This house, first known as High Point and originally located at the western edge of Covington, was built for John Pace Carr in the Federal style and is attributed to Collin Rogers. He and his brother Henry built many houses in Georgia in the 1830s, always aided by their enslaved laborers. The home transitioned to its more formal Greek Revival appearance in the 1840s, as was the fashion of the day. The owner, John Pace Carr (1797-1875), was a native of Halifax County, North Carolina. In 1863, Carr sold the house to his daughter Amanda and her husband, Madison Derrell Cody (1824-1875), who was a second cousin of William F. Cody, better known as Buffalo Bill.
After years of decline, High Point was saved and moved to Oxford by Jim Waterson in 1975. Mr. Waterson’s story of the move is nearly as fascinating as the history of the house itself. After numerous hurdles, the home finally reached Oxford. It was placed on the site of Bishop James Osgood Andrew’s home, Chestnut Grove, which was lost to fire in 1910. The Carr-Cody-Waterson House, as some identify it, was given a more lyrical name by Jim Waterson: “High Point at Chestnut Grove”.
Christened “Orna Villa” in 1820 by Dr. Alexander Means, Jr. (1801-1883), this is the oldest house in Oxford, and if the log house from which it was expanded is considered, likely has origins in the 1790s.
In her highly-readable history of the house, current owner Lisa Dorward has done more research than anyone else, it seems. She writes: A Virginian by the name of Richard Keenon Dearing had come to Georgia in 1793 and purchased 2,000 acres of land on which he built a four-room plantation house of hand-hewn logs. Dr. Means bought the house from Dearing around 1820 and set about expanding and remodeling it into the grand Greek Revival house it is today. Among Dr. Means’s many interests was ornithology, so he named his home that stood among the trees, Orna Villa, meaning “Bird House.”
Alexander Means, Jr., was a renaissance man who, as the Oxford Historical Society notes, served as a physician, school teacher, scientist, college professor, poet, college president, statesman, and as the first state chemist in the United States. Born to an Irish immigrant father and Scots-Irish mother in Statesville, North Carolina, Means settled circa 1820 in what would eventually become the town of Oxford. He married Sarah A. E. Winston in 1827 and they had 11 children. He helped establish the Newton County Female Seminary, served as president of the Georgia Conference Manual Labor School, and taught natural sciences at the newly established Emory College, among other academic endeavors. He entertained President Millard Fillmore at Orna Villa, and delivered the funeral oration for President Zachary Taylor. He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Medicine degree from the Medical College of Georgia, where he taught during winter sessions. He retired from Emory in 1855, after briefly serving as president. Though he traveled and lectured in many locations, he remained at Orna Villa throughout his life.
As accomplished as he was and as varied his interests, Means, was also man of his time Research by Dr. Gary Hauk and Dr. Sally Wolff King suggests that between 20-28 men, women, and children were enslaved at Orna Villa. Ironically perhaps, Dr. Means was initially opposed to secession, but soon became a vocal supporter of the Confederacy.
Orna Villa stands today as one of the most tangible symbols of Oxford and Newton County’s early history. There are quite a few “ghost stories” related to the house, as well, especially those concerning Toby Means, but you’ll have to read Lisa Doward’s articles to learn more about them.
From inspiring Margaret Mitchell’s Hollywood vision of Ashley Wilkes’s home, Twelve Oaks, in Gone With the Wind, to appearances in In the Heat of the Night, The Vampire Diaries, Vacation, Life of the Party, The Family That Preys, and other movies and television shows, this magnificent home has perhaps come to symbolize Covington more than any other.
The home was built as a Greek Revival townhouse for Judge John Harris (1803-1878) circa 1836, on a smaller scale. After his country plantation, east of Covington, was occupied by Union troops in 1864, Harris sold his townhouse to William J. Metcalf. Circa 1881, it was sold to Robert Franklin Wright, Sr. (1821-1919). Wright and his wife, Salina Frances Robinson Wright (1831-1905), named it “The Cedars”. Major changes were made to the house after its purchase, in 1903, by Covington Mills owner Nathaniel Snead Turner (1863-1931). Turner later renamed it Whitehall, after adding the colonnade, second floor porch, and a third floor with dormers.
The Harris-Turner House, as it’s also known, is now known as The Twelve Oaks and serves as a popular bed and breakfast inn. It’s a wonder not to be missed when in Covington.
