Maxwelton

For the place in Scotland, see Maxwelltown.

Maxwelton
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location:	3105 Southern Ave., Memphis, Tennessee
Coordinates:	35°6′53″N 89°57′27″W / 35.11472°N 89.9575°W / 35.11472; -89.9575Coordinates: 35°6′53″N 89°57′27″W / 35.11472°N 89.9575°W / 35.11472; -89.9575
Area:	1.5 acres (0.61 ha)
Architectural style:	Late Victorian, Pianobox
Governing body:	Private
NRHP Reference#:	80003866 [1]
Added to NRHP:	March 10, 1980

Maxwelton, currently a private residence, is a single story Victorian Piano Box House located on Southern Avenue near Buntyn's Station along what was the Memphis and Charleston Railroad.

In Middle and West Tennessee, Piano Box Houses were erected from the mid-19th century into the early part of the 20th century. The name for these one-story houses derives from their similarity to box-shaped pianos.

Maxwelton was built around 1860 of Tennessee native Poplar and Cypress woods and features a long recessed central porch between two flanking parlors. The interior of the home has fourteen foot ceilings and four inch pine board floors. There are five fireplaces with wooden mantels and some have ornately tiled hearths. It is named after the famed estate in Scotland whose stories are chronicled through story and song. Maxwelton was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

Judge John Louis Taylor Sneed purchased the home in 1874 and the home has been in the Sneed - Ewell family for four generations. Upon his death, his wife inherited Maxwelton and since there were no children from their union the home was passed to her nephew, John Sneed Webb and then to Webb's daughter, Kathleen. In 1918 Kathleen was married in the home to Arthur Peyton Ewell and they had two sons, Arthur Webb Ewell and John Sneed Ewell both of whom were born in Mawelton's west bedroom.

References

1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2009-03-13. http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov/natreg/docs/All_Data.html.