John McGahee Tenant House, 1870s, Jefferson County

Located in the vicinity of Wrens is this spectacular survivor, a tenant house that can be dated to at least 1879, with its original kitchen still intact. This description and identification was shared with me: an unpainted lap siding house…on the edge of a red clay embankment and very close to the right of way. It is what I would call a salt box style house with a similarly constructed detached kitchen structure close behind it. There is a front porch which is right on the edge of the embankment. The house looks like it has never had window sash and what may be original plain board shutters can be seen on the north side of the main house. The house has a tall look to it and the eave line at the front is higher than on the back side. The front faces west and there are no windows on the front, only the door. Using the 1879 Jefferson County map by L.F. Adkins…the saltbox house [is] shown on the Adkins map as occupied by John McGahee who is listed on the 1860 census of Jefferson County, Div. Pope Hill, age 21, occupation tenant, birthplace Georgia, wife Frances A. age 18, one child John E. age 1…

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