Take a detour off the Bowman Highway at Dewy Rose and you’ll pass down a gravel-topped road named for the historic community of Hard Cash. While the story of the community is hard to track down, the drive will pass by a couple of historic homes and leftover farm buildings related to this enigmatic place. It’s a short drive but a nice break from the highway.
The Asa Chandler House is one of the most historically important and endangered houses in Elberton, and an unusual resource to be so intact within an urban setting.
Though tax digests and historic resource surveys date the house to circa 1849, it likely originated earlier as a simpler form, perhaps a dogtrot, and possibly as early as the 1820s or 1830s.
Asa Chandler (1806-1874) bought the 36-acre property in 1849. He was a preacher and yeoman farmer who may have owned several slaves. After the Civil War, Rev. Chandler continued to operate the farm while serving numerous congregations in northeast Georgia. He was known to have a peach orchard at one time. Southern Anthology, a genealogical compendium of “families on the frontier of the Old South” notes: “Rev. Asa Chandler was born on the 22d of August, 1808, in Franklin County, Georgia. He made a public profession of faith in Christ in his 14th year, and joined the Poplar Spring church, in his native county. He was ordained in his 21st year, and in 1834 accepted the pastorate of the Van’s Creek church, in Elbert county, and moved to Ruckersville. He served that church as pastor for the long period of thirty-seven years, and was its pastor when he died. Other churches also enjoyed the benefit of his ministerial services, especially the Falling Creek church, of which he was pastor for more than twenty years.“
In 1917, the home was purchased by postmaster and mail carrier Walter C. Jones, who added the garage and other modern barns to the property. Mr. Jones was also a small-scale farmer, who may have planted the pecan orchard behind the house.
The property is amazingly intact but its location on the main north-south highway in Elberton makes it vulnerable to development.
It’s important for its antebellum origins, but also for its transition into a modern farm.
I don’t know its present status but I hope it will be preserved.
National Register of Historic Places
This former automobile dealership (I haven’t tracked down which one) was restored in 2014 and now serves as the Elberton Arts Center. It’s an architectural style known as Streamline Moderne, which was popular with automobile dealers after World War II for its modern appearance. Many Streamline Moderne structures have been demolished, so it’s nice to see Elberton put this one to good use. It’s located next door to another modern landmark in Elberton, the old health clinic featured in the previous post.
The Elbert County Health Center is an excellent example of Mid-Century Modern architecture, which was uncommon in rural Georgia. It was designed by local architect James M. Hunt. Particularly interesting is the roof, which is known as an inverted or butterfly roof. Modern architecture was a common choice for public health facilities, as well as doctor’s offices and banks, in the 1950s and 1960s, and was meant to convey a sense of progress and innovation. The style was never overly popular with the public, however, and as a result many examples have been demolished. This facility has been abandoned for quite a few years and should be considered endangered. It wasn’t included as a contributing resource in the Elbert Commercial Historic District, but should be re-evaluated.
The Granite Bowl, home to Elbert County’s Blue Devils, is the most unique high school football stadium in Georgia. It was originally associated with Central High School. As you can see, I wasn’t able to get inside the facility, but still wanted to share. The sunken field is surrounded by seats of, you guessed it, Elberton granite, and after an expansion in 1961, it has a capacity of 20,000. The granite was donated by local companies and much of the work of installation was done by local volunteers. The Rock Gym, visible in the background, was completed in 1942.
The press box was part of the 1961 expansion and was designed by local architect James M. Hunt (1915-1993).
Forest Avenue Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
The old Elbert County Jail. located adjacent to the courthouse, was built with funds from the Public Works Administration, a New Deal agency. Local architect Hunter J. “Chigger” Price (1896-1959) designed the building. Many such jails were built during the Great Depression, replacing older and less secure facilities. When this jail was replaced by an even newer facility, its future was uncertain. It is now home to the Jim-Ree African-American Museum.
Elberton Commercial Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
Realtor listings date this house to 1861, but it’s present appearance dates to circa 1900. If the 1861 date can be documented further, the most likely scenario is that the house was a much simpler form to begin with, possibly even one-story, but certainly a more vernacular style.
Elberton Residential Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
The Cason-Thurmond house is a stunning Queen Anne cottage strongly influenced by the Gothic Revival, an architectural form defined in residential examples by steeply pitched rooflines. Though its name wouldn’t immediately indicate it, the Gothic Revival is also a Victorian aesthetic.
Elberton Residential Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
This two-story gabled-ell Folk Victorian home is set back from the street on a spacious shaded lot. According to a 1975 Georgia Historic Resources survey, a parallel one-story gabled addition was added to the rear of the house circa 1890 and a similar addition on the right rear was added in 1910.
Elberton Residential Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
The home of Josiah Freeman Auld is one of the most conspicuous landmarks in downtown Elberton and its origins are likely earlier than the generally given dates of 1860 and 1860 in real estate listings and tax digests. As the view from the sidewalk on McIntosh Street (above) illustrates, the house is set on a steep promontory above the surrounding neighborhood, so as not to be missed. As is evident from the photographs, the home was originally a simple Plantation Plain or I-House, with a wing, added later no doubt. The Victorian porch and its details are later additions, perhaps closer to the 1869 date, or a bit later.
A 1975 survey noted that Mrs. Fred Auld was still living in the home and had painted it red to cheer it up a bit. The surveyor wondered if the chimneys had all fallen, since none were present. He also noted: “the house has the “Elberton Doorway” (trabeated with narrow sidelights) found on some of the houses of the 1850s and perhaps later, such as the Adams, James-Kay, and Swift-Oliver Houses.”
The home is named for and associated with Josiah Freeman Auld (1832-1895) and Rachel Amanda McFall Auld (1836-1922), though many resources mistakenly identify him as Joshua Freeman Auld. Auld was a prominent citizen of Elberton and owned a successful blacksmith and carriage shop, adjacent to this house at the corner of McIntosh and Church Streets, where the old Norman Garage stands today. The area was known as Auld’s Corner in its day. I believe the home remained in the Auld family well into the 20th century.
Elberton Residential Historic District, National Register of Historic Places