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Pencil Sketches by Ruth Andrews    

Judge and Nancy Gamble built the house at 1107 Court Street in the early 1900s. Moses (Mos) Gamble and his family lived in the house for many years, and in time, surrounding parcels of the property were sold and developed into the neighborhood it is today. This property, which extended to Montvale Road had a barn, tennis courts and a large garden and, in time, became the center of the community. Judge and Nancy had seven children, all of whom attended Maryville College. Cheryl and Mitchell Van Metre bought this late Victorian-styled home in 1964 and did extensive remodeling during their twenty-year residency.

The house is a mixture of styles combining Victorian elements, French continental touches with painted furnishings and the use of gold gilt along with country-casual elements. The asymmetry of the floor plan was unusual for its day, with the large entry on the left, two parlors on the right, and the dining room behind the entry, but no room to the left of the entrance way. The front porch was originally one-story with a hip roof.
The Van Metres removed that roof, added the classic columns and extended the roofline of the house to cover this now-grand front porch. In the formal front parlor, Mickey and Cheryl added a decorative ceiling, and the rear parlor was a formal music room. They later added the very informal family room at the rear of the house, did extensive landscaping, and added the small "adult pool.”  Succeeding owners have made extensive changes and have added their own personal touches to suit their needs and wants.