Clover Bottom Developmental Center
| Clover Bottom Developmental Center | |
|---|---|
| Established | 1919 |
| Opened | 1923 |
| Closed | 2015 |
| Current Status | Closed |
| Building Style | Cottage Plan |
| Location | Donelson, TN |
| Peak Patient Population | 1,563 |
| Alternate Names |
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History
In 1921, Robert Stanford sold 450 acres along Stewarts Ferry Pike to the State of Tennessee. The state established a school and residential home for people with intellectual or behavioral disabilities. Originally called the Tennessee Home and Training School for Feeble-Minded Persons, CBDC admitted 248 people in the first nine months of operation. The institution's census peaked in 1963 at 1,563.
Today it houses the agency’s Enabling Technology Model Home, which showcases a variety of residential technology options to help people with disabilities live more independently, and the Harold Jordan Center, which provides clinical support and treatment. The campus also houses a Tennessee Highway Patrol training facility and a subcontractor for the state’s Department of Children’s Services.
Cemetery
A cemetery was opened soon after the institution was established. There were 250 pre-planned grave plots. During November 2012, archaeologist Dan S. Allen, IV., performed a survey and mapping project at the Clover Bottom Development Center Cemetery in the Donelson community. The project was undertaken at the request of Steve Rick, Principal of Street Dixon Rick Architecture, for the benefit of the Tennessee Department of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. The survey revealed a minimum of 185 burial locations. The names of those buried in the Clover Bottom Cemetery are confidential and have not been released by the State of Tennessee.
