Also known as the Ficklen-Lyndon-Johnson House, Holly Court is somewhat typical of the grander townhouses of 19th century Georgia, in that a “marriage” of structures led to its present appearance. The lot on which it’s located was owned from 1817-1830 by Bill Hoxey [born circa 1789], a free man of color from the Savannah area who was an accomplished carpenter. He was also a deacon of the Washington Baptist church, serving the Black members. It is believed that part of the original structure built on the lot by Hoxey circa 1825 has been incorporated into the house. Mr. Hoxey sold the property to William L. Harris in 1830. Laws of the day apparently prohibited even free Blacks from selling property so that was handled by Hoxey’s trustee, Lewis Brown.
Harris spent only three years at the property, selling it to Lock Weems in 1833. Improvements to the house were made by Weems before he sold it to his mother-in-law, Mary Shepherd, in 1836. Dr. Fielding Ficklen, Jr., (1801-1869) purchased it in 1837 and made further improvements. He enlarged it by moving and attaching another structure, which is now the front elevation, from his farmland about seven miles outside town. [Mrs. Jefferson Davis and her children stayed in the home in 1865, awaiting the arrival of her husband after the fall of Richmond]. Upon his father’s death in 1869, Dr. Joseph Burwell Ficklen (1830-1886) occupied the house. It is believed that his wife, Julia Weems Ficklen (1843-1925), was responsible for the fine landscaping that became a defining feature of the property.
In 1890, George Edward Lyndon (1845-1927), who later served as Washington mayor, bought the property from the Ficklen heirs. After Lyndon’s death in 1927, the house was owned by a relative, Andrew Lyndon. It sat empty for quite some time but served as the location for a mattress production project of the Works Progress Administration [W.P.A.] during the 1930s. Rochford Johnson (1897-1960) bought the house in 1939 and his wife, Elizabeth Barksdale Johnson (1897-1985) gave it the name Holly Court.
National Register of Historic Places
Another fascinating story Brian. The history of this house and your earlier earlier post of the 1800’s Federal House brings to mind a discussion I had years ago about how often it seemed houses were moved considerable distances in the early days. I believe it was the late historic preservationist Dr. John Watters of UGA who pointed out that before the era of overhead utility lines, railroad overpasses, plumbing, sewer and electrical lines into houses, and when foundations were usually masonry piers it was a lot easier to simply pick up a house and haul it away with a team of mules!
Absolutely, Ben! All these modern intrusions make everything complicated, though I’m happy to have their acquaintance…Mules and more often, oxen I understand, were employed for this task.
LOL! Yep Brian, all else being equal I will keep electricity and would never sacrifice my ”indoor” plumbing!!
In 2011 it was a bed and breakfast. My husband and I stayed there. It is an amazing home. Supposedly the room we stayed in was the same room where Varina Davis stayed. The 2 homes that were joined together are at different elevations. I believe the front house is higher. The opening between the 2 homes was made at the central staircase. They had to add extra stairs to accommodate the difference.
While we were in Washington, something was affecting my cell phone. As we entered the city my voicemail on my cell phone started requiring a password. My voicemail never had a password. AT&T was unable to remove the password but was able to set one that I could use to access my voicemail. Then I noticed the clock on my phone was off by 1 hour. I had not crossed through any time zones. Then the amazing thing was when we left Washington, my phone reset to the correct time and the password on my voicemail disappeared. It was a twilight zone type of experience.
I would love to return to Washington and spend some time exploring the history that is there.
Interesting experience, for sure. It’s a beautiful small town, one of my favorites in Georgia.