The Shelton Smith House- Clue #5
Before the civil War
Slaves were people owned
Behind the green roofed two dormer house
You will find the slave’s home.
Answer: Shelton-Smith House
What? Peter drifted off into his thoughts
with confusion, why couldn’t the old man
tell us what the journal is? Well, at least he told us the four houses which we
must visit. He recited the four locations, Shelton-Smith House, Chilton-Dean house, Homewood, and Arnold Simonton
Home.
“Peter!” a voice exclaimed while
tapping him on the shoulder, “We need to go to the Shelton-Smith House before
the sun sets!” Matthew gestures towards the sun, which crouched low on the
horizon, sleepy and warm. “You’ve been standing there for a minute already,
hurry up!”
Just as Peter jumped into the car, the duo headed for
their destination. “Marcus Sebastian scarcely wrote anything about this house
beside that it existed as early as 1855,” Matthew summarized quickly, “Oh, but
he did say that it housed slaves in the Slave Quarters behind the main
dwelling.”
As they rode to the Shelton-Smith House, Peter became
buried in his thoughts and dosed off for a few seconds. “We’re here!” Matthew
reminded Peter as they came to a stop in front of the house, hidden by
beautiful greenery swaying slightly in the dusk breeze. The shrubs glowed a
warm, golden sparkle; camouflaging the age-worn building in fresh coat of
magnificence.
Peter nudges Matthew in the side, “Hey, so did you find
anything?” Matthew looks up from the journal he just pulled from out behind
himself while Peter waits for him to respond.
Turning to face Peter, Matthew responds, “Although Marcus
didn’t write much, Kirk inserted lots of history into here.” Tossing through
the hundreds of yellow pages, he abruptly stops, and begins speaking. “Kirk
wrote that the house was sold to a master craftsman who built many fine homes
prior to 1860 by the name of John E. Shelton. It is said that Shelton
constructed the main portion of the house around about 1858 for Thomas Wesley
Smith, a friend and business partner of his born in 1829.”
“Excuse me,” Peter politely interrupted, “But can we get
closer to the house?” He points toward the entering walkway, which had an arch
decorated with vines and undergrowth on the sides.
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Peter immediately recalls to a few seconds ago, “If so,
who owns this gorgeous home now?” He takes a quick sip from his soda which he
bought from McDonalds earlier while Matthew’s face betrays an expression of
being stumped.
“The house belongs to –err– Let’s start with the folks
after Thomas Smith; they were the Thomas A. Gay family,” Matthew stuttered with
his expression shading into a light red radiance, “Anyways, these people owned
the house from 1924 to 1970 while current preservation efforts are made by Mr.
and Mrs. K. M. Whisenant.”
Peter looks unsatisfied and gestures at the undergrowth
beside the Historical Marker. “But this says that the property was purchased by
Richard and Mary Eckhart in October, 2000,” Peter reads, then adds, “They
restored the Slave Quarters and the home.”
Matthew nods in agreement while patting Peter on the back
in a friendly fashion, “Good observation!”
Peter seems confused and embarrassed but accepts his
compliment anyways. “So, which house do we visit next?”
Matthew summoned up his memories and replied, “Next up is
the Chilton-Dean House.”
