Sumner County staff outline $410,000 restoration estimate for historic county house, seek GenOps review

Sumner County staff told the county meeting that a preliminary plan to restore a county‑owned historic house would cost about $410,000 for construction work, with $100,000 set aside for potential log replacement, and that staff will bring a refined package to the county's GenOps process in early July.

The matter matters because the building is county property and the restoration approach will determine how much of the house's historic fabric can be shown to the public, what maintenance and accessibility upgrades are required, and whether the county must contract an architect or meet state code requirements before work begins.

Staff described the work as a mix of structural log repair, exterior chinking removal and replacement, selective brick demolition to reveal original logs, and interior finishes. "We're just trying $410,000 for the work," a county staff member said during the discussion, and staff said they had placed "a hundred thousand dollars in there" as a conservative allowance for log replacement because some window openings will likely require removal and replacement of full-length logs rather than splice repairs.

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