RT Lodge

Our Story

RT Lodge

When Susan Wiley Cooper Walker, the recent widow of Andrew Carnegie’s business associate John Walker, moved to Maryville from her native Penn­sylvania to be near her sister Beth who resided in a home on the Maryville College campus with her husband Dr. W.P. Stevenson, the College Chaplain, she fell in love with the wooded grounds surrounding the campus and persuaded the administration to allow the building of a grand residence in those woods for her remaining years if she agreed to will the home to the College upon her death. The College agreed, and Mrs. Walker designed and built a stately 26 room residence along with the adjacent Carriage House and named her home Morningside. A renowned naturalist, avid gardener, and designer, some of her original shrubs, garden paths, and stonework remain and are enjoyed to this day. Mrs. Walker passed in 1950, and the house served as a President’s residence for a time followed by use in later years as a restaurant and event facility called Morningside Inn. The Main House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989 with acknowledgement for its classical revival architecture. In the spring of 2021, RT Lodge was purchased from Ruby Tuesday by a local group of investors who are dedicated to innovative development of the Lodge operation while preserving the history and community essence of the iconic property. The new ownership, Morningside Lodge LLC, spearheaded by Beth McCabe-Holman as President, is eager to continue serving its community and providing an authentic place of rest and retreat to all those who visit. Above all, the Lodge will continue stoking the spirit of hospitality that the property has been known for since it was built by Mrs. Walker so many years ago.