Waresboro is the most historic community in Ware County, having served as the county seat before the establishment of Waycross. While looking around the area for sites to photograph yesterday, I met Joe Spence while he was tidying up the yard of this beautiful home. At 81, he has the energy of a man in his 30s and a reverence for the history of this house and community. He’s spent the better part of the past two years stabilizing and restoring it. He notes that it was not “in the family” for 90 years but persistent attempts to buy it from its last owner finally prevailed.

The home’s builder was his ancestor, Dr. John Middleton Spence, who once owned over 16,000 acres of land in the area. Dr. Spence went to Galveston after the hurricane of 1900 to assist in the recovery effort. He was so impressed by one house standing amid the ruins of others, with not a shingle touched, that he set about to locate the builder of that house and when he did he brought him back to Waresboro to build this house.

Please note that this is private property and not available for public tours.