was a great demand for lumber for construction. The Upper Cumberland region, until this time, had been ignored. Timber close to the river was felled and then was floated down to the Nashville market. Logging was so active that by 1874 most of the good timber by the river was gone. When the timber accessible to the river was gone, the timber industry in this area slowed down because of economic infeasibility.
On August 14, 1872, a fire destroyed the first Jackson County Courthouse. Construction was completed on the second one in 1874. This structure was demolished in 1903 to be replaced by a new building constructed in the same year. This structure, like the first, burned on November 5, 1926. Until the next (current) structure was built, the courthouse activities and jail were temporarily located in a store at 200 East Hull. The current courthouse was built in 1927 and was designed by Tisdale, Pinson and Stone of Nashville.
Jackson County, because of its terrain, did not have good overland transportation until road construction occurred after World War II. There was no railroad transportation in Jackson County. Gainesboro, being the center of the county, was also located near the Cumberland River, so the city became a commercial center for the county. The river was essential to the people of Gainesboro for transportation due to the fact that Jackson County did not have the benefit of the railroad. This prominence lasted until the demise of steamboat traffic in the 1930s, due to the advent of the automobile.
Gainesboro continued to appear prosperous until the period after World War II, when modern road construction made Gainesboro and Jackson County accessible to the rest of the state. This also made the rest of the State accessible to Gainesboro citizens. Young people left to find jobs and make their lives elsewhere. Roads also made it easier for people to shop and trade in nearby Cookeville, a city of 21,512.
Gainesboro was the agricultural center for Jackson County. The total acreage for Jackson County is 194,560 acres with 172,650 being listed as farmland, in 1940. The major crops were corn, wheat, and tobacco. In the past, timber had been a source of economic benefit to Jackson County.
Gainesboro is the eleventh oldest town in the State of Tennessee. From the 1820s until present, this town has been the center for commerce and government in Jackson County. While the town is old, the architecture is that of the early twentieth century, this being the period when the city had it's last period of growth. The population of Jackson County stayed relatively stable until after World War II when there was an 18.1% decrease in the population. The isolation, due to the topography of Gainesboro, Jackson County, Tennessee, has preserved a good example of an early courthouse square town."
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