Newton Copeland Richards House

History: In 1890, cotton merchant Newton Copeland Richards moved into his stately new Queen Anne-style home with its rounded porch and circular balcony latticework; the architect may have been Robert Brinkley Snowden. The owner came from New Orleans and became an important member of the Memphis cotton industry and eventual president of the Memphis Cotton Exchange. His son Mather Richards, born in the house, sold the property to an owner who altered the house into four apartments. In March 2017 while the house was awaiting renovation (upper photo), a fire believed to be arson destroyed this historic structure (lower photo). As a result, in early 2022 the Tennessee Historical Commission recommended removal of the property from the National Register of Historic Places, and it was duly removed on April 12, 2022.