The train was bound for Nashville, and two of its occupants were destined for love.
When Leslie Cheek first laid eyes on Mabel Wood in 1895, he was determined to meet her. Cheek connected with her friend John Clemens on the trip, who agreed to introduce the pair at Wood’s Clarksville home.
For a year and a half, Cheek showered Wood with gifts each week: Mitchell’s candy on Tuesdays, fruit or a book on Thursdays, and flowers every Sunday. By Oct. 3, 1896, the couple wed and planted roots in Nashville. As the family and its fortune grew, plans for the estate did as well.
From one love story to the next, on Valentine’s Day in 1942, the Cheeks’ daughter Huldah said “I do” to Walter Sharp in the Mansion’s drawing room.
Had you been in attendance, the day would have looked a little something like this:
- Dress | A white Elizabethan period gown of silk and satin accompanied by a floor-length illusion train adorned with European lace purchased by her mother.
- Decor | Red drapes covered the room’s triple windows, cathedral tapers helped form an altar, and silver bowls on the bride’s table housed lilies and gardenias.
- Reception | Following the officiated ceremony by Rev. Bernard Hummel, guests would join the mother of the bride and the groom’s parents for a reception full of toasts.
We ultimately have this love story to thank for our access to the property today. In 1957, the Sharp’s offered Cheekwood to become a public garden and destination for the arts.
