Workshop attendees weigh relocating Moses Armstrong House to allow adjacent development

At a Nov. 3 workshop of the Knox County Historic Zoning Commission, applicants and preservation advocates outlined a plan to relocate the Moses Armstrong House at 6114 Asheville Highway a short distance to permit commercial development along the highway, and asked for preliminary feedback and a conditional path forward.

"So again, today we will be discussing the proposal to relocate the Moses Armstrong House at 6114 Asheville Highway to a site a few 100 yards away from its original location and a potential change to the historical overlay boundary," said Miranda Ward of Knox County code administration, opening the presentation.

The house, described in staff materials as a two‑story brick, central‑passage vernacular residence with Federal influences built circa 1805, has later 20th‑century additions and is one of the few surviving early‑19th‑century brick houses in Knox County. Staff reviewed Secretary of the Interior standards and National Park Service guidance, noting that relocation typically diminishes aspects of integrity — including location, setting, feeling and association — and that relocation is usually discouraged unless no feasible preservation alternative exists.

Ben Mullins, the applicants' local attorney, told commissioners the relocation would be on…