ALLEN
HOUSE
The Allen house was built in 1826 by
George Sugg Allen. George was my
great-great grandfather and was born in
1776, the year of our Independence.
His father, Gabriel Allen, fought at
King's Mountain in the Revolutionary
war. Gabriel was also one of the
first founders of Dickson County. I
have the original deed signed by Sam
Houston, then governor of Tennessee, for
the original eighteen acres that the
house stands on today. It was given
to me by one of the last Allens on the
Allen side of the family. They paid
one cent per acre for the eighteen
acres. George Sugg Allen went on to
own over four thousand acres stretching
from Pond Creek, along the Cumberland
River, all the way to what is now Ashland
City. Sidney's Bluff, which
overlooks the bridge going into Ashland
City, was named after George's daughter.
Her name was actually Signetha, which was
hard to pronounce, so most called her
Sidney as it was easier to
pronounce. A group of white hunters
rescued her from the Indians on that
bluff and thus the name. The house itself
still stands and until remodeled, it
hadn't a metal hinge anywhere in the
house. The hinges were all of wood
and pegged with wooden pegs. It was
originally log and was covered with
wooden siding in later years. Some
of the logs in the house measure
thirty-eight inches in width. The
house is now part of the Lost Hollow
Subdivision located on River Road in
Cheatham County. George Sugg Allen
had two sons, Andrew Jackson Allen and
James Madison Allen. James
Madison was killed in the Battle of
Shiloh in the Civil War. George
died in 1857 and is buried on the hill
facing east and overlooking the house and
the Cumberland river. |
