The Start of Development
The development of shopping centers in West Knoxville in the late 1950s and 1960s brought increased threats of commercial encroachment into the West Hills neighborhood. In the early 1960s, several West Hills residents formed the West Hills Estates Civic Association— the forerunner of the West Hills Community Association— to strictly monitor development and zoning codes in the neighborhood and its vicinity. In 1972, this group worked with Knoxville’s Metropolitan Planning Commission to create the West Hills Plan, which provided a development model subsequently adopted for all Knoxville neighborhoods.
Today’s WHCA continues the tradition of more than a half century of being zealous protectors and strong advocates for the more 1,400 homes within our community. Thanks to the continued support of the community and the truly appreciated volunteer commitment of the 28 members of the WHCA executive committee and officers, the vitality of our warm, welcoming, and wonderful community continues to thrive.
To participate and support the WHCA please contact us at westhillsknoxville@gmail.com. The annual membership is only $25 per household, and donations of any amount are very appreciated. Funds are used to host the Easter Egg Hunt, National Night Out, Holiday at the Gazebo, newsletters, and this website, to name some.
As a new neighbor—and even not-so-new neighbor—we are happy you’re here and hope you will become an active supporter of the West Hills Community Association. Together we make West Hills a great place to live!
A Neighbors' Story- 2006
"THE BEGINNING OF WEST HILLS" BY JOHN SHEARER OF THE KNOXVILLE NEWS SENTINAL
Al and Sandy Robinson have not forgotten the shocked response they received from Al’s parents in 1956 when the young couple, who had met at the University of Tennessee, announced they were moving into the new West Hills subdivision. “When we bought this, this was way out west and my dad thought we were in Lenoir City,” remembered Al Robinson with a laugh. Despite being only about three or four miles from his parents’ home in Sequoyah Hills and only five or six miles from downtown Knoxville via Kingston Pike in those pre-interstate days, West Hills was definitely considered out in the country by 1950s’ perspectives. In fact, residential phone service had not even come there the first few months the Robinsons were in their Sheffield Drive home. “I used to have to go up on Bearden Hill to the Terrace View Court and use a payphone,” recalled Sandy Robinson. Despite the “western frontier” situation initially, in many ways, West Hills marked the beginning of the modern era of suburban development/suburban sprawl in Knoxville. One online source refers to West Hills as the first major post-World War II subdivision locally and the first in town to feature ranch-style homes, even though it did have two or three unique residences that were among noted local architect Bruce McCarty’s earliest area projects. And the area grew quickly, according to William Bruce Wheeler in his book, “Knoxville, Tennessee: A Mountain City in the New South.” “By 1960, what had just a few years before been forest, crop and pastureland held a population of around 2,500 people,” the now-retired UT professor wrote .In the mid-1950s when it was first being developed, however, West Hills was about all that could be found in that area, as West Town Mall, chain fast-food restaurants and big-box stores were still a decade or two away. West Hills had been developed by lumber company official Morgan Schubert, who had bought former farms belonging to Will Walker, Arthur Kirby, and the Vanosdale family. Schubert had reportedly named the subdivision, which had English names for streets. Dean Cate also was involved with the selling of the homes and lots along with Dick Pruitt. Sandy Robinson said that early builders of homes in West Hills included Ralph Kinzalow, Bob Bennett and Sam Patterson. She and her husband had bought Kinzalow’s former home after the couple became enamored with its large patio, from which they could see Mount LeConte in the days when no trees were there. She said that the Kinzalow homes were known for their large chimneys. Many of the West Hills homes also featured such mid-century detail as thin brick, hardwood floors, aluminum-frame windows, and pink-, light blue- and yellow-tiled bathrooms. A few also had other modernist-style features, such as plenty of glass, and some were even more unusual than that. Architect McCarty recalled that he was invited by builder Martin Bartling and Millard Warren from Southern Cast Stone to design a home on Stockton Drive near Wesley Road that would be featured in the Parade of Homes, along with one he designed for Alex Harkness. “They wanted me to design a house using the concrete bent system,” McCarty recalled recently. What resulted was a residence that became known as the concrete house. The attention from the concrete home resulted in the construction on West Hills Road of a McCarty-designed Hotpoint all-electric promotional home for Bartling. The home, which uniquely had all its load-bearing walls near the center, was later placed on the National Register of Historic Places. Beth Boline bought the concrete home in 2005 and proceeded to gut it, but maintained most of the original outer shell with its unique concrete insulation features patented by Warren and its rock roof. “It was a labor of love,” she said, adding she likes everything about the home and that she and partner Shannon Foster did not