SUMNER COUNTY, Tenn. (WTVF) — A historic home tied to the Revolutionary War era is one step closer to preservation after Sumner County officials approved transferring the property to a nonprofit but a tight deadline still stands between the effort and its goal.
The Sumner County Commission and school board both approved transferring the Latimer House, located near the Liberty Creek School campus, to the Friends of the Latimer House nonprofit this week.
Descendants and supporters of the home's former owner, William Brown, have attended monthly meetings for nearly 3 years pushing for the preservation effort.
"Those descendants and friends of Mr. Brown actually have been coming to every single meeting every month for almost three years," said Sumner County Commissioner Jeremy Mansfield.
Mansfield has also been fighting to protect the home.
"From the commission side it was to essentially quitclaim deed the property over to the Friends of the Latimer House," Mansfield said.
But the transfer is not yet complete. County and federal organizations still need to confirm that access routes to the home do not conflict with environmentally protected boundaries before a quitclaim deed can be finalized.
"We have to have that final confirmation for our county attorney in order to essentially move forward with a quitclaim deed," Mansfield said.
County school board engineers also face a deadline to finalize the transaction and transfer the $500,000 dollars left by Brown to the nonprofit.
"The deadline is Wednesday, August 26th. The resolution, I believe, says up to 30 days to have the funds transferred," Mansfield said.
Mansfield said he hopes the Latimer House can one day serve as an educational resource for the community.
"We'd love to bring our kids," Mansfield said.
Despite the remaining hurdles, Mansfield said he remains hopeful.
"But I just hope that light doesn't go out at the last minute," he said.
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