The oldest building in Warren County celebrated 200 years on Saturday.

Built in 1825 by Jesse Coffee, the Historic Dr. Thomas Black House has stood the test of time with help from the dedicated Eagle Fund at the helm of its maintenance. From 1830 to 1849, the building belonged to Samuel Hervey Laughlin - who was the editor of the Nashville Banner and Nashville Union - and a member of Tennessee Senate.

Along the way, the house was a home to Revolutionary War soldier Lt. James Sheppard and Judith Harrison. The magnolia trees planted in the front yard were planted by Harrison and continue to bear brilliant blooms every year.

It was late bought by Dr. Thomas Black in 1874. Dr. Black was a Confederate surgeon and one of Warren County’s earliest physicians. He both lived in the Black House and ran his clinic out of it. His granddaughter, Jean Leonard, would go on to deed the house and its contents to the Eagle Fund for the purpose of restoration in the mid-1980s. Since, it has been partially restored within the parameters of the National Register of Historic Places.

The celebration featured mule-drawn wagon rides, demonstrations of broom-making and blacksmithing, craft vendors, grilled food from The Butcher on Main and a Maypole dance to top the day off.

For as far back as the 1940s, a Maypole dance has been performed on the lawn of the Black House and Saturday’s event entailed a dedication to previous Maypole dancers. A handful were in attendance, but new faces danced as a tribute to the young ladies and gentlemen who preceded them in years prior. Dancers each hold individual ribbons and dance around the Maypole — which is topped with a cluster of flowers — and, by the time they stop, a multicolor and intricate pattern will have been woven around it.

Local blacksmith Justin King offered demonstrations of his blacksmithing skills during the celebration, of which he has 15 years of experience — though he described himself as a novice and indicated his father, who has practiced the craft for 30 years, was a master. Despite his self-designation as a beginner, King doesn’t let it keep him from practicing his craft.

“I appreciate taking something, like raw iron, and making it into something pretty or useful,” King explained. “You watch the iron shape itself and bend, and you can see the fire in the iron shaping it. I enjoy that process.”

King is a member of the Warren County Chapter of Blacksmiths, a group which meets ever first and third Saturday at the fairgrounds. He and his father are additionally included in the Warren County Chapter of the Appalachian Area Chapter of Blacksmiths — AACB — which encompasses the whole Appalachian region.

An event like this year’s is no small task according to Black House Board President Veronica Sparkman.

“It took several board meetings and lots of social media posts to acquire vendors and get the word out,” Sparkman said. “The whole process took almost a year, but it wasn’t difficult to get people to participate.”

For all the passionate volunteers’ efforts, the day’s festivities were well-attended — a detail Sparkman was particularly pleased with.

“I think we’ve got lots of vendors and they’re having plenty of activity. We’ve done well on selling food and hosting tours,” Sparkman said. “I feel really good about how everything has gone today.”

The Black House has held a special place in Sparkman’s heart for many years, and it all started when she was in Jeanette Lowery’s creative writing class. Lowery was the previous director of The Black House and responsible for the initiative to restore the building to its former glory. She stepped down from the position in 2023, after investing 40 years into what she described as “a labor of love.”

“I’ve had a love for it since high school, since the beginning. Jeanette had teams, and the class went out and interviewed people from Warren and surrounding counties that hold older people with stories to tell,” Sparkman said. “Later, she contacted me and asked me to join the board, and I was honored that she had reached out to me for that. I’ve been here ever since.”

Sparkman indicated the house was in very poor condition when Lowery acquired it, but her love for the building and its history was evident in its ability to stand strong 200 years after it was built.

“She made it what it is today. Now, we’re here to just try to keep it standing for 200 more years,” Sparkman said.

More festivals and events will be held on the premises in the future and, beginning next month, the Black House will be hosting public ghost hunts on the last Saturday of every month. Funds generated by the Black House go directly to funding its maintenance.