Three famous Tennesseans – John Overton, George Deaderick and Jacob McGavock- all separately owned the property prior to the building of the house. During the 1840’s the Claiborne family built the house that stands today. Records reveal that Mary Claiborne ran a respectable boarding house for many years naming many of Nashville’s most prominent citizens as residents. During the Civil War, Union soldiers occupied the house and used the prominent second floor library for strategic meetings and planning for the battle of Nashville.
In 1881 Julian Sax, a prominent Jewish banker from New York, bought the house as a residence and a few years later leased the home to an affluent social club named “The Standard Club.” The Standard Club flourished and, in 1895, Sax built a grand ballroom to host Nashville’s high society for drinks, cigars, and fabulous dances. They installed Nashville’s first bowling alley underneath the ballroom and the ornate tin ceiling is still visible today! The Standard Club was Nashville’s premier private club. It is also notable that the famous fireplace mantle where President Andrew Jackson was “re-married” to Rachel Donnelson now resides prominently in the grand ballroom. The Standard Club eventually outgrew the location and evolved into The Old Natchez Country Club in Franklin, where it remains today.