A comment on the website indicated that the Asa Chandler House had recently been demolished and will be replaced with a gas station. (Update: It’s an Aldi and townhomes, but I digress).
Asa Chandler House during deconstruction. Photo shared exclusively with Vanishing Georgia.
I always try to vet such reports, and, sadly, contact with several people aware of the situation has confirmed that it is indeed a loss, actively being dismantled.
Asa Chandler House during deconstruction. Photo shared exclusively with Vanishing Georgia.
Someone who lives nearby even shared photos of the “work in progress”.
Asa Chandler House during deconstruction. Photo shared exclusively with Vanishing Georgia.
Cate Short notes that the ancillary kitchen was saved and removed, and that some salvage of the architectural features was done, but this was not the outcome anyone who knew this house was hoping for.
This exceptional home was built for Mrs. Beersheba Jones (1790-1850) circa 1826. It is one of the finest of the many architectural gems in Old Clinton. It has long been attributed to Daniel Pratt, though this attribution is now in question. Nonetheless, it is an important landmark of the transition between Federal and Greek Revival architecture.
In her History of Jones County, Georgia, For One Hundred Years, Specifically 1807-1907 (J. W. Burke, Macon, 1957), Caroline White Williams dates the house to 1820, but most modern sources date it to 1826. I’m unsure as to the reason for the discrepancy. Mrs. Jones only lived here a few years before selling the property to John and Mary Pitts. The James Ross family have had the longest association with the house and his descendants have taken excellent care of this important resource.
Old Clinton Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
The Cabaniss-Hanberry House, located in the vicinity of Bradley, is one of the most iconic works of domestic architecture in Georgia. The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation, who stabilized and restored the exterior in 1999, describes it as “…a vernacular example of Jeffersonian Classicism…and possibly the only remaining house of its form in Georgia...”
The builder of the house, George Cabaniss, Sr., (1744-1815), was the Virginia-born son of Mathieu Etienne Cabanis (1710-1789). His grandfather, Henri Hubert Cabanis (1655-1720), was a French Huguenot who fled to Virginia in the late 1600s.
After service in the Revolutionary War, George married Palatea Harrison (1758-1822), in 1781. In the 1790s, he was one of several Cabaniss siblings who “…began a succession of migrations with parts of their families, first to North Carolina and then to Georgia. Some of the family eventually moved on to Alabama.” He first came to Greene County before eventually settling in Jones County.
He built this house circa 1805, undoubtedly with the labor of enslaved men, and sold it to his son Harrison Cabaniss (1782-1819) in 1811, after building another home near present-day Round Oak. After Harrison’s death, his widow, Sarah “Sally” Kirk Cabaniss (1798-1848) remained on the property until her death. She left 1215 acres and 29 slaves to her grandchildren. The house was occupied by descendants of its builder until the late 1950s or early 1960s.
Some notable descendants of George Cabaniss, Sr., include Dr. Palacia “Pallie” Wilson Stewart (1805-1866), one of the first licensed women physicians in Georgia, and Henry Harrison Cabaniss (1848-1934), an early owner of the Atlanta Journal and vice-president of the Cotton States and International Exposition.
It’s not a stretch to call houses of this type landmarks today. Utilitarian dwellings were common throughout rural Georgia from its founding well into the middle of the 20th century. Many began life as tenant housing and were later rental properties. This evolution often led to expansions and modifications, as a matter of practicality.
This example is to me a good illustration of the difficulty I often face in identifying specific types, without benefit of a floor plan. This appears to have started as a single-pen cottage. At some point a shed room was added to the back and a wing was added to the left side. However, if it was originally two rooms deep, it could be called a Georgian cottage. That doesn’t seem likely, but since these structures were ultimately an expression of their builder’s skill and preferences, one cannot be sure without further investigation. They are all worthy of documentation.
The History of Twiggs County, Georgia by J. Lanette O’Neal Faulk and Billy Walker Jones (Major General John Twiggs Chapter, D.A.R., Jeffersonville, 1960) notes: “This house was built by Dr. Beniah Carswell at Jeffersonville, Georgia about 1850. The original structure had five rooms and a hall downstairs with two rooms and a hall upstairs. The house was later owned by Nelson Carswell, a grandson of Dr. Carswell. In 1948 Mr. and Mrs. James Edward Beck bought the house from Nelson Carswell which they later remodeled, the timbers used in the renovation having come from Todd Hall”, later known as the Wall Place in Wilkinson County.”
A 2006 historic resources survey conducted by the state of Georgia adds that the house was remodeled circa 1948. Renovations included the replacement of the south end chimney, addition of new piers and asbestos siding, and the addition of a one-story wing on the north side of the house.
