Victorian mansion in Tullahoma TN. (Jackson: for sale, city hall, coop)

[davidmc]

There is an 1920s photograph at my work. In the photo background is beautiful Victorian mansion. In the forground is a coca cola delivery truck. The cases on the truck say Coca Bottling Works of Tullahoma. There are several men in the photo of various social standing of the period and the men seem to work for the Bottling Works.

I am trying to trace the orgin of this photo. The photo was not an add but at the same time it does not look like it was taken by a casual photographer.

Anyone know anything.

Thanks...

[TylerLund]

I have a Tullahoma/Coffee County history book, that I beleive has this photo in it. Coca Cola bottling has been in Tullahoma for 100 years. I will try and dig up that book and find out for sure

[agray]

The photo you are seeing is the old Coca Cola bottling company truck. The big house that is in the background was the old Doak Adyelot home. You are looking at the corner of Grundy & Jackson streets in that photo. That would be going past City Hall (on your left) and down the hill. Doak's house sat back off the road almost to the edge of the bluff. I can't remember if it was torn down or burned and don't remember what year. Somebody may know the history of that.

Where City Hall is was the boarding house and it was torn down in the 50's to build city hall and the Coop Building. Jackson Street was mostly lined with houses - not businesses. Unfortunately, Tullahoma has no regard for historic buildings and most of the breathtaking old homes have been torn down. True, they do get to a point where they are just not salvageable if not kept up properly by current owners. A lot of them where the property of "little old ladies" that lived out of only one or two rooms of these big old houses and the roof would decay and a host of other issues. Others were the inheritance to distant cousins and not true next of kin. They sat vacant fully insured until they "mysteriously" burned in the middle of the night. For example, The Mitchell home.

I personally looked at the Raut house the last time it was for sale. The owner never would allow me in the basement so I hired a contractor to inspect the building and he came back shaking his head. He said the entire house was about to fall into the basement as the foundation was caving inward. He said it would probably take $40,000 worth of steel supports to preserve it and that would only be the beginning. So...unless you are into a historical aspect, that is definitely a money pit. Fortunately, somebody with more money than good sense bought the Couch house and totally restored it and it is simply breath taking!