W. R. Asbury built this home and named it Oak Heights. Later it served as the Clarkesville hospital and was a boarding house known as the Charm House, hence its present designation. It has also been home to a bed and breakfast and a restaurant. It’s a grand Neoclassical house and sits back from Washington Street on a beautifully manicured lot.
Washington-Jefferson Street Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
Jarvis Mudge Pieterse Van Buren (1801-1885), first cousin of President Martin Van Buren, came to Clarkesville from Kinderhook, New York, around 1840 to manage the Stroop Iron Works and help develop Georgia’s earliest railroads. He had been involved in the assembly and operation of the first successful American steam locomotive in New York. Not long after coming to Clarkesville, Jarvis quickly turned his attention to architecture, furniture making, and horticulture, and was responsible for the construction of numerous homes and public buildings in the area. He built this house as his residence when he came to Clarkesville.
This house was relocated from Turnerville around 1900 and served as a boarding house for many years. It also served as the preschool for the adjacent First Presbyterian Church for a time.
Washington-Jefferson Street Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
Reverend William Quillian organized the First Presbyterian Church of Clarkesville in 1832, with seven charter members. They met in the Methodist church in their early years. The present structure was built in 1848 by Jarvis Van Buren, first cousin of President Martin Van Buren. The dedication sermon was delivered by the Reverend Nathan Hoyt, grandfather of First Lady Ellen Axson Wilson. Members of the congregation included two Attorneys General, John McPherson Berrien and Amos T. Akerman. In 1907, when part of the church lot was sold to W. R. Asbury, the building was turned around from its location facing Jefferson Street to its present location.
Washington-Jefferson Street Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
This house has been remodeled with new features but I believe it retains its original layout. It certainly has one of the prettiest yards in town. Rebecca Williams writes: This was my maternal grandmother’s house and belonged to the Carpenter family. I spent many a childhood summer on that porch, listening to the downtown clock tower chime. So glad to see it has been preserved.
