Tag Archives: Georgia Politicians

Cobb House, 1850s, Americus

The central portion of this house, thought to date to around 1850, was originally located in the nearby town of Oglethorpe. A terrible epidemic there in 1862 left as many as 100 dwellings uninhabited and the house was purchased by Colonel Charles J. Malone and moved to Americus. Captain John A. Cobb, a Georgia legislator, bought it in 1883 and it remained in his family for well over a century.

Americus native Edith Burnham Maletsky (age 89) shared this wonderful memory on 13 July 2022: The three Cobb sisters who lived there were genteel spinsters who devoted their entire lives to the betterment of the women and children of Americus. They were feminists before that word had ever been coined, and with the softest velvet glove touch. They were a big influence on my life and on all the lives of the women and children of that time; they were icons and role models for those of us who were young back then and fortunate enough to have them in our lives.

Americus Historic District, National Register of Historic Places

Clary-Whaley House, Circa 1869, Jesup

Brewton-Hendrix House House, Circa 1858, Evans County

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A charming two-story house with white siding, black shutters, and a front porch. The yard features a white picket fence and potted plants, with tall trees in the background.

Oral tradition suggests that this Plantation Plain farmhouse was built for Jonathan Bacon Brewton (1827-1897) by Amos Hearn, the builder of the nearby A. D. Eason House. Brewton was the son of one of the area’s earliest settlers, Benjamin Brewton, who came to Tattnall County (now Evans) in 1794 from Warren County. He married Margaret Everett in 1848 and one of their sons, John Carter Brewton, was a co-founder and the first president of Brewton-Parker College.

Jonathan served as Clerk of the Superior Court of Tattnall County and two terms in the Georgia House of Representatives . From late 1862 until early 1864 he was active in the 5th Georgia Cavalry but returned before war’s end upon his election as clerk of the court. In 1865 a foraging party of Union troops passed through the area and ransacked the house. After the war, Brewton continued his enterprises and also operated a general store and post office. The community around the house and store was known as Haw Pond at the time. Brewton also owned a gristmill, lumber mill and cotton gin. Brewton’s heirs sold the house to one of their former sharecroppers, James A. Hendrix, in 1936. The Willcox family has owned it since 1990.

Source: Pharris DeLoach Johnson, Houses of Heart Pine: A Survey of the Antebellum Architecture of Evans County, Georgia.

A. D. Eason House, 1857, Undine

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A two-story white antebellum house with a brown roof, featuring four columns at the front and two balconies. There are red doors and potted plants on the porch, set against a clear blue sky and green lawn.

Abraham Darlington Eason (1816-1887) was the youngest son of William Eason, who founded the first Methodist church (Mt. Carmel) in Tattnall County after migrating from Colleton County, South Carolina. Abraham married Susan Tillman (1827-1907) in 1843. The young coupled settled near the Tillman ferry operation on the Canoochee River, in what is now the community of Undine. They first built a log house. Abraham was very industrious and deeply involved in the community, serving in the state house, as justice of the Inferior Court and tax collector and receiver. In just a few years he had acquired over 5500 acres, which he doubled with the purchase of his father-in-law’s estate in 1851. (This historical background comes from the excellent work of Pharris DeLoach Johnson, Houses of Heart Pine: A Survey of the Antebellum Architecture of Evans County, Georgia).

In 1854, Eason began acquiring materials for the construction of a permanent home to replace the log cabin and in 1856 hired Amos Hearn, a local carpenter, to complete the project. As with nearly all large Southern houses of the era, slaves were likely integral to the construction process. The family still owns many of the detailed ledgers A. D. kept during construction of the house. Meticulous attention is being afforded its restoration of the house. I spoke at great length with the present owner’s (Paul Eason) son, Joey McCullough, about the process and the family is very committed to maintaining the integrity of this important landmark.

An old tobacco barn with a rusted metal roof, situated in an open grassy area surrounded by trees.

A tobacco barn built in the 1930s remains on the property.

A rustic log shed with a metal roof, surrounded by grass and trees in a rural setting.

A log corn crib is present, as well, but the only thing holding it up are the trees that have grown up beside it.

A large, two-story white antebellum house featuring a front porch supported by columns, with red doors and rocking chairs on the porch, surrounded by green grass and trees.

Orien T. Gower House, 1920, Cordele

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This was built for Orien Thomas Gower, Sr. (1879-1960), who served as judge of the Crisp Judicial Circuit for over sixteen years. I’m grateful to Cindie Craig for allowing me to photograph the wonderful trompe l’oeil ceiling in the dining room. Cindie and her husband Marvin are in the process of restoring the house.

The trompe l’oeil is painted on plaster and though it needs some slight cleaning and a cosmetic touch-up, it’s in amazing condition for its age.

O’Neal School Neighborhood Historic District, National Register of Historic Places

F. Willis Dart House, 1898, Douglas

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Dart served as mayor of Douglas in the early 20th century.

Gaskin Avenue Historic District, National Register of Historic Places

Rockwell, Circa 1838, Milledgeville

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This house is perhaps the most enigmatic in Milledgeville, due largely to its present derelict appearance. [It’s apparently more stable than the grounds would suggest]. Built by Joseph Lane for Samuel Rockwell (1788-1842), the house has also been known over time as Beauvoir and the Governor Johnson House. Rockwell, a native of Albany, New York, first practiced law in Savannah before establishing a practice in Milledgeville around 1828. He served as Inspector of the 3rd Division during the Creek Indian War of 1836.

Closely related, stylistically, to the Milledgeville Federal houses, Rockwell is more highly realized in form.

Among numerous owners throughout the history of the property, Governor Herschel Vespasian Johnson was perhaps its best known resident. As the commemorative slab of Georgia granite placed by the WPA and the UDC in 1936 notes, it was his summer home. Governor Johnson was notably the state’s most vocal opponent to secession but eventually came around, as borne out by the acquiescent quote, no doubt chosen by the UDC: “To Georgia, in my judgement, I owe primary allegiance.”

The house was documented by photographer L. D. Andrew for the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) in 1936, owned by the Ennis family at the time. Photo courtesy Library of Congress.

The house has been restored and painted in its original yellow.

Thanks to Michael Massey for bringing Rockwell to my attention.

National Register of Historic Places

Thomas P. Arnold House, 1906, Palmetto

The President’s House, Circa 1856, Athens

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This landmark of the Greek Revival was built by John Thomas Grant, who later sold it to Benjamin Harvey Hill. In 1883 it was sold to James White, whose daughter W. F. Bradshaw inherited it upon his death. It was acquired by the Bradley Foundation in Columbus from the Bradshaw estate in the 1940s and in 1949, it was given to the University of Georgia to be used as the president’s house.

National Register of Historic Places

Cobb-Bucknell-Leathers House, Circa 1849, Athens

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Tag Archives: Georgia Politicians

Cobb House, 1850s, Americus

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Clary-Whaley House, Circa 1869, Jesup

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Brewton-Hendrix House House, Circa 1858, Evans County

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A. D. Eason House, 1857, Undine

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Orien T. Gower House, 1920, Cordele

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F. Willis Dart House, 1898, Douglas

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Rockwell, Circa 1838, Milledgeville

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Thomas P. Arnold House, 1906, Palmetto

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The President’s House, Circa 1856, Athens

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Cobb-Bucknell-Leathers House, Circa 1849, Athens

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