Repair and restoration work has begun on the Earnest Fort House, the oldest standing structure in Greene County, after it was damaged during Hurricane Helene.
The Earnest Fort House, constructed around 1780, sits about 100 feet from the Nolichucky River at Earnest Bridge on Chuckey Pike. When Hurricane Helene caused the river to rise to historic levels and escape its banks in September 2024, floodwaters rushed into the bottom floor of the three story structure. The rushing water broke down the door of the building and smashed through the windows on the bottom floor, and filled the floor with mud and silt.
The mud has been removed from the structure, and now repairs to the windows and door are being made.
Earnest Family Fort House Inc., a local nonprofit, is the organization that owns the structure. Wilhelmina Williams, a member of the organization and descendent of Henry and Mary Earnest, said she was looking forward to the repairs being completed. She noted that the building is one of the oldest in the state, and so far the restoration was going well.
Wilhelmina Williams
Skyline Restoration is handling the repairs to the bottom floor door and windows. The rest of the windows and doors in the structure will also be restored as a part of the project. The windows will be reframed with white oak, which is what the original windows were made of according to Williams.
She noted that windows were restored in the structure in 1976 for the bicentennial, and while well intentioned, the restoration was done with windows that did not fit properly. Williams said it was fitting that this restoration was occurring in the year of the nation’s sesquicentennial in 2026.
Skyline Restoration is the same company that recently completed the exterior renovation of the historic Blue Springs Lutheran Church in Mosheim.
Williams said she hopes that the restoration on the structure will be completed in the fall. She noted the next phase of restoration on the building would be replacing the roof on the building.
Wilhelmina Williams
The Earnest Bridge Toll Keeper’s House, which was located nearby the Fort House, was washed completely away during Hurricane Helene. The house will not be rebuilt. A parking area near the Fort House was also washed away with large sections of the riverbank.
HOME OF AN EARLY IMMIGRANT
Henry Earnest, was an immigrant from Switzerland and his birth name was Heinrich Ernst. Both his mother and father died on the voyage to America.
The rafters of the structure are marked with Roman numerals, which shows the early time period of the home’s construction.
The home is called a “fort house” because it is partially built into the side of a hill, and meant to overlook the nearby area in order to protect from possible raids from Native Americans. The area was a part of contest Cherokee Indian territory during the era the home was constructed.
Earnest had 11 children.
According to Williams, Earnest’s eldest son, Felix, fought in the Battle of King’s Mountain at the age of 19.
Felix Earnest had 18 children with two different wives after the passing of his first wife. Williams is a descendent of Felix Earnest.
Earnest and his family lived in the home until around 1800 at which time the family built a larger brick farmhouse on a 600 acre farm.
