On April 11, the Eugenia Williams House will have its grand opening to the public after decades of closed gates.
The house, which has been sitting unkept for decades, has been fully restored. The 24-acre park also went through a full renovation, taking out all the invasive plants and planting new ones.
Megan Robertson is the director of the Eugenia Williams House and has been working with this project for just under two years.
“One of the most memorable things I can think of is one of our board members has described how when you walked into this house, it just felt desolate,” Robertson said.
Windows were shattered and graffiti branded the walls, left behind by trespassers. A large part of restoring the house had to do with reinstalling products and repainting.
Some of the key features that Eugenia Williams House displays are the brick masonry, the terracotta tile roofing and the massive windows that provide a connection to the grounds. Everything is either original or added with a thoughtful decision process.
“One of my favorites is Eugenia’s beautifully appointed dressing room,” Robertson said. “There are cedar shelves and drawers, and inside the drawers, we found tiny slips of paper that said, ‘spring belts,’ ‘summer belts,’ ‘winter belts.’”
Paintings as well as furniture pieces are a few of the new additions. Safety precautions such as railings were put in as well to accommodate visitors.
“This is really an architectural time capsule,” Robertson said. “We thought about style in the 1940s, we thought about, with the paintings, what might have felt like an organic family collection of art that had been acquired over time.”
The architect who worked with Eugenia Williams was John Fanz Staub. Staub created this home in a way that feels modern. The house became a marvel of technology when it was built, including aspects such as power-operated garage doors, a dishwasher and an electric ice box.
Outside of the house, the grounds were transformed. After fighting invasive species, the team uncovered hidden elements of the original landscape, such as stone trails and evidence of gardens and vineyards.
Katharine Killen is the executive director of the Aslan Foundation and played a major role in the restoration process.
“As a native, I drove by this house a thousand times and always would slow down to try to look through the wall,” Killen said. “I had no idea what the grounds were like in the back, I had no idea that there were over a mile of trails on this property.”
The Aslan Foundation funded the restoration of the Eugenia Williams House. They were present during the whole process alongside the architects and team. Some other projects and groups they have worked on include Young Williams Animal Center and Loghaven Artist Residency.
“The Aslan Foundation’s mission is all about historic preservation, supporting the arts and culture and welfare and overall livability in this community,” Killen said. “The project began with a desire to save this property, restore it, and open it to the public.”
Numerous gardens are available for visitors to explore. Bits and pieces of history can be found throughout the grounds, including the stable, which was restored using recycled materials from other outhouses.
Old vines on the trees show the story of how deserted the property was. Some trees bear the evidence of the strangulation and the impact the invasives had.
“The invasives were so thick here that our property team recounts going through the back with a machete to cut your way through,” Robertson said. “This is how thick those invasive species and overgrowth were.”
Thousands of species have been planted with the ecology of the site in mind. On top of this, the property is an accredited arboretum.
In terms of the opening to the public, the Eugenia Williams House is currently working through soft openings Thursday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Anyone is welcome to explore the grounds, but entering the house requires booking a guided tour.
QR codes can be found throughout the grounds for more information, and leashed pets are allowed. Eugenia Williams House is also working with partners to host various events on the property.
Partners such as the Knoxville Opera and the Knoxville Museum of Art are collaborating to begin programs like concerts, lectures and more.
“We are working with the Knoxville Museum of Art for a site-specific contemporary art installation that’s going to go up this summer,” Robertson said.
The grand opening will take place on April 11 and information about tours and history can be found on their website.
“I am so excited to have to have people come here and to finally be able to open it,” Killen said. “I think it’s part of the mystery and intrigue of Eugenia and that we know she was a deeply private person, but this house is designed to entertain.”
