I’ve photographed this house dozens of times over the last six years and recently learned that it is being deconstructed and the lumber salvaged for use in a new structure. The longtime owners of this landmark spent many years maintaining it and without their commitment to its history, it would have been long gone by now. I’m grateful for being allowed unlimited access to photograph and document it in its final days.
I believe the house originated as a Plantation Plain, or I-House, the common vernacular style of wealthier farmers and planters in 19th-century Georgia. The porches were likely a later addition, giving it its present French Colonial appearance.
The first floor foyer is dominated by a narrow stairwell. To the right of the stairs is a re-paneled bedroom. One of the two main rooms downstairs would have originally served as a parlor and the other may have been a bedroom or dining room.
A “modern” kitchen is evidence that this home has served many generations, though the appliances and design attest to how long it’s been empty.
The upstairs bedrooms are largely unchanged.
As closets were not in use in the mid-19th-century, this one, with a simple closure, was added later.
The mantels are being removed and will be reused. The bricks in the fireplaces were made locally and are one of the best indicators of the age of the house.
In one bedroom, some of the wall boards have already been removed, revealing the beautiful rough-hewn local lumber that frames the house.
The second floor foyer is brightened by sidelights, replicating the appearance of the main entryway.
The foyer leads to a porch with louvered ends to maximize air circulation.
When the house is viewed from the rear, it seems possible that the hallway at the rear of the second floor was once a breezeway, especially when considering the larger windows in the middle.
Here’s the hallway.
It appears to be wasted space in the present form, and people in mid-19th-century rural Georgia didn’t waste space. Still, it’s a nice feature today. More of the original rough-hewn walls have been exposed by the deconstruction.
There are small rear corner rooms on each end of the second floor.
Corner posts are reinforced by buttresses and wooden pegs.
Here’s the view from the top of the landing back down to the first floor entryway.
And here’s a view of the roof of the kitchen/packhouse addition.
And another rear view of the house, showing the size of the kitchen/packhouse.
Unlike most detached kitchens which have been connected to a main house, this one only has outside access. The original kitchen is really a complex of three rooms. The first section likely served as a dining and storage area.
The second room was where the work of the kitchen was done, featuring a large hearth.
A small room at the end of the complex was likely used as a packhouse/root cellar.
I feel fortunate to have been able to experience this house. It’s a real gem.
