James Edwin Ruthven Carpenter, Jr.

(1867-1932) American architect James Edwin Ruthven Carpenter, Jr. was born in Columbia Tennessee on January 7th, 1867. He attended the University of Tennessee and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, as well as studying architecture at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris, France. After working for the preeminent architectural firm of McKim, Meade and White, he began his own company.

In Tennessee, Carpenter is known for such buildings as the Columbia Military Arsenal, now present day Columbia Academy, the Kirkland Tower at Vanderbilt University, the Stahlman Building in Nashville, the Hermitage Hotel in Nashville, and the Maury County Courthouse. He finally settled in New York City, where he designed luxury high-rise apartments. His work is heralded today as some of the finest apartments in New York City. Carpenter was also the author of a book on architecture, “Artistic Homes for City and Suburb”.

Information provided by Tom Price, Director of The Maury County Archives