Living five minutes from downtown in South Knoxville, the Stanley family continues to grow plants on land deeded to their Davenport forebears nearly 200 years ago.

A portion of the land was purchased from Tennessee Senator William Blount’s half brother Willie (pronounced Wy-lie) Blount in early 1800s. Agriculture was the Davenport family’s main focus from the beginning, and Davenport Farm became one of the largest wheat producers in Knox County. The family also raised cattle and drove them to the Smoky Mountains each spring so their cows could pasture on the sweet grass of Cades Cove. This was, of course, before the Great Smoky Mountains National Park was created in 1940.

During the farm’s heyday, Henry Campbell Davenport (1832-1905) amassed 250 acres of land in South Knoxville—at a time when south of the river was a rural area. Indeed portions of South Knoxville were not incorporated into the city of Knoxville until 1917. A good case could be made that Henry Davenport was the largest landowner in Knox County in the late 1800s. And yet he was also known and respected for his generosity, honesty, and good judgment. A few years before his death, however, he suffered a major financial setback, was forced to sell a large portion of his land, and was never the same again. Today the family farm, which includes Stanley’s Greenhouse and the Davenport Family Cemetery, measures around 20 acres.

When Henry Davenport died on Wednesday, August 23, 1905, the Knoxville Sentinel (predecessor of today’s Knoxville News Sentinel newspaper) marked the occasion with the following article:

Several hundred people Thursday afternoon stood with heads bared under the virgin oaks of a beautiful grove two miles south of the city, out of respect to the memory of Henry Davenport. Many of those there assembled had gathered at the bier of soldiers and statesmen, but the difference with which they on Thursday demeaned themselves was none the less. Henry Davenport died dispossessed by circumstances, a kind heart, and charitable nature, of his worldly possessions with which he had been bountifully blessed. Besides his hundreds of relatives there gathered, he has left a heritage even more precious—a name that was synonymous with kindness and charity. 

Henry Davenport died Wednesday night at the age of 73 years. A general breakdown in health caused his demise. He was practically never sick before. He died in the same room in which he was born in the old Adam Thomas house built 130 years ago. It was the first frame house of consequence built in the Southern part of Knox County, and the old stone chimneys at each end of the house, massive and not affected by time, were viewed with profound interest by those assembled. Reverend R. C. Medaris spoke of the life of the deceased and told the unequivocated story of “dust to dust”.

Perhaps Henry Davenport was at one time the largest landowner in Knox County. He did not know how much he owned. This is perhaps why at one time he refused $75,000 cash for his land and $25,000 for immediate possession and personal property. This was a number of years ago, before Knoxville had begun to grow as it has [since]. He was then standing around a large herd of yearlings with his hand on the back of one, near a large barn, and looking down the meadow where he had followed the plow since a boy. 

The deceased was a son of Thomas Davenport, one of the pioneers of Knox County and who with the Cunninghams, Banthams, Doyles, Fords, and Maxeys, settled the Southern part of the county. The father was a farmer in meager circumstances and married a daughter of Adam Thomas. She came into possession by Will and Testament of the old home where Henry, Adam, Jane, Thomas, and John Davenport were reared. Now only Jacob Davenport survives.

To acquire land was the sole ambition of all and soon the little farm began to expand. First the large farm of John Owens, which is now Woodlawn Cemetery, and hundreds of other acres were acquired. In course of time the large farm of Thomas Henderson was bought, a part of the immense Caleb Powers estate, a strip of the Doyle lands, and lastly the Bantham lands, known as the “old Banty fields” was bought. 

Henry Davenport was by this time a middle-aged man. While illiterate his word in trade was authority, his opinion in the division of an estate or between warring neighbors was the law. He sent herds of cattle to the mountains in the spring and was the largest grower in the county. Henry Davenport was charitable. He kept scarcely any bank account, carried his money with him chiefly, and this was what caused him to throw away large sums every year. He was scarcely ever known to refuse to put his mark on a note as endorser or refuse anyone who wanted to borrow money. 

—Knoxville Sentinel, Friday, 25 August 1905

After Henry’s death, growing produce and cut flowers took center stage and the Davenport family sold the fruits of their labor at Downtown Knoxville's old Market House on Market Square.

Henry Davenport's great niece Mae, born in 1900, married Bruce Stanley and the line continued through its matriarchal line. Mae’s son, Charles Monroe Stanley, born in 1920—and his wife Mary Kathryn—shifted the farm's focus toward horticulture when they built their first greenhouse in 1955 and opened Stanley’s Greenhouse. By gradually expanding and building more greenhouses, Stanley’s now totals over 190,000 square feet, after the addition of the 36,000-square-foot retail center opened in 2001.

In 1977 Charles and Mary Kathryn’s younger son Rocky married Lisa Allen, whose grandmother Jerushia Flementine Cunningham (1912-1991) was the elder daughter of James and Madge Cunningham of the Cunningham family that came to South Knoxville as one of the first pioneering families. Jerushia’s younger sister Helen married Bunt King and together they started South Knoxville’s oldest continually operating restaurant, Ye Olde Steak House, in 1968. Helen and Bunt’s children and grandchildren work together to create a friendly, down-home restaurant that still serves fine food in the 21st Century.

Meanwhile at Stanley’s, the late Charles and Mary Kathryn's sons Monte and Rocky have been running the family’s greenhouse business—along with their sister Barbara who recently retired from managing Stanley’s bookkeeping and payroll. Rocky's wife Lisa led customer service and outreach until she was diagnosed with her second round of cancer in fall 2019. Despite Lisa’s death in June 2022 at the too-young age of 63, she remains an inspiration to us all.

The family tradition continues as Rocky and Lisa’s daughter, Abby Stanley-Jerrolds, manages the retail center; her husband, Holden Jerrolds, heads Stanley’s growing and production efforts; and Monte’s son Bill works on the growing team The longest-serving employee at Stanley’s is Lisa’s mother, Arzelia Henderlight Allen, who has worked at the greenhouse since 1973. Lisa’s sister Anna Allen Montgomery joined the family business in 2015 and manages communications via the website and Facebook. Along with the best staff any business could have, they continue the family's tradition of growing and selling the finest gardening stock with old-fashioned, individualized customer service.

By continually expanding their selection of the newest plant innovations as well as heirloom plants, Stanley's ensures that its customers can find everything they need for indoor and outdoor gardening: perennials, annuals, houseplants, foliage plants, succulents, vegetables, herbs, trees, shrubs—as well as seasonal favorites grown on the Stanley Farm: pansies and poinsettias. The Stanley family continues to grow their business with the foundational legacies of Henry Campbell Davenport and Charles Monroe Stanley: the best plants, handcrafted with care, and support for the community, A Knoxville tradition since 1955, Stanley’s Greenhouse aspires to partner with its customers to make Knoxville and the surrounding area, a more beautiful, green, and growing place to live.