Category Archives: Valdosta GA

William A. Pardee House, 1903, Valdosta

This house was designed by L. F. Brown. It later became the home of Judge John Gordon Cranford (1868-1945), a mayor of Valdosta. It was later purchased by Mr. & Mrs. Paul W. Cribbs, Sr., who completed its restoration in 1984.

Concentrated in an area of River, Varneodoe, and Wells Streets and Central Place, the village of Fairview predates the incorporation of the City of Valdosta. The neighborhood underwent three periods of development: 1840-1860; the late 1890s Victorian surge; and the 1910-1920s period of Prairie and Craftsman influence. The Fairview Neighborhood Association was instrumental in the formation of the Valdosta Heritage Foundation in 1981. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in May of 1984, the neighborhood is a model of community reinvestment through historic preservation.

Fairview Historic District, National Register of Historic Places

J. D. Tant House, 1904, Valdosta

Fairview Historic District, National Register of Historic Places

Hunt House, 1906, Valdosta

This house has recently undergone extensive renovations by current owners Robert & Kim Hatton.

Fairview Historic District, National Register of Historic Places

R. B. Myddelton House, 1899, Valdosta

This house was later occupied by the Leonard and Thomas families, as well.

Fairview Historic District, National Register of Historic Places

Wisenbaker-Roberts House, 1845, Valdosta

Better known today as the Wisenbaker-Wells-Roberts House, or more commonly the Roberts House, this grand Victorian was nearly lost to fire in 2011. But thanks to an expert restoration led by the Valdosta Heritage Foundation and architect J. Glenn Gregory, it rose from the ashes.

In 1840, twenty years before Valdosta’s establishment, William E. Wisenbaker settled in Lowndes County and built this house. It was a country home then, but when a railroad first came to the area in the late 1850s and bypassed the nearby county seat of Troupville, a decision was made to move the county seat to be near the rail line. In 1859, Wisenbaker sold 125 acres to the Lowndes County Commission that would become the city of Valdosta in 1860.

In 1863, Wisenbaker sold the house to J. W. Wells, an early Valdosta mayor. In 1891, John Taylor Roberts, purchased the home. He was a long-serving mayor of the city, as well. His family lived here for over a century and in the 1990s, his descendants donated the property to the Heritage Foundation.

Fairview Historic District, National Register of Historic Places

Sam Myddleton House, Circa 1850, Valdosta

This vernacular cottage is believed to have been moved to its present location from nearby Troupville in the early 1850s. It was bought by Sam Myddelton in 1852 and was known as “Sam’s Place” throughout most of its history.

Fairview Historic District, National Register of Historic Places

 

Dr. W. F. Monroe House, 1896, Valdosta

Dr. W. F. Monroe owned the first pharmacy in Valdosta and was the creator of the famous “666 Tonic”.  He commissioned Valdosta architect Stephen Fagan Fulghum (1856/7?-1928) to design this landmark Queen Anne, which is the crown jewel of the Fairview neighborhood and the finest surviving Victorian in Valdosta. Fulghum, who was Valdosta’s most sough-after architect in the 1890s, built several houses in the Fairview neighborhood. David & Marty Sutton bought the home in 1979 and began restoration. That process has been continued by its present owners, Thomas & Dixie Lee Haller, who purchased it in 2008.

George (The Bear) Smith writes: I actually rented an apartment in that house in 1976 while I was in the Air Force stationed at Moody AFB,  from Doug Ricks who was the owner at the time. He sold the house to a fellow from Florida and I moved across the street to the Pardee House at 418 River St. and rented from Nell Myddleton. I had a lot of good times living in that neighborhood and I was one of the people that had an encounter with the ghost of W. F. Monroe. There were about 3 other people who lived there that encountered an apparition. I lived in the neighborhood for about 3 years and then moved back to PA where I am originally from. I recently moved to Florida and plan to someday return for a day to see the old hood.

Fairview Historic District, National Register of Historic Places

R. T. Myddelton House, 1895, Valdosta

This is presently the Fairview Inn, a bed and breakfast operated by Irvin & Linda Green.

Fairview Historic District, National Register of Historic Places

Abial Winn House, 1917, Valdosta

Designed by Lloyd B. Greer for Abial Winn, this beautiful example of Prairie Style architecture was restored in 1977 by Dr. & Mrs. Charles Wilson as the first effort of historic preservation in the Fairview neighborhood. Since 1980, it has been owned by Dr. & Mrs. Harry Hamm.

Fairview Historic District, National Register of Historic Places

Dasher House, Circa 1899, Valdosta

Purchased from J. A. Dasher, Sr., by Susan I. Dasher in 1901, this is one of the “Five Sisters” houses built by J. A. Dasher at the turn of the last century, all featuring remarkably similar architecture. Presumably, it’s the only one of the “Five Sisters” remaining.

Fairview Historic District, National Register of Historic Places