have to call their insurance company, as other West Hills residents did after the storm of 2011. Besides unique homes, West Hills also had some residents of note. According to Sandy Robinson, those who moved to the West Hills subdivision within the first decade or so were major league baseball player Ed Bailey, country music singer Don Gibson, University of Tennessee football coach Doug Dickey, UT Athletic Director Bob Woodruff, former UT football star Ted Daffer, and members of the Regas restaurant and Bush Bros. canning families. The West Hills neighborhood in its early days was primarily made up of typical working professionals with children, however. A few were employed as far away as Oak Ridge, including the D.E. Ferguson family. Son Don Ferguson remembered that his family, who also included siblings Andy, Mary, and Martha, later the mother of baseball star Todd Helton, moved to Chesterfield Drive in 1958. He remembers watching construction on the West Hills School, which had been built on land donated by Schubert and which he began attending that fall as a seventh-grader. He also recalls eyeing the construction of the interstate near his subdivision a short time later. Much of West Hills had not been developed then, and he went dove and quail hunting in some fields that later became part of the subdivision. “It really was pretty much fun,” he said of his entire childhood experience there. “There were a bunch of boys the same age, and we lived four or five doors from each other.” Sandy Robinson, who remembers her family riding their bikes on the interstate before it was paved, said that the only ball field for years was the one next to Sheffield Drive and West Hills Elementary. The adjacent West Hills Park and greenway came much later, she said. The Robinsons also remember when a barn stood at the northwest corner of Kingston Pike and Wesley Road, and when such early nearby businesses as Jack Walker’s Market, West Hills Pharmacy and Howard Johnson’s motel and restaurant were popular. “That was a dandy place to eat,” added Al Robinson of the latter. The Robinsons have been active in recent years in the neighborhood association, which sometimes has to combat the creeping development that the neighborhood helped create nearly 60 years ago. But despite the peripheral changes, they have not lost their love for West Hills. “We moved here and never left,” said Sandy Robinson. Added Al Robinson, “It has been a good, stable neighborhood.”
WEST HILLS DOGWOOD TRAIL - EST. 2021
August 2021
The West Hills Community Association, along with a group of volunteers, had requested consideration as a Dogwood Trail for several years. At the time of the original request, the Dogwood Arts Festival organization did not have a process to evaluate such requests, but now they do. The evaluation process takes into consideration a list of guidelines including the amount of flowering dogwoods and spring shrubs, the historical and/or architectural character of the neighborhood, and interest of the residents to support Dogwood Arts Trails & Gardens Program.
The DAF team spent a good deal of time in our neighborhood from 2020-21 to gauge compliance with their program guidelines. A key consideration was that more than 80% of residents along the proposed route had to be in favor of the trail. The route shown on the West Hills trail map was approved by DAF in 2021, with the trail officially opening in the Spring of 2022!!!The DAF has grown in popularity and recognition as one of the premier spring festivals and celebrations in the nation. It attracts visitors from around the southeast and the whole nation every April because Knoxville has become known for its natural beauty especially with the abundance of dogwoods, azaleas, and other springtime blossoms. As we all know and appreciate, West Hills is blessed with countless numbers of mature dogwoods, well-maintained yards, and gorgeous gardens. And now the efforts of so many of our neighbors, from the foresight of original owners to those throughout the 60-plus years of West Hills history, are being recognized by the Dogwood Arts Festival. The West Hills trail is the first trail to be added in almost 20 years. It is an honor to be one of Knoxville’s Dogwood trails. Thank you to everyone involved for making West Hills such a beautiful neighborhood!
—West Hills Community Association Dogwood Arts Festival Trail Committee
Grand Opening Celebration
March 2022
Becoming a Dogwood Trail is a major milestone. Our trail is the first addition to this exclusive list of neighborhoods in more than 20 years. It is a testament to the high standards we set for ourselves, our neighborhood, and our homes. This is a moment to celebrate! The Dogwood Trail road stripes were painted on March 15, 2022—almost 9 miles of stripes guiding through our beautiful neighborhood.
On March 24, 2022, the West Hills Dogwood Trail Grand Opening Celebration entertained from 4-7PM at the Sheffield parking area of West Hills Park. The WHC Association and Dogwood Arts Committee hosted this celebration with a ribbon-cutting ceremony with both the City and County mayors, members of city council and county commission, Dogwood Arts leaders, and WHCA leaders. After the official ceremony, activities for kids of all ages and West Hills neighbor-owned food trucks were available. We had three stations with activities (Coloring Station, Planting a Seed Station, Face Painting Station) for children AND a plant sale station by Ellenburg Nursery (https://www.ellenburgnursery.com/).