Posted 3/19/24

The oldest houses in Tennessee and Alabama are vastly different, and just a few miles apart.

Constructed between 1775 and 1780, the Carter Mansion in Elizabethton is, as it says on the sign on the front lawn, the oldest frame house in the state of Tennessee and the first to have glass windows.

Built by John Carter, a merchant who fought in the Revolutionary War and was a political figure, the two-story house was constructed in the vernacular Georgian style.

The interior of the house is noted for its elaborate design and includes nine-foot-high ceilings on the first floor and extensive wood paneling. The second floor features wainscotting and painted pine surfaces to simulate marble or wood veneer.

The house remained in the carter family until 1882 before eventually being purchased by the state of Tennessee and opened to the public as part of the Sycamore Shoals State Historical Area.

Built between 1808 and 1810, the Joel Eddins House, near present-day Ardmore in Limestone County, is the oldest house in Alabama.

Built in a hall-and-parlor style, the home was constructed by settler and master craftsman, Joel Eddins, with an exterior of solid chinked logs and wrought hand-hammered rosewood nails. The home sits on stone piers and features two stone-clad brick chimneys.

The house was moved from its original location to the living history museum Burritt on the Mountain, in Huntsville, where it stands today.

In keeping with the traditional British-style home adopted by early settlers, the main entry opens onto a larger 'hall' room, which contains a fireplace as well as a door to the 'parlor'. The house is open to the public and allows visitors to see how people lived during the 19th century.