Monteagle Assembly in Grundy County, Tennessee — The American South (East South Central)
The Dawn Redwood of Monteagle
| | Tennessee Landmark and Historic Trees | |
Photographed by Steve Masler, August 18, 2023
1. The Dawn Redwood of Monteagle Marker
Native Tennessean Andrew Lytle, a literary giant who helped form the famous Agrarian writers and once nominated for the Pulitzer Prize, lived in his ancestral log home here in Monteagle and taught for both the University of the South and Vanderbilt University. In later years he became the founding member of the Fellowship of Southern Writers.
In 1964 Lytle planted these trees in memory of his wife, Edna Baker Lytle.
Erected 2006 by Landmark and Historic Tree Register.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Arts, Letters, Music • Environment • Horticulture & Forestry. A significant historical year for this entry is 1947.
Location. 35° 14.761′ N,
this page online
Regionally, this marker is in Tennessee’s Cumberland Plateau and in the Highland Rim. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Upper South, in Appalachia, and specifically in Southern Appalachia. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: The Amphitheater (about 600 feet away, measured in a direct line); The Hotel, the Eagle, and College Hijinks (approx. 0.4 miles away); Welcome to Monteagle (approx. 0.4 miles away); Monteagle Sunday School Assembly
Photographed by Darren Jefferson Clay, January 20, 2025
2. The Dawn Redwood of Monteagle Marker
Also see . . .
1. Lyle Andrew Nelson. In the Tennessee Encyclopedia
Eventually, most of the Vanderbilt figures moved North. But Lytle stayed in the South. Living mainly in his ancestral log house in Monteagle, Lytle taught at the University of the South and edited the oldest continuously published literary quarterly in the country, The Sewanee Review, which he helped turn into a showcase for the old Confederacy's best writersa group including Warren, Tate, Caroline Gordon, Flannery O'Connor, Peter Taylor, Katherine Anne Porter, and Cleanth Brooksat the pinnacle of the Southern Renaissance.(Submitted on August 20, 2023, by Steve Masler of Memphis, Tennessee.)
2. Andrew Lytle Dawn Redwoods.
Native Tennessean Andrew Lytle, a literary giant who helped form the famous Southern Agrarian Writers, lived in his ancestral log home in Monteagle and taught for both the University of the South and Vanderbilt University. He was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in 1956 for his book The Velvet Horn.(Submitted on August 20, 2023, by Steve Masler of Memphis, Tennessee.)
In 1964 Lytle planted the dawn redwoods in memory of his wife, Edna Barker Lytle, in front of the Harton Dining Hall on the MSSA grounds. The trees have become a living tribute.
Credits. This page was last revised on April 23, 2025. It was originally submitted on August 20, 2023, by Steve Masler of Memphis, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 692 times since then and 58 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on August 20, 2023, by Steve Masler of Memphis, Tennessee. 2. submitted on April 18, 2025, by Darren Jefferson Clay of Duluth, Georgia. • James Hulse was the editor who published this page.
