Odem’s House

Odem’s House is a Tennessee historical marker in Lawrence County.

Odem’s Chapel Road, St. Joseph, Tennessee

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Lon P. Odem built this chapel in 1947 as a permanent home for Sacred Harp singing conventions, which attracted thousands for a 10-day event every August in the 1950s and 1960s. "Dinner on the ground" was served during the lunch break. At that time the meetings were the largest Sacred Harp conventions in the world. Sacred Harp Music, or "Fasola," originated in New England in the 1700s and came to the South later. The music was sung in four parts, a capella, with the singers sitting in a square, facing each other to sing. A leader taps out a tempo and directs the singing, first singing the four-shaped notes, then the words.

TodayHistorical map

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USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection

Historical maps covering this location

1796 · Map of The Tennassee (sic) Government. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1797 · Tennassee Government. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1862 · Johnson's Kentucky & Tennessee (1862) (Barry Lawrence Ruderman Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1864 · Kentucky And Tennessee (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1936 · Ethridge, Tennessee (USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection)

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Marker text and location from the Tennessee Historical Commission, as the Commission publishes them on its marker map.

Odem’s House

Historical maps covering this location

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