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
One of two outstanding granite-sided churches on Forest Avenue, St. Mary’s Catholic Church was built in 1941 for a growing congregation that, according to the Archdiocese of Atlanta, held Mass in private homes and at the American Legion Hall before its construction. There is no mention of the origins of the congregation, but considering that Elberton was settled in the late 18th century, I imagine there were a few Catholics around long before 1941. After the church was dedicated on 23 November 1941, Saint Mary was a mission of Saint Joseph in Athens and then Saint Joseph in Washington until administration was transferred to Sacred Heart of Jesus in Hartwell in 2014.
Forest Avenue Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
This house is a neighbor to the Mediterranean Revival example in the previous post, and is an indication that the Forest Avenue neighborhood embraced a wide variety of architectural styles in the 1910s and 1920s, as did middle- and upper-class neighborhoods throughout the country at the time. The Prairie School is most often associated with Frank Lloyd Wright and was quite modern for its time. While the shingle siding on this house is a bit unusual for the style, there are numerous interpretations of the style.
Forest Avenue Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
This is one of the most modern of Elberton’s historic homes, built during the peak of popularity of exotic architectural revivals. It has been restored in recent years but looks much as it would have when first built. While the style was most popular in California and Florida, there are scattered examples throughout Georgia, notably on Sea Island. One has to imagine that someone the builder of a house of this type in Elberton in the 1920s was quite progressive and knowledgeable of architectural styles of the era. I imagine it was met with quite a bit of disdain from its neighbors, as it would have been viewed as quite unconventional at the time.
Forest Avenue Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
I’ve been unable to locate a congregational history for Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, but it’s a great example of the use of local granite in the construction of public buildings in Elberton. The church, built in 1946, actually sits atop a sloping lot, with a lower floor incorporating Sunday School rooms and offices. This is the street view of the sanctuary.
Forest Avenue Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
The construction of the late Greek Revival main house at the plantation of Rebecca Louise Griggs Singleton (1833-1907) and David Terrell Singleton (1831-1913) is credited, through oral tradition, to a very skilled but otherwise unknown carpenter named S. J. Suiter, who came to Putnam County from North Carolina. Suiter was still in Putnam County at the time of the 1860 census, living with the family of William Spivey and perhaps doing work on their property. To my knowledge, nothing else is known of Mr. Suiter. A Parisian plasterer lived on site for two years, creating the cornices and ceiling medallions.
The house was built circa 1854, the year of Rebecca Griggs’s marriage to David Singleton and in the National Register of Historic Places nomination in 1974 was described as “a modest, yet classically sophisticated plantation residence.” That characterization still applies. Structures added to the property by Earl McMillen, Jr., the architect who purchased it in 1968, are featured below with earlier historic structures.
Rebecca Griggs Singleton purchased the property through an inheritance from her father, Robert Griggs, who owned adjoining land across Murder Creek. The Singletons bought several more large tracts in the area, and along with other plantations in the area, formed the basis in 1859 of a community first known as Avalona, and sometime between 1882 and 1895, Willard. The Singletons were members of the Avalona Baptist Church.
When Atlanta architect Earl McMillen, Jr., purchased the estate in 1968, the main house and outbuildings were all in a very run down state. As a passionate preservationist, Mr. McMillen set about restoring the house to its historical appearance, while adding modern conveniences to the grounds, He also saved and moved the old Phoenix Academy to the farm.
Mr. McMillen also built a private covered bridge at a point where Beaverdam Creek crosses the property. Recent flooding caused one of the approaches to shift, but it’s still in good shape.
The Odums are the present owners and I am very grateful to their generosity in allowing me to visit and photograph a property that is as vibrant as it ever was. Mr. Odum is passionate about the historic structures but equally important, in keeping the land in good shape for future generations. They are doing a wonderful job.
National Register of Historic Places
Rose Hill is a historically black community in northeast Porterdale that was originally developed in the early 1900s as a segregated residential community for mill workers. The school was built in 1937 by the Bibb Manufacturing Company and also served as a church and a community gathering place. Rose Hill School and church was the only African American educational establishment in Porterdale while the mill was in operation. The building has remained largely unchanged since construction and reflects a unique era of development in a distinctive mill community.
Porterdale Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
Since this structure is located adjacent to the Rose Hill School, it may have been a teacher’s home, or since the school was also a church, it may have housed the preacher. Since I have been unable to confirm any of these theories, I’m identifying it as a “Rose Hill Cottage”, typical of the others built by the Bibb Manufacturing Company for their segregated African-American employees.
Porterdale Historic District, National Register of Historic Places