In 1921 Mr. and Mrs. Albert Hope commissioned her nephew, John Fanz Staub, to design and oversee construction of a dwelling that Mrs. Hope desired to have emulate the refined simplicity of the cottage architecture of the Cotswald District in England. Completed in 1924 the house won a special award in House Beautiful’s first competition in 1925 and was subsequently featured in the Architect and in Southern Architect and Builder. At least one house, in Glendale Arizona, has been built in imitation of Hopecote, with its owners following the pictures in House Beautiful and receiving from the Hopes information about such details as the height and width of beams.
The interior of Hopecote contains historic artifacts as part of the architectural detail. Heavy, hand-hewn oak timbers salvaged from a nineteenth-century barn on the grounds of the birthplace of Admiral David Farragut are part of the structural fabric of the dwelling and are exposed as post and beam, fireplace lintel, and door framing. The hearthstone in the living room was taken from one of the paths of the Park House, started by John Sevier. The dining room is a replica of the New Hampshire Room that was on display in New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, as Mrs. Hope requested. The walls are North Carolina pine paneling, stained walnut.
The university purchased the house from Mrs. Hope in 1976 with the proviso that she be able to live there as long as she wanted. Following her death, Chancellor Jack Reese appointed an advisory committee in 1978 to determine the uses for Hopecote and to oversee restoration. (John Staub served as chairman of the committee until his death in 1981.) The committee recommended that the property be used as a university guest house and entertainment facility and that it be furnished with antiques.
The house opened in November 1979 with the recommended functions. Ruth Anne Bacon, formerly head resident at Gibbs Hall (1966–79) served as resident hostess. Early guests included G. Gordon Liddy, Shirley Chisholm, William Windham, Judith Crist, and George McGovern. In 1981, one-third of the proceeds from a charitable trust valued at approximately $400,000 provided by Albert and Josephine Kern established an endowment for the upkeep and operation of Hopecote. The house is today furnished with antiques that have been given to the university and serves as a guesthouse and teaching museum.