Gilliland log home will honor Fred Hendricks

It was the dream of Fred "Pete" Hendricks to see the log home at the Gilliland Historical Resource Center used for educating young people, but Hendricks passed away before his dream could be realized.

The board of the Gilliland House is working hard to see Hendricks' dream become a reality.

"My husband was a historian and an educator," said Mai Dee Hendricks, chairwoman of the Gilliland board. "He was a Chrysler executive, but after he retired he became a 'full-time' substitute teacher. It was his dream to see this house put up and use it to teach local children not only about our history, but to use the facility for one-on-one tutoring in the basics of education."

When the Gilliland board was approached about putting up the log home behind the Gilliland House on Lipscomb Street, they began to contact people about helping to pay for the dismantling, moving, and relocating of the home that sat in disrepair in the country.

"Many people came forward to help us with this project," Mai Dee said. "And we want to thank the people who have helped to get us this far."

The log home has been reassembled but is still needing to have the stone fireplace and chimney put up.

"We are talking with a stone mason, and we are hoping that he can do this for us," Hendricks said. "But we still need to raise the money necessary to complete the chimney and the house. We want to do this in the memory of my husband Fred Hendricks."

The goal of the Gilliland House board is to raise an additional $5,000 to complete the work.

The Gilliland Historical Resource Center, Inc. was established in 1996 by a group of neighbors who were aware of the historical value of the Gilliland home.

James E. Gilliland, who lived in Bedford County from 1858 to 1949, was a self-taught stone mason who worked on homes and businesses throughout the area. His work can still be seen in the foundations of many buildings in the county.

He wanted to turn his log home on Lipscomb into a stone home, and set out to do this work on his own. He used his skills and talents to cut the limestone himself, and did the work for six years at the end of the 19th century.

The existing house, located at 803 Lipscomb St., is a unique structure with 15 inch thick walls that are as solid today as they were when Gilliland laid the slabs of stone. Some of the stones weighed hundreds of pounds.

The stone house, which is now listed in the National Register of Historic Places, is used today as a museum and resource center made available for people in the community to use for touring and for meetings.

The addition of the log home on the back of the property has added a further historical site for people to tour, and as Hendricks planned, to be used to educate children in the area.

To learn how you can help with the completion of the stone work on the log home, to make a donation, or how you can be of assistance at the Gilliland House, contact Mai Dee Hendricks, chairwoman, 450 Philpott Rd., Bell Buckle, Tenn. 37020, (931) 294-2268. Or contact secretary Sue Fuss, 496 Bill Russell Rd., Wartrace, Tenn. 37183, (931) 389-6425.