Covington Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
Patt Gunn (second from right) and friends pose with the newly revealed Taylor Square sign
Mayor Van Johnson summed up Saturday’s dedication of Taylor Square, noting that “We’re not rewriting history…and we’re not making history. We’re making sense.”
For the first time in its nearly 300 year history, one of Savannah’s signature squares has been named for a woman, and an African-American. A large and festive crowd numbering in the hundreds was on hand on Saturday to see the dedication of Taylor Square, formerly known as Calhoun Square. Its previous namesake, vice-president John C. Calhoun, was a fierce advocate of slavery.
Susannah “Susie” Baker King Taylor (1848-1912) Courtesy Library of Congress
Its new namesake, Susannah “Susie” Baker King Taylor, was born into slavery and went on to become the first African-American nurse in the U. S. military and the only African-American woman to publish a memoir of her Civil War service (Reminisces of My Life in Camp). She was also a staunch advocate of creating educational opportunities for Black children and is believed to be the first Black teacher to openly teach African-Americans in Georgia. She established two schools in Savannah and another in Liberty County.
Savannah City Manager Joseph Melder introduced the event.
Reverend Jamie Maury of the Episcopal Diocese of Georgia led the ceremony with a prayer.
Patt Gunn
Patt Gunn, of the Susie King Taylor Center for Jubilee, who with Rosalyn Rouse spearheaded the effort to rename the square, thanked those in the neighborhood for their support. She also made references to her Gullah Geechee roots.
Donald Lovett
Donald Lovett, chairman of the Liberty County commission, spoke of Mrs. Taylor’s Liberty County origins.
Music was provided by the Wesley Monumental United Methodist Church choir.
Hermina Glass-Hill
Hermina Glass-Hill, who leads the Susie King Taylor Women’s Institute and Ecology Center in Midway, is the foremost authority on Mrs. Taylor’s life. She noted, “I can assure you that this revolution of unity in the city of Savannah…would certainly make her [Mrs. Baker] proud.”
Mayor Van Johnson
Mayor Johnson described the effort to rename the park, thanking those who led the effort and countless volunteers.
Dr. Bertice Berry
Dr. Bertice Berry inspired the crowd.
Rev. Ben Martin
Rev. Ben Martin is the senior pastor at Wesley Monumental United Methodist Church, which faces Taylor Square. He noted that the congregation was proud of the work done here.
The city hosted an all-day celebration in the square, with activities throughout the day.
This was a source of pride for the historic district.
Letha Moore (r) and Gena Taylor, who serves as Executive Director of the Greenbriar Children’s Center
I was honored to meet Letha Moore and even let her take my picture. She told me that she’s the unofficial photographer for her church.
People of all generations took in the festivities.
Hermina Glass-Hill poses with friends.
Van Johnson, Edna Jackson, Otis Johnson
Here, Mayor Van Johnson prepares to reveal the new sign, while former mayors Edna Jackson and Otis Johnson look on.
Savannah Historic District, National Historic Landmark
Typical of Georgia’s grandest town homes, the Bailey-Heard-Dallis House evolved from a smaller and plainer space to a larger, more architecturally-inspired vision. It’s also an important survivor of gentrification, as the 1974 application for the National Register of Historic Places attests: “…the house is currently the only Greek Revival dwelling left in its block. Only a few years ago there were seven such homes on the block.“
Thought to be the oldest house in LaGrange, it was built circa 1828 by General Samuel A. Bailey, who used it as his headquarters during the Creek Indian War of 1836. It was originally a simple vernacular form, with four rooms downstairs and two up, separated by a central hallway. When George Heard bought the house in 1842, he added four rooms and the exceptional colonnade, with six fluted Doric columns on the front and two more on each side of the house.
The home was acquired by George Dallis in 1888 and has remained in his family ever since.
Broad Street Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
Benjamin Harvey Hill (detail), circa 1870-1880. Courtesy Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.
Bellevue is a grand Greek Revival mansion, originally the center of a 1200-acre plantation property, built by Benjamin Harvey Hill (1823-1882) for his wife Caroline Holt Hill (1825-1904). It’s surrounded today by one of LaGrange’s premier historic residential districts. It was donated to the LaGrange Woman’s Club by the Fuller E. Callaway Foundation in 1942 and they have been its guardians ever since.
