Square Grand Piano in Hassell Hall lobby

Abstract

This square grand piano was given to Rhodes College by Ann Elizabeth Riley '54 and Robert I. Bourne, Jr. '54 in 1977. The piano was originally in the home of Mary Jones Brodnax and John Wilkins Maclin who married in 1861.. This home located in Haywood County, Tennessee was known as Glenwood Farm and was built in 1860. Since then, the piano has been owned and passed down through four generations of Rhodes alumni. The piano was built in a "square" shape with cabriole legs that unsrew so that it could be transported by wagon in the late 19th century. The design for the piano came between the harpsichord and a modern grand piano. The cabinet for this piano was built in Philadelphia and the mechanism were made in Germany.