The Baillet House
Baillet sisters
During the aftermath of the Civil War, Jennie, Emma and Affa Baillet accompanied their parents on a journey from Cattaraugus County, New York, to their new home in Tullahoma. When the sisters arrived in 1868, Tullahoma was a small southern town in the midst of Reconstruction. Founded in 1852 on the Nashville-Chattanooga Railroad, it had been a strategic location during the war and served as the headquarters and main supply depot for the Army of Tennessee in 1863. It was later occupied by Northern forces and placed under military law.
The Baillet sisters quickly adapted to their new surroundings, became prominent members of the community and opened a millinery shop, one of the first businesses in town owned by women. Artists and 
Political Activists Art played a vital role in the Baillet sisters’ lives, being one of the few acceptable activities for women in the nineteenth century. Their original art works were often given to friends as gifts. Some of these paintings are part of the Art Center's permanent collection. In addition to art, according to contemporary newspaper accounts, the sisters were deeply involved in “political affairs, public reforms and progressive movements of all kinds.” And they were well respected for their “many deeds of charity.” Among the many causes championed by the Baillets were those of the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union and the Equal Suffrage League.
Never marrying, the sisters lived together in the Baillet home until the last sister’s death in 1934. Jane "Jennie" Baillet — born Dec. 1, 1834, died Oct. 1, 1918. Emma Baillet — born 1838, died 1926. Buried in Tullahoma's Oakwood Cemetery. Affa Baillet — born 1850, died 1934. They are all buried in the Tullahoma's Oakwood Cemetery.