Brentwood’s BrentVale Pavilion Ribbon-Cutting Set for June 28
Published on June 12, 2025
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – At 4 p.m. on Saturday, June 28, the Brentwood Historic Commission will officially unveil a new facility to the community – the BrentVale Pavilion at Crockett Park. That afternoon, shortly before the BrentFest Summer Concert at the park, the commission will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the unique structure that resurrects the city’s old BrentVale cabin.
In 2022, the City of Brentwood dismantled the nearly 200-year-old cabin because the building was no longer structural sound. The razed building could have been easily forgotten, but the Historic Commission was committed to keeping this important piece of Brentwood history. They achieved this by building the BrentVale Pavilion, a semi-enclosed structure made with planks from the cabin’s original wood timbers.
The Cabin
Around 1830, William Temple Sneed, the seventh child of Brentwood pioneer James Sneed, cut down several large trees on his property off Old Smyrna Road. He used the resulting logs to build a cabin, and over the years, those heavy wood beams were reconfigured to expand the home’s footprint.
The Sneeds eventually sold the property, and by the late 20th Century, Country Music Hall of Fame star Larry Gatlin, of the Gatlin Brothers, lived in the log home with his wife, Janice. In 1993, they sold the land to Roger and Barbara Mick, who donated the original cabin to the city. As part of that donation, the Mick’s paid for the house to be moved and rebuilt with two stone chimneys at Crockett Park.
The Restoration
In August 2023, the Brentwood Historic Commission developed an innovative plan to restore the memory of this lost cabin. Vice Chair Joe Grosson proposed building a pavilion where BrentVale once stood, and as part of the construction, he suggested using the original timbers as siding.
The City Commission approved this idea, along with a project budget of $260,000. With that tight budget, the city hired Homestead Timber Frames to build the pavilion and Majors Construction to oversee the entire project.
A new concrete foundation was poured between the existing chimneys in September 2024, and the pavilion was installed that October. A month later, the 200-year-old timbers were moved to Spring Hill, where Tad Derrickson of TNTree converted them into siding.
That historic siding now encloses three sides of the pavilion, giving it the look of a log cabin while also acting as a shelter, with water and electricity, for Historic Commission events. The city is now exploring how else it will make use of the space, including having it available as an event or wedding venue.
On June 28, the community is invited to the ribbon cutting at 4 p.m. and the city’s BrentFest concert at 6 p.m., featuring the 1980s cover band Rubiks Groove. The Historic Commission will also be distributing a limited number of commemorative posters at the ribbon cutting.
For more information on the Brentwood Historic Commission and its other projects, visit the commission’s website.