For more than 60 years, the rambling, two-story Eastlake Style house at 1411 Armstrong Avenue has been home to Beta Sigma Phi, the non-academic sorority that has owned and maintained it since 1957. The annual First Ladies Tea is a Knoxville tradition.
But this year’s tea, held March 25, will be the last one. The house is up for sale, and negotiations are underway to sell it to a neighborhood family.
Hand-carved newel post detail
Beta Sigma Phi was founded in 1931 in Abilene, Kansas, as a women’s reading club that eventually grew into an international women’s organization. The Knoxville chapter was one of only two to have its own house (the other is in Dayton, Ohio), and once a year, the naming of the First Lady of Knoxville merited a full page spread in what used to be called the “Women’s Section” of the Sunday paper.
Beta Sigma Phi started naming First Ladies in 1946. Susan French, who was honored in 2011, was the last one. The late Maria Compere was honored the year before and Betty Reddick the year before that. Other First Ladies include Lillian Bean and the late Mary Lou Horner.
Mary Edwards, the house board president, is a 50-year member. She said the membership has dwindled in recent years, making it difficult to support and maintain the big house. The club is considering an offer from a neighborhood family who will turn it back into a private home.
Edwards said she’ll be happy to see the house become home to a family again, but it won’t be easy to say good-bye.
“It’s a sad day,” she said on Sunday. “We used to have over 100 members. Now we have 13. We will probably be out by June 1.”