Upon its completion in 1937, this Colonial Revival house became both home and refuge for Eugene Talmadge and his wife, Mattie Thurmond Peterson Talmadge, known to all as Miss Mit. Talmadge had just lost the governor’s race after serving two terms and this country estate provided him a place to revitalize and plan his political comeback. At the time, Telfair County was still seen as the seat of the Talmadge family and the rural anchorage was important, as Talmadge fancied himself a champion of the common man. The same voters who had rejected him for his lack of cooperation with FDR’s New Deal programs in 1937 returned him to the governor’s office in 1941. By now, Talmadge was relying on his unapologetic brand of racism to reach voters, and it succeeded; his well-attended rallies stoked racist fears among poor whites throughout Georgia.
After another absence from office, Talmadge ran again in 1946, and became only the second man in Georgia history to be elected to a fourth term (Joseph E. Brown, the Civil War governor, was the other). He died on 21 December 1946, before he could serve his fourth term. The so-called Three Governors Controversy followed, and soon Talmadge’s son Herman became governor. He later served four terms in the United States Senate.
The family seemed to have little interest in maintaining the house, as they lived their lives far away from Telfair County for the most part, and it fell into a state of neglect. For many years, the fate of Sugar Creek Plantation was uncertain. It had long been in disrepair when former Atlanta Journal-Constitution editor Jim Wooten, a Telfair County native himself, purchased and restored the house and grounds in 2011.
Please note: It is now a private residence and security-monitored.
Brian: love this photo. This place was really in bad shape before Wooten took it to its beauty. He invited a bunch of us newspaper people to the house once it was redone. Really well attended, and amazed at the quality of what he did.
Later he sold it to an events company, as you say. Unfortunately, he is not in good health now, still liiving in his Atlanta home in Smyrna.
Thanks for bring this out, and the Betty Talmadge place in Ashburn, which was my Mystery Photo on Tuesday in GwinnettForum.–elliott brack
On Tue, Aug 18, 2020 at 3:55 PM Vanishing South Georgia Photographs by Brian Brown wrote:
> Brian Brown posted: ” Upon its completion in 1937, this Colonial Revival > house became both home and refuge for Eugene Talmadge and his wife, Mattie > Thurmond Peterson Talmadge, known to all as Miss Mit. Talmadge had just > lost the governor’s race after serving two terms and ” >
Many years in the past, we drove by the house among the tall pines on trips to my childhood home in Hazlehurst. I always hoped that the home would be restored. From highway 341, one could tell that it was mostly abandoned and becoming a relic of the past in disrepair. I often wondered if it would be rescued, and am happy to learn that it has been saved. It is a beauty.
Lovely estate.
Thank you for the history.