The Murfreesboro Post, October 20, 2014
East Main mansion hitting the auction block – The Murfreesboro Post
One of Murfreesboro’s first party houses is going on the auction block.
The ‘Darrow House’, 450 East Main Street, Murfreesboro, Tennessee (Please visit Sims Realty & Auction, www.LarrySims.com)
The 101-year-old home at 450 E. Main St., owned by Bubba Hutson, is set for a sale to the highest bidder Oct. 25 at 12:05 p.m. with Sims Realtors & Auctioneers handling the deal.
Built in 1913 by the Darrow family, who formerly owned and lived at Oaklands mansion, the three-story, neo-classical home with iconic columns and lions flanking front and side steps, was designed for large social gatherings a century ago, according to Larry Sims.
At that time, Oaklands was considered too far out in the country, and Mrs. Darrow had to send their horseless carriages – the first in the city – into town to transport people to her parties, which included rounds on their private golf course. She grew weary of the transportation duties, though, so she started work on a new East Main home complete with a third-story ballroom.
The ‘Darrow House’, 450 East Main Street, Murfreesboro, Tennessee (Please visit Sims Realty & Auction, www.LarrySims.com)
“She wanted to get closer to town for the parties,” says Sims. “It was really built to entertain and have parties for the people downtown.”
Former owner Denny Hastings, a builder and developer, bought the home in 1996 and modernized it, installing an elevator that runs to the third floor. Hutson, who purchased it for about $3.2 million around six years ago, is planning to purchase property in Eagleville so his children can have “the farm life.”
But he calls his experience in the East Main house “great.”
“The whole Main Street atmosphere is just wonderful,” Hutson says.
MTSU’s Homecoming Parade, the Christmas Parade, and Halloween add to the experience of living in the historic area, says Hutson, who expects about 900 to 1,200 trick-or-treaters this year.
East Main mansion hitting the auction block – The Murfreesboro Post
Ease of transportation is another strong point for living on East Main, he says. Not only can you reach downtown Murfreesboro in a couple of minutes, if you know the side streets, you can go just about anywhere in Murfreesboro without having to drive on Broad Street or Memorial.
Says Sims, “When you put the address and the house together, it’s one of the most talked-about houses in Murfreesboro.”
Besides the 7,500-square-foot Darrow home, the property has three other parcels, one with a vacant lot and two with houses, including the early Victorian Jordan-Avent-Mitchell house that was moved from East Main to Vine and Highland when the Darrow house was built.
Tall magnolia trees give the home a Southern feel, and the entire property is surrounded by a wrought-iron fence that adds to its mystique.
Two lions guarding the front-porch steps were purchased overseas. One disappeared over the years, and the late C.B. Arnette, a Murfreesboro auctioneer and historian, found a comparable lion in Memphis and brought it here to match the remaining one, according to Sims.