Riverview is a historic house in

Clarksville, Tennessee Clarksville is the county seat of Montgomery County, Tennessee, United States. It is the fifth-largest city in the state behind Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville, and Chattanooga. The city had a population of 166,722 as of the 2020 United States ce ...

. It was built in 1830, and it became a writer's retreat for

Allen Tate John Orley Allen Tate (November 19, 1899 – February 9, 1979), known professionally as Allen Tate, was an American poet, essayist, social commentator, and poet laureate from 1943 to 1944. Life Early years Tate was born near Winchester, K ...

in the 1930s. It is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

History

The house was built in 1830. With In 1930, the house was purchased by Ben Tate,

's brother. Tate was a graduate of

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

, English professor and a poet. He wrote ''

Ode to the Confederate Dead "Ode to the Confederate Dead" is a long poem by the American poet-critic Allen Tate published in 1928 in Tate's first book of poems, ''Mr. Pope and Other Poems''. It is one of Tate's best-known poems and considered by some critics to be his most "i ...

'' in the house. His wife, née Caroline Gordon, wrote the novel ''Children of Innocence'', in the house. Literary guests included Donald Davidson,

Malcolm Cowley Malcolm Cowley (August 24, 1898 – March 27, 1989) was an American writer, editor, historian, poet, and literary critic. His best known works include his first book of poetry, ''Blue Juniata'' (1929), his lyrical memoir, ''Exile's Return ...

and

William Faulkner William Cuthbert Faulkner (; September 25, 1897 – July 6, 1962) was an American writer known for his novels and short stories set in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County, based on Lafayette County, Mississippi, where Faulkner spent most of ...

. The house has been listed on the

since March 26, 1979.

References

Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Tennessee National Register of Historic Places in Montgomery County, Tennessee Houses completed in 1830 {{MontgomeryCountyTN-NRHP-stub