Mabry-Hazen House

Joseph Alexander Mabry II built the house in 1858 on what was then the eastern edge of Knoxville, naming it Pine Hill Cottage. The residence was significantly expanded in 1886 and combines Italianate and Greek Revival architectural elements. Mabry was a wealthy businessman and a polarizing public figure in Reconstruction-era Knoxville.

In 1882 a violent confrontation between the Mabry and O'Connor families on Gay Street ended in a triple homicide: Joseph A. Mabry II, his son Joseph III, and Thomas O'Connor were all killed. Mark Twain wrote about the incident in his 1883 book 'Life on the Mississippi,' citing it as an example of the persistence of Southern frontier violence and quoting the local newspaper account.

The house then passed to Joseph II's daughter Alice Evelyn Mabry, who married Rush Strong Hazen. Their youngest daughter, Evelyn Hazen, was the last family resident. Evelyn lived in the house with numerous pets until her death in 1987 and was a practicing Spiritualist. Her will required that the property either become a museum or be demolished; the Mabry-Hazen House Museum opened in 1992.

The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 13, 1989. It retains its original furniture and family collections, with more than 2,000 original artifacts on display, including antique china and crystal. The museum hosts an annual 'A Victorian Seance Experience' during Halloween that draws on Evelyn's spiritualist practices and the home's documented domestic lore.