An interest of historical landmarks in Northeast Tennessee continues to produce books from Robert Sorrell.
No stranger to writing, the award-winning journalist, currently at the Bristol Herald Courier, saw his third book “Historic Homes Of Northeast Tennessee” hit the shelves on Monday, Aug. 8.
“I’ve actually been interested in historic homes for a long time,” Sorrell said. “Being from this area, you see all these different historic homes and it really interested me. Seeing the different types of historical architecture.”
Sorrell’s book is the third to come from Arcadia Publishing, based out of Charleston, S.C., and the publishing company was quick to pull the trigger on Sorrell’s third book.
“When my last book (“Blue Ridge Fire Towers”) was finished, I proposed to do this book to them,” he said. “They approved it fairly quickly. I worked on it last summer and had it finished around February.”
Delving into the history of the area, Sorrell features multiple homes in the book from Washington, Sullivan, Johnson, Greene, Hawkins and Carter counties.
“It was actually when I worked in Elizabethton that I started to look at the different houses,” Sorrell said. “It was interesting going around and seeing the different buildings.”
With a section dedicated entirely to Elizabethton and Carter County, readers can expect to see an abundance of history with sites like Sabine Hill, the Carter Mansion and the Covered Bridge nestled in the pages.
“There’s a lot of history,” Sorrell said. “There are a lot of homes from downtown Elizabethton, the Folsom House, houses in Hampton, Roan Mountain, Stoney Creek, Milligan College’s campus … it was a joy to work on.”
Going into the research of the book came with some ease, Sorrell said, praising the efforts of local archives.
“I went through the National Register of Historic Places,” he added. “A lot of these homes are on there. I worked with a lot of different people and local archives to help get a lot of this information and the photos.”
And the initial reaction from the book has been a sight to see, Sorrell said.
“I’ve actually heard from a lot of different people who are wanting to buy the book,” he said. “Some of the stores it is at now have said they’ve seen some sales.”
The book is priced at $21.99 and available at look bookstores in the area and available on multiple online book stores, including Amazon.
Interested individuals can visit robertsorrell.com to purchase a signed copy of the book.
Sorrell will have a handful of book signings coming up locally. Sorrell will be at Union Avenue Books in Knoxville on Aug. 28 at 8 p.m. The author will make his way back to the area Sept. 3 for a signing at Books-A-Million in Johnson City and be in Elizabethton on Sept. 25 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Sycamore Shoals State Park.