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Mountain
Home was authorized by an act of Congress in 1901. A local
congressman, Walter P. Brownlow, was instrumental in pushing the act
through Congress. His message to the Board of Managers of the
Soldiers' Homes was so eloquent that they recommended Congress
appropriate $1,000,000 instead of the $250,000 that Brownlow had
originally requested.
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The 1901 act establishing the Home specified the
eligibility for admission as follows:
Section 5. That all honorably discharged soldiers and
sailors who served in the war of the rebellion and the Spanish
American War, and the provisional army and the volunteer soldiers
and sailors of the War of 1812 and the Mexican War, who are disabled by
age, disease, or otherwise, and by reason of such disability are
incapable of earning a living, shall be admitted into the Home of
Disabled Volunteer Soldiers. Approved: January 28, 1901.
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Mountain Home had a large farm, which produced vegetables and
livestock. It also had a greenhouse, a fire department, and a
security force. Among the original buildings built between 1903 and
1905 which are still standing are the chapel, theater, library, and
mess hall. The mess hall now houses The Museum at Mountain Home.
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