Sandersville Commercial & Industrial District, NRHP
This neoclassical gem has a fascinating history. There is some confusion as to its date of construction. Some sources suggest that it’s antebellum (which wouldn’t surprise me) while prominent architectural historian John Linley put its construction shortly after the Civil War. Considering the legend that all of Sandersville except the Masonic Hall were destroyed by Sherman’s forces, I’d tend to agree with Linley.
Colonel Richard Lee Warthen built this as his home and law office. In 1925, the Transylvania Club moved here. The club was founded in 1908 by Mrs. C. B. Chapman and soon thereafter, at the suggestion of President Mary Tarbutton, set about establishing a public library for Sandersville. They opened to the public, with over 7,000 volumes, in the Masonic Hall in 1909. That structure was lost to fire in 1921. The ladies of the Transylvania Club moved forward and acquired enough books to reopen the library here in 1925 where it remained until 1998. It’s still home to the Transylvania Club. They’re perhaps best known for their Wedgwood series of Georgia Historical Plates.
http://www.gaplates.com/our-history/
