Morgan Schubert: Go west, young man

Beth KinnaneOur Town Stories, West Knoxville

It’s difficult to imagine now, but 70 years ago the area now known as West Hills was mostly acres of farmland between Kingston and Middlebrook pikes without an interstate or mall in sight. But a simple announcement in “The Knoxville News-Sentinel” of Oct. 16, 1953, foretold what was coming:

Large Subdivision to be built on Pike

A tract of land on Kingston Pike just west of Mount Vernon Motel has been purchased and a large subdivision is to be built there. The land, bought from Will Walkers, consists of some 295 acres with an 1800-foot frontage on the Pike…it is reported. One of those buying the land is Morgan Schubert, vice president of Knoxville Model Homes Inc. and Tennessee Stone Co. and a salesman for Schubert Lumber Co.

And with that, West Hills was born. The following year, the fledgling neighborhood was selected for the Knoxville Parade of Homes. As in all of it. Twenty area builders signed up to create homes in the new subdivision. There was no restriction as to what type, size or final sale cost the homes could be. But in the 1950s, most new home builds were variations on a theme of ranch style house.

Schubert proved to be the pioneer in moving Knoxville’s expansion westward, developing Crestwood Hills and Suburban Hills, to name just a couple. He also developed Rambling Acres off Clinton Highway, Forest Acres in Inskip, and had a hand in some homes in Sherwood Forest in Fountain City.

A 1963 KNS article about Knoxville’s westward growth quoted Schubert regarding the rapid sales in West Hills:

“I figured it would take five or six years to fill up the 300 acres,” Mr. Schubert said. But he sold 160 lots the first year. In three years, the whole 300-acre tract was gone. He bought more land. Now 900 acres have been developed, with 300-400 still left for expansion.

A son of Herman Alexander and Hazle Ruth Morgan Schubert, Schubert attended the prestigious McCallie School in Chattanooga, the Virginia Military Institute, the University of Tennessee plus served in the Pacific with the U.S. Navy. His business career started at Schubert Lumber, the family company begun by his grandfather.

Schubert was a young man when he first got into real estate development. His first subdivision was Rambling Acres, and he was only 25 years old when he purchased that first tract of farmland along Kingston Pike. He went on to purchase additional acreage from the Kirby and Hickey families as well as the entirety of the 160-acre farm owned by David Abbey Van Osdale, for whom Vanosdale road is named. From those fortuitous puchases, he went on to build one of Knoxville’s most beloved and enduring neighborhoods. Schubert died in 1997 at the age of 70 and is buried in Highland Memorial Cemetery.

Beth Kinnane is the community news editor for KnoxTNToday.com

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *