Elizabeth Rhodes Atchison Eakin and TN Supreme Court

The Tennessee Greek-revival state capitol was considered one of the most beautiful buildings in the South during the Gilded Age. By 1900, however, the surrounding neighborhood had become a blight to the city. Elizabeth Eakin, a widow with no children, decided that something had to be done. She organized a group of Nashville women to form the Capitol Hill Association. The association did much to improve this area and she even used her own funds to buy this property. Sadly, she died in poverty a few years later.

The Tennessee Supreme Court Building, which you see here today was built by the Public Works Administration, in the 1930s. Although the court had been created in 1809, no women served on this court until 1990 when Martha Craig Daughtrey, became the court’s first woman Supreme Court justice. In 2019, three of the court’s five justices were women. Numerous cases about the rights of women have been brought before the state’s high court. 

In the 1970s, cases began appearing in state courts challenging the tradition—and sometimes the requirement—that women take their husband’s surnames when they married. When Rose Palermo, a lawyer, attempted to register to vote in 1975 after her marriage, the voting registrar told her that state law required her to re-register in her husband's name. When she refused, her name was removed from the voter registration lists. She challenged this action in the courts and the state supreme court ruled that a woman taking her husband's surname is a matter of custom and not law. The court stated: “So long as a person's name remains constant and consistent, and unless and until changed in the prescribed manner, and absent any fraudulent or legally impermissible intent, the State has no legitimate concern.”

Turn around and walk back up Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. to the entrance to the Tennessee State Capitol under the Carmack Statue. You may take the stairs in front of you, or if you are not able to access the stairs, call ahead to be able to use the Motlow Tunnel entrance. From the Carmack statue, turn around to view the state capitol. From here you have a couple of options. You may enter the capitol through the western entrance and take a free tour of the interior. You will be required to show a photo ID as well as walk through security. You will be given a printed ID to wear while you are in the building. Or you may continue the narration as you follow the path to the right around the capitol building. When you reach the statue of Andrew Jackson, walk down the stairs and turn LEFT. Continue on the path to reach the tomb of President and Mrs. Polk. For more information about the State Capitol, see our Civil War and Civic and Public Spaces Tours.