Allardt Community
Photo Album
Established at the end of Reconstruction by land agent Bruno Gernt in 1881, Allardt was envisoned as a German colony for the “New South.” Several buildings associated with the community’s settlement and development are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Allardt, TN – Listed on the National Register of Historic Places
In the late 1800s, Gernt and M. H. Allardt founded a community of immigrant Germans in the Upper Cumberland Plateau at about the same time the British were settling nearby (and today the much more famous) Rugby. German land agent Bruno Gernt envisioned a self-sufficient city here. Gernt sold 9,000 acres owned by the Clarke family of Nebraska in parcels of 25,50, and 200 acres at $4 per acre to farmers, miners, and lumbermen.
The town was laid out geometrically and named for Gernt’s partner, M. H. Allardt, who died before settlement began. Gernt recruited skilled craftsmen, professionals, and experienced farmers from Germany, and soon Allardt led the region in production of hay, fruits, and vegetables. For more than 50 years, Gernt never ceased his efforts to have the town of Allardt be all he dreamed it could be, and the community prospered for a time. Today, more than a dozen buildings make up the Allardt Historic District.