Littleton-Pettit House: "Father of Memphis Public schools"
- Jay Brothers
- Jul 25
- 1 min read
496 Beale St, Memphis, TN
Circa 1848. 2-story Greek Revival frame construction of yellow poplar with 2-story front porch
Col. (and later Judge) John William Addison Pettit (1797-1863) and Maria Louis James Pettit (1831-1901) built their home about a block east of the DeSoto Bayou. He was chairman of the Shelby County Court. In 1850, he was named superintendent for public schools in Memphis, later he was called “the father of Memphis public schools.” Judge Pettit first president of the Asylum’s Board of Trustees (now Porter-Leath)
It appears that the Pettit family moved well eastward to the new community of Germantown by the early 1860s.As Memphis grew eastward, the area became more commercialized and more fashionable neighborhoods (Victorian Village, Annesdale Park, and much further Germantown etc.) developed well to the east, the Littleton-Pettit House was demolished about 90 years after construction in 1939.