Benjamin Hill, who was born at Hillsboro in Jasper County, has been called a political chameleon for his wavering views and various party alliances. He started his career as a Whig and then became a strong Fillmore-supporting Unionist. Ultimately, he was Southern partisan who voted in favor of secession and quickly voiced public support for Confederate President Jefferson Davis while serving in the Confederate senate. Davis was even a visitor to Bellevue. In response to Reconstruction and the governorship of Republican Rufus Bullock, Hill helped inaugurate the Ku Klux Klan in Georgia during a speech made on 23 July 1868 that supported violence against the governor and others in favor of the Reconstruction government. He was elected to the U. S. House of Representatives and to the U. S. Senate in 1877. He died in office in 1882. Ben Hill County is named for him.
National Register of Historic Places + National Historic Landmark
Driving into Yatesville, this headstone caught my attention, but I figured it would be like others I’ve found throughout the countryside: a small family plot long forgotten by the passage of time. And though that was true to some extent, what I learned about the man who was buried here was quite fascinating. It turns out that this was the cemetery of Bellwood Hall, a plantation owned by one of Georgia’s early country doctors, David Lane Kendall, Sr. (1790-1850).
Dr. Kendall was born in Washington County in 1790 and moved to Upson County in 1830 where he and his second wife, Louisa Rogers Steele Kendall (1804-1881), built Bellwood, a grand plantation house complete with formal gardens. The property was likely maintained by enslaved men and women. It was destroyed by fire sometime in the late 1800s, but thanks to the foresight of Dr. Kendall’s daughter, Louisa “Loula” Winifred Kendall Rogers (1838-1931) , much of its history survives in special collections at Emory University.
Fergerson Cemetery was established in 1907. Annie, Minnie, and Alice Fergerson gave the land to the city of Guyton to be used as a “colored” cemetery. There are nearly 500 marked graves. As is the case in many historic African-American cemeteries, there are many unmarked or poorly marked graves, but working with Lucy Powell, Pearl Boynes, Robert Hunter and Michael Garvin of the Fergerson Cemetery Committee, volunteer JoAnn Clarke has helped to document many of them.
Many handmade headstones can be found throughout the cemetery and these are important historical resources. I’ve documented a few random examples. I’ve attempted to edit them to make them more readable. Some turned out better than others.
Maria Dobson (1843-17 April 1934)
Maria Dobson was born in South Carolina, likely enslaved.
Willie Dobson (1878-1903)
Willie Dobson was the son of Maria Dobson (1848-1934).
Annabell McCloud (24 March 1878-4 February 1924)Jimmie C. Griffin (5 September 1890-28 September 1940)
Jimmie C. Griffin was a Mason, indicated by the symbol on his memorial. He was the son of Will Griffin, a native of North Carolina, and Katie Dobson of Guyton. His wife was Amy Griffin.
James Macon (18 January 1881-1 May 1946)
James Macon’s memorial notes that he was a Mason and a deacon of his church.
Annie Eliza Bryant Cross (27 September 1860-23 September 1941)
This memorial appears to have been made by the same craftsman as James Macon’s, in the previous photograph. Though it’s difficult to see, there’s a star at the top. Her mother’s maiden name was Caroline Kent and considering her birthdate, Annie was likely born enslaved.
Beatrice Massey (5 June 1916-20 January 1939)
This marker has design elements in common with the previous two.
Rena Cuthbert (18 August 1889-24 April 1943)
Mrs. Cuthbert’s memorial features a star. This is a common motif in cemeteries, but is more often found in African-American cemeteries.
Claudie Cuthbert (?-18 October 1945)
Claudie Cuthbert was the husband of Rena Cuthbert. He was a deacon of his church and a Mason. This stone features a flower engraving, that’s difficult to see in the photograph.
James Ishmal Sheffield (1862-21 December 1929)
Mr. Sheffield was born to Abraham and Rosa Sheffield, both natives of Bulloch County. Considering the dates, they were probably all enslaved.
Ben Curry (17 December 1853-22 March 1905)
Mr. Curry was likely born into slavery and hopefully his memorial will be raised out of the ground so he won’t be forgotten. Thankfully, volunteers are working to restore all of these endangered markers.
Elgrie Hayes (9 April 1858-13 January 19170
Mr. Hayes was likely born enslaved, as well. