President of Preservation of East Main and Surrounds (POEMS)

Story by Lyda Kay Ferree, The Southern Lifestyles Lady. Photography by Kristina Byrd & Leanne Braddock.

Leanne Braddock, Commander, US Navy (Retired) has served as the President of Preservation of East Main and Surrounds (POEMS) for the past five years. She and her husband, Ed Cookenham, have lived in Jackson for the past five years.

Leanne is also self-employed as a licensed marital and family therapist, and she serves in the Jackson Symphony League and is a member of The Ned board of directors.

Jackson’s historic East Main Street encompasses a wide variety of stunning architectural styles from Victorian, Italianate, Gothic, and Colonial Revival to Craftsman bungalows dating from the decade of the Civil War to the early 20th century. The district is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The neighborhood helps to document the impact of Reconstruction in Jackson. While some early settlers called this street home, many others came after the Civil War to chart a new future for Jackson. Prominent residents included local government officials, business leaders, and educators. The street earned the nickname “Bankers Row” because several residents were president of the First and Second National Banks, institutions that helped Jackson move out of Reconstruction to prosperity as a Victorian-era railroad hub.

After a devastating tornado in 2003 destroyed several homes and damaged many more, residents of East Main Street were determined to repair and start anew. Fifteen of the original 22 homes survived and through the collective efforts of community members, the area was restored. The neighborhood group POEMS is the caretaker of this historic district.

Recently, a walking tour of East Main Street was held, and costumed actors and actresses from Excelsior Theatre told the story of East Main Street and its lovely homes to the attendees. This walking tour is a public service project of the Center for Historic Preservation at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) at the request of local property owners on East Main. Leanne Braddock, president of POEMS, who has a degree in geography from MTSU and was aware of their historic preservation degree, reached out to Dr. Van West at MTSU. He was familiar with East Main Street in Jackson and had visited the street when he was writing a book on the Civil War. He remembered that there was a Union encampment on East Main Street. The new Walking Tour brochures of Jackson’s East Main Street Historic District may be found in the brochure holders in the park on East Main Street and at five Visitor Centers near Jackson.

VIP: How many houses are on East Main Street?

Leanne Braddock: We have 15 houses on East Main Street. We only include 9 of them on our tours. Recently, three houses have sold on our block.

VIP: Tell our readers about the history of POEMS.

LB: Around 1981 Mae Wisdom Ogelsby, who lived in the Wisdom House on the street, first presented the idea of an organization to promote the historic district. The first meeting of POEMS was held at the Wisdom House. The group decided to meet once a month. According to Kemp Reed, a longtime resident on East Main who owns the Wisdom House with Mickey Granger, thinks that POEMS is the oldest continually operating neighborhood organization in Jackson. They began meeting before the Lambuth Area Neighborhood Association (LANA) was established. I have a copy of the bylaws created in 1982. The stated purpose of POEMS was to maintain and improve the dignity of the homes, to preserve the historic quality of the area, to ensure orderly and compatible land use in the area, to encourage the homeowners living in the area to improve their homes and real estate investors with property in the area to improve their holdings, to work together on problems and issues of common concerns, and to emphasize the importance of a viable inner-city area for the general wellbeing of the entire city.

A few interesting facts about the homes and homeowners on the street: 1) The Wisdom House has the first elevator in a home on the street. 2) The late Mae Ogelsby and the late Mrs. Alvie Peters were the two original holdouts who remained on the street for many years. Among the original members of POEMS were Kemp Reed, Mickey Granger, Harry Saunders, Jerry Sims, and Jim West. Over the years POEMS invited the APTA, the West Tennessee Car Club, the Herb Society, and the West Tennessee Historical Society to participate in various projects on the street. The Herb Society planted and maintained herb gardens in the park on the street for many years.

The street was the home of two mayors and the president of two banks in town and people who started the major businesses that formed the foundation of Jackson’s economic history. L.L Curtis and John Wisdom were two of the major backers in the transportation industry specifically Marathon Motors, which was the only car that was built in Jackson, TN (the plant is still on N. Royal). The Marathon car was manufactured in Jackson for about 1 1/2 years before the plant moved to Nashville. One of the men who grew up on East Main was Hugh Anderson, who was a judge in the Nuremburg Trials.

VIP: The park on the street, which has a marker honoring Mae Wisdom Ogelsby and is named the Mae Wisdom Ogelsby Park, was part of the Union Army’s base in Jackson during the Civil War. Who maintains the park today, and are events held there?

LB: Members and associate members plant flowers there and maintain the park. The original gazebo was struck by lightening in the late 1990s and burned. After a major tornado struck Downtown Jackson and East Main Street (including the park’s gazebo) in 2003, the Jackson High School Class of 1963 purchased a new gazebo for the park. Residents of Jackson and the surrounding area enjoy having picnics in the park, and in past years, weddings have been held in the gazebo. Fast forward to a work in progress or a redesign of the park today. Recently, Glenda Baker, a former resident on East Main Street and soon to be a resident again on the street, requested and received professional advice from Jason Reeves, Curator of the University of Tennessee AgResearch and Education Center in Jackson, about the plants, trees and flowers best suited for the historic park on the street.

“The people who lived on East Main Street in the late 1800s and early 1900s formed the business and political foundation of the City of Jackson. It’s our job to preserve this history so others may learn about the street and its rich heritage.”

— Leanne Braddock, President of POEMS

VIP: How many POEMS members are there now, and how often does this group meet?

LB: Typically we have about 20-25 regular members, and we usually meet monthly, but sometimes we meet less often in the winter months. We meet in the homes or on the lawns of our neighbors on the street. Harry Saunders, who just turned 91, is the oldest resident on East Main Street. He is a retired florist and caterer.

VIP: What fundraisers does POEMS hold to raise money for various projects on East Main Street?

LB: We have hosted Murder Mystery parties, but the Progressive Dinners held the first weekend in December have been the most successful fundraisers. Tickets to this annual event (except for the COVID-19 years) sell out every year immediately after the dinner has been held.

VIP: Several new people have purchased homes on East Main Street in recent years. Tell me where they previously lived.

LB: Dr. Doug Taylor and his family from Germantown, TN purchased a home near the park, and the Frosts are missionaries who moved to our street from Papau, New Guinea. Vicki Sabzerou, and her daughter, Jessica, moved from Southern California (about 15 miles from Los Angeles) to East Main Street in late July of last year. My husband I moved there from Bartlett, and we have never looked back! We walked in the door of the newly restored Curtis House. My husband took five steps, and he turned around and looked at me and said “Let’s buy this!”

VIP: Recently homeowners on East Main have placed signs on the lawns that read “We love East Jackson!” Please comment on this project.

LB: The goal is for more homeowners in East Jackson to place these signs on their front lawns to call attention to the East Jackson neighborhood. We fly flags on the street during appropriate times and holiday banners during the Christmas holiday season.

VIP: Are there any future POEMS projects on the drawing board?

LB: The recent guided walking tour with the actors and actresses was so successful we are in the talking stages of having a Haunted East Main Street event in the future.