Idler's Retreat, also known as the Dillon-Tucker-Cheney House, is a historic house in

Smyrna, Tennessee Smyrna is a town in Rutherford County, Tennessee, United States. Smyrna's population was 53,070 at the 2020 census, making it the largest town in Tennessee by population in that census. Smyrna is part of the Nashville metropolitan area. Histo ...

, U.S.. It was built circa 1865 by J. D. Dillon. In 1882, it was purchased by John F. Tucker, and renamed Tucker Place. It was designed in the

Greek Revival Greek Revival architecture is a architectural style, style that began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe, the United States, and Canada, ...

and Italianate architectural styles. By the 1940s, it was inherited by

Brainard Cheney Brainard Cheney (June 3, 1900 – January 15, 1990) was an American novelist, playwright, speechwriter and essayist from Georgia who was associated with the Southern Agrarians literary movement Cheney's writing career covered four decades. He pu ...

's wife. The couple entertained other writers like

Robert Penn Warren Robert Penn Warren (April 24, 1905 – September 15, 1989) was an American poet, novelist, literary critic and professor at Yale University. He was one of the founders of New Criticism. He was also a charter member of the Fellowship of Southern ...

Caroline Gordon Caroline Ferguson Gordon (October 6, 1895 – April 11, 1981) was an American novelist and literary critic who, while still in her thirties, received a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1932 and an O. Henry Award in 1934. Biography Gordon was bor ...

Flannery O'Connor Mary Flannery O'Connor (March 25, 1925August 3, 1964) was an American novelist, short story writer, and essayist. She wrote two novels and 31 short stories, as well as a number of reviews and commentaries. O'Connor was a Southern writer who of ...

and

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. Among his best known works are the poems " Ode to th ...

. The house was later inherited by

Roy Neel Roy M. Neel (born 1948/1949) is a Democratic Party operative who was a top assistant to Vice President Al Gore and President Bill Clinton. Biography Raised in Smyrna, Tennessee, Neel joined the United States Navy and served a tour of duty in Vie ...

, who served as the chief of staff to Vice President

Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American former politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. He previously served as ...

. It has been listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

since May 19, 2004.

References

Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Tennessee Greek Revival architecture in Tennessee Italianate architecture in Tennessee Houses completed in 1865 Buildings and structures in Rutherford County, Tennessee {{RutherfordCountyTN-NRHP-stub