The House

Step Inside Knoxville’s Hidden Gem

The Eugenia Williams House is representative of the country house movement, whose proponents sought a retreat from urban life. Today the House still offers visitors the opportunity to step outside the rush of the present day and into another era. The House is open for scheduled tours, cultural programming, and private event rentals. Visit our calendar (coming soon) to learn more.

1929

When Eugenia Williams inherited the property from her father in 1929, she quickly adapted the landscape to reflect the country house trend. She removed the gardens, orchard, and outbuildings and contoured the area to create a rolling great lawn. Years later, she razed her family home to make way for a house better suited to the changed scenery.

1941

Designed by noted architect John Fanz Staub and completed in 1941, the Regency Revival style home combines historic grandeur with modern conveniences. The two-story house featured three bedrooms with ensuite bathrooms, a library, and a three-car garage. From its handcrafted woodwork and elaborate built-in vanities to one of the city’s first automatic dishwashers, every detail of this house speaks to its place in architectural history.

1998

Eugenia Williams’s health forced her to move into a nursing home in 1983. She never returned to her beloved estate and died in 1998 at the age of ninety-eight. In her will, Eugenia left the house and property to the University of Tennessee in memory of her father, David H. Williams, a local doctor who gained fortune in the early days of Coca-Cola bottling.

2020

In 2020 the Aslan Foundation purchased the property at auction from the State of Tennessee, with the intention of restoring this significant piece of Knoxville’s architectural history and making it accessible to the public.

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Elements of Architectural Style

The Regency Revival style of the Eugenia Williams House is characterized by balconies, ornate ironwork, large garden windows, and classical Greek design elements. The exterior features include banding at the floor and rooflines, corner quoins, a trio of second-floor octagonal windows, and a covered verandah on the south side with two-story wrought-iron columns.

Authentic Details

The lavishly detailed interior features arched hallways, wood paneling, Venetian crystal light fixtures, marble fireplaces, and an extensive boudoir with custom cabinetry, floor-to-ceiling mirrors, and a balcony. The kitchen includes several rooms with appliances considered state-of-the-art in 1941, including a catering refrigerator, dishwasher, warming cabinets, ovens, stoves, and custom metal cabinetry. The three-car garage reflects Eugenia’s love of automobiles and features 1940s-era automatic garage door openers.