8318 Moores Lane (at Wilson Pk) Brentwood, TN
Circa 1806. Orig. log cabin
This home is located on Moores Lane at Wilson Pk. The original portion of the home was a log cabin built by Dr. Jabez Owen (1786-1850) and Sarah D. Hall Owen (1797-1861). Jabez’s brother, Nathan Owen, lived nearby in the Owen-Cox House/ Maplelawn.
Dr. Owen was a prominent physician and planter in the area. Dr. Owen increased his land holdings to hundreds of acres along present day Moores Lane, Wilson Pike, and Concord Rd. and at his death was among the wealthiest citizens in Williamson Co. A few years before Dr. Owen’s death, the home was expanded to a 2-story Greek style larger home in 1845. The property was
Photo by Skye Marthaler
Inherited in 1855 by their daughter, Martha Virginia Owen Edmondson (1829-1903) and John Edmondson (1826-1874). They wed in 1850 - the same year Dr. Owen died. John was the son of William and Martha Winstead Edmondson who were early settlers in what became Williamson County and the family behind Edmondson Pike. They continued managing the farm and the lands. The Owen family provided nearby land in 1830 for the establishment of a local schoolhouse - Boiling Springs Academy.
At some point after 1845, the home was remodeled to a white frame Greek Revival style plantation home. In 1874, John Edmondson was killed at Owen’s Blacksmith Shop located at the old Owens Crossroads (current Concord Rd. and Wilson Pk.). The incident is described in T. Vance Little’s Murder on the Wilson Pike.
The next owners were the Primm family: Thomas Perkins Primm (1876-1955) and Myrtle Layne Primm (1881-1950). They continued to farm the land. Primm Farms was one of the most successful dairy farms in Middle Tennessee. After Thomas died, their daughter Ruby Primm Irwin (1909-2000) inherited the Primm Farm with 40 acres. Her marriage to Frank Irwin in 1944 did not last. Ruby was a schoolteacher for local students and later with Nashville schools for much of the twentieth century until her retirement in 1974. She opened the historic property for Christmas events and to historic organizations.
At some point, the Primm family donated land around Boiling Springs to create a historic park managed by the Brentwood Historic Commission. The Primm Farm still had 11 acres. After Ruby’s death, her brother Charlie McNairy Primm (1925-2011) was the last Primm to work the land. He ran it as a dairy farm.
In 2003, developer Jerrold Pedigo began to work and negotiate with the Primm heirs to purchase the farm. It took over seven years to close all the deals on about 30 acres of land. Fifteen acres were bought by Thomas Hopkins which has the house and barn. Pedigo has created the Monclair residential community. The last Primm relative died there in 2011.
About ten years later, in 2021, a couple, Bobbi Clemens and Mark Tacchi, who restored homes in San Francisco went to Brentwood and purchased the home to renovate. Tacchi owns a software company. The family is remembered by nearby Primm Dr. and Primm Greenway. NRHP 1988 See Owen-Cox House/ Maplelawn
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