To:          Brentwood City Commission, Brentwood Planning Commission

CC:         Mike Walker, City Manager

Subject:    Cooper Project

_____________________________________________________________________________

 

We would like the City Commission and Planning Commission members to know of the Citizens for Brentwood Green Space intent to publicly support the Cooper project.   Our evaluations of the project, and discussions with John Cooper, have focused on two guiding principles:

 

1.       The importance of Brentwood’s commitment to the preservation of green space

2.       The preservation of land with historic significance

 

1.  The importance of Brentwood’s commitment to the preservation of green space

 

Green space is, in a very real sense, a profound part of the spiritual heritage of our community.  Our scenic woods, rolling, tree covered hills, open fields and sweeping vistas are some of the chief jewels in Brentwood’s crown. As the City and its citizen’s partner to preserve our rapidly diminishing natural resources, the importance of foresight cannot be overstated.

 

Community trends confirm just how important green space is to the residents here:

 

  • The 2004 referendum had the highest voter turn out in Brentwood’s history.  Almost half the voters in this City were willing to have their taxes raised in order to save some of the remaining open space in Brentwood.
  • Brentwood’s 2020 Plan Update clearly identified that “strong public interest continues in the idea of public acquisition of open space”.   The study showed that 81% of our citizens believe the city’s focus on preservation of open space should be a mid to high priority.  
  • The preservation of green space has been one of the biggest campaign issues during the recent elections.  All of the candidates at our forums have spoken in favor of green space.

 

2.  The preservation of land with historic significance

 

We believe it’s equally important to stress the historic elements of the project.  The land is still in the hands of the family who received the original North Carolina land grant after the Revolutionary War.  This is one of the few (probably two or three) tracts of land in Tennessee still in the hands of the original owners.  We think that’s a pretty big deal!

 

City Historian Vance Little recently gave us this research on the history of the land:

 

 

THE COOPER PROPERTY

 

The Brentwood Cooper property was a part of a North Carolina land grant to James Crockett.  He was one of three Crockett Brothers who were deeded several North Carolina land grants in Brentwood.  He lived in Virginia and never moved to Tennessee.  He deeded his grant to his children, one of whom was a daughter Elizabeth Crockett who married Lysander McGavock.

 

Lysander McGavock and his wife Elizabeth Crockett McGavock built Midway, or what is now the Brentwood County Club.  One of their children was a daughter named Emily McGavock.  She married Oliver Bliss Hayes, Jr., a brother to Adelicia Hayes Franklin Acklen Cheatham, who built the Belmont Mansion.

 

Oliver Bliss Hayes, Jr., and his wife Emily McGavock Hayes had a daughter Margaret Hayes, who married Ferdinand Powell.  They lived in Johnson City, Tennessee.  They had a daughter Hortense Powell.

 

Hortense Powell married Prentice Cooper who was Governor or Tennessee.  They lived in Shelbyville, Tennessee.  Hortense served many years on the Tennessee Historical Commission. 

 

-Vance Little

 

 

You’re probably aware that Hortense and Prentice Cooper are John Cooper’s parents.  Representative Jim Cooper is his brother.

 

This brief history lesson is important because it validates John Cooper’s ties to this land and sincere interest in preserving the gifted land in its natural state forever.

 

3.  Call to action

 

We all have an equal stake in balancing the continued prosperity and beauty of Brentwood.  Land preservation enhances the value of our properties.  Whether we live one block away or five miles from the Cooper property, we each have a duty to keep properties such as this beautiful and available to all.  Being good stewards requires actions to ensure that the natural, cultural and historic resources treasured by all of us are available for future generations to enjoy.

 

It’s clear that people are realizing with a renewed sense of urgency that now is the time to act if some of the remaining green space in Brentwood is to be saved. This project is one of the few remaining “once in a lifetime opportunities” left in Brentwood to preserve green space. We urge the City and Planning Commissions to give this project serious consideration and vote yes!

 

Sincerely,

 

      Gil

 

Gil Hutchinson

On Behalf of the Citizens for Brentwood Green Space

Dedicated to supporting and stimulating community action to preserve open

space in Brentwood

(A Tennessee non-profit 501(c) (3) corporation)