The Livingston Civic and Garden Club hopes to stabilize the historic A.H. Roberts Law Office with a new foundation through recently secured grant funding.
Club President Robbie Melton said crews will temporarily move the law office to the side of its current site, construct the foundation and then return the building to its existing location.
“When we received the law office and it was moved to its present location, they just laid it down on the ground,” Melton said. “And so after a few years, we started noticing that the floor was sinking in a little bit.”
The Livingston Civic and Garden Club will provide a $10,000 local match. Melton said the law office originally stood just off the Livingston Square and housed several tenants over the years.
Melton said the organization has saved proceeds from annual pecan sales, Overton County throws, totes and other fundraisers to prepare for the required match. The club hopes the grant will provide about $20,000, though Melton said the final amount remains uncertain.
“We think it’s enough to get the foundation taken care of, yes, but we’ll try to apply for some more grants for the inside at a later date,” Melton said.
Former Tennessee Governor A.H. Roberts rented the building for his law practice but never owned it. The structure moved to its current location between Roberts Street and University Street in the 1980s.
Melton said the building preserves a local connection to the national fight for women’s voting rights. Roberts called the Tennessee General Assembly into special session to consider ratification of the 19th Amendment, with one additional state needed for the amendment to take effect.
“I would like to mention how important Governor AH Roberts was to not only this county and this state but this nation, because without the courage that he showed to call the Tennessee General Assembly back into session so that they could vote the 19th Amendment in, women would not be able to vote, possibly would not be able to vote today,” Melton said.
Melton said Roberts later lost reelection after facing opposition over his decision to call lawmakers into session. She said his role in the history of women’s suffrage often receives too little recognition.
“He gets forgotten so many times in the history of women getting to vote that it’s disappointing to us,” Melton said.
Melton said the Roberts Law Office normally opens to the public each August in recognition of the 19th Amendment and at other times by request through the Overton County Heritage Museum. The club kept the building closed this year in anticipation of the repairs.
Melton said work could begin within a few weeks of signing the grant agreement, with completion expected by the beginning of 2021. The club plans a celebration following the restoration and another during its August commemoration of the 19th Amendment.