Rendering by Norma Riegle- 2008 

House on the Hill
827 W. Broadway

            This house was built by Mr. Pete Hood between 1900 and 1910.  It took about 3 years to build the house and its outbuildings which included a carriage house, horse barn, and a brick pump house tower which is now referred to as ‘The Witches Tower.’

            Mr. Hood personally supervised the cutting of the American Chestnut trees for the house at the Little River Sawmill and transported the lumber to Maryville via the Little River Railroad, which he owned.  With the exception of the flooring, which is believed to be Oak, the entire house is trimmed with quarter-sawn Chestnut.

            The house features a stained glass window on the second floor that is visible from the foyer.  The window was custom-made for the house. The house also features a ‘sleeping porch’ used on hot sweltering summer nights. 

            The most distinctive of the outbuildings on the 3 acre property is the brick tower that housed a cedar surge tank to hold the water from the well drilled under the tower.  The well was used until the city water became available.  At that time the surge tank was replaced by the conical roof.

            Mr. Hood never lived in the home for any length of time.  The home was purchased by ALCOA around 1915 for Dr. Ben L. Glascock who moved his family from ALCOA Plant No. 1 in Niagara Falls, New York to run the local ALCOA facility.  Dr. Glascock purchased the home in 1926 from the company when he left to go into the insurance business. Prior to his death in 1961, Dr. Glascock planted the many daffodils along the stone wall at the front of the property.

            Long time residence of the area will recall that the home was also the residence of Nancy Glascock Gerkins, daughter of Dr. Glascock, and her husband, Byron Gerkins.  The couple married in the home in 1941. The wallpaper in the foyer and upstairs was hung especially for the occasion. Soon after the end of World War II, Byron and Nancy opened ‘Byron’s Graphic Arts’ in Maryville.  Nancy and Byron lived in the carriage house apartment on the property until 1972. 

            The property was purchased from the Glascock estate in 1989 by the present owner, Benjamin L. Glascock, grandson of Nannie Lea and Dr. Ben L. Glascock.

House on the Hill - Witches Tower