In 1974 Bernice A. Stevens and Alice E. Zimmerman entered into a Memorandum of Agreement with UT, through which their property of approximately 19 acres near Gatlinburg—and twin houses with a shared craft studio between them—were deeded to UT, with each owner having a life estate in her property. The two were from Evansville, Indiana, and had developed a robust crafts program in the Evansville public schools.
They attended the third Summer Crafts Workshop (1947) of Phi Beta Pi’s Arrowmont and became regular attendees at the craft workshops. When they retired, they moved near Gatlinburg and built their houses and studio on land from which they could see both Mt. LeConte and Clingman’s Dome. Friends of UT Professor Aaron J. Sharp, they wanted their houses, studio, and property to be used by UT as a botany field station following their deaths, and the Memorandum of Agreement specifies that the land be used in that manner for at least 25 years.
Stevens was the author of A Weavin’ Woman (Buckhorn Press, 1971); Our Mountain Craftsmen (Buckhorn Press, 1974); and with Zimmerman as illustrator, To The Earth Beloved: Poems (Buckhorn Press, 1973). Along with 10 other master crafts artists, they formed the Twelve Designer Craftsmen cooperative and shop, which operated for 19 years.
The Botany Department used a small blockhouse at the foot of the property as a site to conduct fieldwork for many years. With the death of Bernice Stevens in 1999, the department assumed full access to the twin houses and studio. Improvements have been made and a fully functioning field laboratory has been established and used for both classes and research.