Dr. Beniah S. Carswell (1830-1895) was a native of Telfair County, the son of Alexander Carswell and Elizabeth W. Ashley Carswell. He served in Co. A, 22nd Batallion State Guard Cavalry during the Civil War. His first wife and the mother of his children was Caroline Julia Matilda “Carrie” Sears. He later married Mattie R. Harrell (1851-1914).
Note: This replaces and expands a post originally published on 31 March 2018.
These saddlebag cottages are great examples of this widespread vernacular house type and are largely unmodified, with the exception of the partial wraparound porch on the example above. They are located on adjacent lots.
Cottage No. 2
Most saddlebags I’ve documented have two doors on the front, but each of these examples feature a central doorway. My best guess as to a date of construction would be 1900-1920.
The first time I saw this house there was an old Plymouth parked in the overgrown yard. I was walking around the courthouse in Eastman and noticed the car.
Front elevation, 2020.
It was obvious the house had been abandoned for some time, but it was still in good condition. Not long after I first posted photographs, Nancy Heath reached out to let me know that she had recently inherited the house, and was trying to sell it to someone who would bring it back to life. She invited me to photograph the interior and I had a nice visit with her. My friend David Bray, an interior designer, was also along for the visit.
Parlor, 2020. There are different colored tile fireplaces in each of the main rooms.
It was once known as the DeLacy House, but in recent years served as the law office of Nancy’s stepfather, Eastman attorney Will Burch (1921-2011).
Library, 2020.
Mr. Burch, a native of Eastman, was a naval officer in WWII, survived D-Day, and later served in the Korean War. He studied law at Emory and practiced in Atlanta and Eastman. He maintained his practice in Eastman from 1974 until his retirement.
Medallion, 2020.
Tax records indicate that the house was built in 1885, but that date is incorrect.
Kitchen, 2020.
The present structure, of an eclectic Colonial Revival style, dates to circa 1906, according to Nancy Heath, who extensively researched the house.
Bedroom, 2020.
I’m grateful to Nancy for allowing me to photograph the house and see it before it was sold.
Decorative column detail, 2020.
There are some great details in the house and I’m sure the new owners have made sure they are still an integral part of its charm. They did a wonderful job with the exterior.
Front elevation, 2025.
Note: This replaces and expands a post originally published on 20 December 2015.
5304 1st Avenue, Eastman, 1927. Collection of Brian Brown.
This was the last Eastman home of my great-grandparents, Burt Herman Browning (1892-1951) and Sadie Harrell Browning (1902-1986), before they moved to Fitzgerald. They married in 1920. My great-grandfather was a World War I veteran, a member of the large Browning family around Scotland, and my great-grandmother was one of hundreds of Harrells in Dodge County. My great-grandmother loved this little house and kept this photograph her whole life. Perhaps she had sad memories here, too, because this was where the horrible effects of my great-grandfather’s being gassed and shell-shocked in France during the war were first noticed, and where she lost a baby girl, Mary Elizabeth, to fever in 1926. She’s buried just down the street in Woodlawn Cemetery. All that said, I imagine many happy hours were spent on that front porch. It’s neat to see the swing, because my great-grandmother had a swing on her front porch throughout my life and believed in the healing power of time spent on the porch. It was a place to tell stories, catch up on gossip, and of course, to shell peas. Lots of peas.
The little girl with the Buster Brown haircut sitting barefoot on the front porch and sucking her thumb is my grandmother, Thelma Browning Bussell (1921-2003). She was six years old when the photograph was made. She also had fond memories of the house.
When my family lived here it was a gable front cottage, very typical of the working class of the era. It’s still standing, though you’d hardly recognize it today. It’s located at 5304 1st Avenue and has been expanded and is now sided with brick. Tax records state the house was built in 1939, but that is incorrect. I believe the Dodge County Courthouse burned in 1939, so many houses may have been assigned that date of construction. I imagine it was fairly new when this photograph was made, but it was definitely built before 1939.
This textbook example of the Neoclassical Revival is one of the highlights of the McRae residential historic district, which is located just south of downtown. Houses of this type were built mostly between the 1890s-1920s, and can be found in nearly any good-sized town in Georgia. Before the collapse of many banks and the arrival of the boll weevil, such grand residences were emblems of wealth and prosperity. Many were built by bankers and planters.
I find it unfortunate that McRae doesn’t have an officially designated historic district, as there are many nice homes of varying architectural styles here. The district is definitely worthy of National Register status. There is a walking tour map, but every time I’ve tried to access it online, my antivirus program marks it as dangerous.
Malcolm Smith identifies it as the Alexander and Sylvia Smith residence and notes that the family owned the home until 2024.
