There has been some recent activity and discussion on a historic property located inside Tellico Village. This property, known as the Bowman Estate, is located in the Tanasi Neighborhood on Tanasi Court.
Before Tellico Lake. The estate, established by George Bowman (b. Sept 20, 1782 – d. Dec 24, 1865) in the early 1800’s, was located between the Tennessee and Little Tennessee Rivers. Bowman was the first non-native American to settle North of the Tennessee River. He purchased the land from the Cherokees and established a working farm that included apple and peach orchards. The house was built around 1830 and used by both the Union and Confederate Armies as a field hospital during the Civil War. An archeological dig on the property conducted in 1996 by the University of Tennessee identified corn cribs, slave quarters, root cellars, a chapel, that was later used as a home by Bowman family descendants, and other buildings as well as several hundred Cherokee and Bowman family artifacts. The Bowman House is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Up the hill from the house towards Tanasi Lane is the Bowman Cemetery established around 1820. George Bowman and his three wives are buried there. The last burial in the cemetery, 40 years ago, was a descendent of the Bowman/Blair family and a veteran of World War II.
The TVA Arrives. The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) identified the property as historic before the flooding of Tellico Reservoir. They set it aside and maintained ownership of the property through the establishment of Tellico Village by the Cooper Communities, Inc. The current plat was recorded as Block 1, Bowman Estates, Tellico Village, Loudon County, TN, file no. 6-116-SD on Jan 14, 1997 and consisted of three lots ranging in size from 0.654 acres to 3.360 acres. Prior to that the property was conveyed by special warranty deed to the Tellico Reservoir Development Agency (TRDA) on January 16, 1963. That Special Warranty Deed required the TRDA to cooperate with the TVA to ensure that the Bowman House remained qualified for the National Register of Historic Places.
In 1996 the TRDA and TVA decided to sell the property. After consulting with the Tennessee State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO), the TRDA, TVA and SHPO developed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) that included deed covenants to prevent future owners from negatively impacting on the historic context of the Bowman House. One of the stipulations in the MOA stated that the property could be sold as one, two or three lots, that the Bowman house had to be on one of the lots and that only one new residential unit could be built on each lot. The three-lot alternative was chosen, and the lots were sold.
The Estate Today. The attention the Estate is getting today is because the owner of the 3.36-acre lot, with the Bowman House and cemetery, is considering selling and a prospective owner appeared to be considering subdividing the lot. Neighbors contacted the HOA concerned about the historical impact this may have on the property. The HOA reviewed the documents and informed the POA through the Architectural Control Committee about the property and potential impending actions. The POA has the information it needs to make informed decisions about the property and has stated that it will not grant more than one utility permit per property in accordance with the MoA and warranty deed.
A second issue is proper maintenance of the house to preserve and keep it eligible for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places and, as a structure within Tellico Village, the owner’s compliance with the Residential Construction Handbook (Blue Book) or Commercial Construction Handbook (Red Book). The POA and HOA have contacted the TVA, the TRDA and the Tennessee SHPO and requested a written position on who has the responsibility to maintain the property and who has the responsibility and authority to enforce the restrictions on the warranty deed. The POA is waiting on a reply from those organizations. The HOA will continue to follow events concerning the Bowman Property with the ACC, TVA, TRDA and Tennessee SHPO and Villagers can continue to read the Voice to get updates on the issue.
Acknowledgement. Above information is from legal Government documents and Tellico Village neighbors of the Bowman Estate. Thanks is provided to those neighbors for identifying the issue and providing relevant information.
Written by: HOA Advocacy VP, Harry Rucker
Date: 7/13/2022; v1