 The H.R. Lovell
Gallery is located on the
historic Court Square in the old
"Mallory and Leech" General
Merchandise Store. The building was
constructed pre-Civil War in about 1860.
During the building's 145-plus year
existence, it has housed an undertakers
establishment, "White Elephant
Saloon", general merchandise store,
and grocery store. H.R. Lovell has called
it the home of his art work since 1998.Charlotte is located
in the Middle Tennessee Region. It is
located about 41 miles west of Nashville,
established by act of the Tennessee
General Assembly in 1804, authorizing
40-acres to be purchased for a town.
Shortly afterwards, 50-acres of land was
purchased from Charles Stewart in the
amount of $5,000. The land was organized
with 49 lots that was divided into blocks
by 11 streets. Charlotte was named in
honor of Charlotte Reeves Robertson, the
wife of General James Robertson.
The oldest house still
standing in Charlotte [2005] was built in
1807, by Jacob Voorhies. It is a large
brick home on the westside of the Court
Square. The first home built in Charlotte
was by Wm Peacock, with John Hyde
building the second one on the soutwest
corner of the square.
Charlotte grew quickly. It
became an important trade as well as
legal center for the area. Roads were
soon built leading to Nashville,
Clarksville, Columbia, Cumberland
Furnance, Franklin, Palmyra and Veran. A
west bound road was built on the old
Chickasaw Trace that led to Natchez,
Mississippi and beyond. In 1812,
Charlotte became an important stop on the
Stage Coach Route. From 1819 to 1821, the
Tennessee Supreme Court met in Charlotte.
On May 30, 1830, a tornado
almost destroyed Charlotte disrupting the
peace and proseperity of the town. The
brick Courthouse received substantial
damage and the roof was carried 13-miles
to the east while the public records that
were housed in the Courthouse, law
offices and other buildings were blown
over the countryside. Fortuneately, many
of them were recovered. The log jail was
completely demolished. Most of the
buildings located on the Court Square
today in Charlotte were built during the
1840s and 50s. The former two-story
Courthouse was rebuilt about 1833 and was
restored in the mid-1990s.
Charlotte was incorporated in
1837, and its first election was held the
following year. Falling two votes short
of being named the Tennessee State
Capital, Charlotte lost out to Nashville
in 1843. However, Charlotte has the
distinction of being home to the
"Oldes Courthouse in Use" in
the state of Tennessee. The entire city
is listed on the National Register of
Historic Places. The Courthouse Square
Historic District, was recognized by the
U.S. Department of Interior as a National
Historic Site in 1977. Charlotte's
Historic District includes more that 22
historic buildings, built between 1804
and 1920, with nearly all having been
restored to their original appearance and
adapted for modern uses.
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