|
Millennium Manor was built from June 1937 to December, 1946, by William Andrew Nicholson and his wife Fair. They had moved to Alcoa, Tennessee, from Pickens County, Georgia, where he was a mason and carpenter. In 1937 he got a job with the Alcoa plant as a replacement for striking workers. Mr. Nicholson started construction of Millennium Manor at the age of 61 while maintaining a full-time job at the Alcoa plant across the street. ==Construction== All work was done by Mr. and Mrs. Nicholson without the aid of machines, a remarkable feat since both were thin and small of stature. The Nicholsons did not belong to a church in Tennessee, but they were very religious people who believed in a literal interpretation of Revelations 20:6..."Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years." Millennium Manor was built to survive Armageddon and a thousand years beyond. Millennium Manor was built using Roman architecture which can still be seen standing in structures after more than 2,000 years. The light colored stone of Millennium Manor is Tennessee Pink Marble found in nearby Friendsville, Tennessee. The "Arch and Keystone" visible over doors and windows continues throughout the entire house, including the floor and roof. First built was a wooden "form," shaped like the inside of the building. A rubber tarp was laid over this form. Stone was stacked on top of the form and a "Keystone" inserted. (At this point in the construction, the wooden form could have been pulled completely out, and the roof would still stand on its own without any mortar). Cement was poured over the stacked marble rock, and the cement sifted through to the rubber tarp and hardened. Wrinkles from the rubber sheet can still be seen on the inside ceiling. The form was then removed, at which point that part of the roof (or floor) was finished. In theory, it should be possible to remove ALL cement from the entire building and have it continue to stand, since the only function of the mortar was to fill gaps and not to bear a load. Over 4,000 bags of cement were used, and in some places agricultural lime was used instead of sand for less water seepage. The thinnest inside wall is . The thinnest outside wall is . The roof is greater than thick, and the floor is greater than thick. The roof alone supposedly weighs 423 tons. All walls are load bearing. There are 14 rooms and a two-car underground garage, for a total of about under roof. The upstairs has 7 chimney flues. A six-story deep well is in diameter. In November 1943, Wright Road was widened, and Mr. Nicholson was forced to tear down the entire wall facing the street. He promptly rebuilt it further back. The Castle sits on 6 lots equaling about an acre, and another 1/2 acre next door has been leased. A small white frame house that currently sits on the back lot originally was next to the Castle. It was a "kit home" built to give the Nicholsons a place to live until the main building was finished. It was then moved to its present location. In 1950 Fair Nicholson died of cancer at age 72. Mr. and Mrs. Nicholson had been married over 50 years. William Nicholson was quoted as saying, "It was hard to be parted from her after so many years. My wife believed in me but her faith in eternal life was weak. She tried to believe, but she had her doubts. There came times when she talked of dying." Fifteen years later, at the age of 88 and nearly blind and deaf, Mr. Nicholson joined her in Clarks Grove Cemetery. The day before he went to the hospital he told the pastor from the church next-door to the Castle that "if God doesn't intervene soon, I will die." 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Millennium Manor」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|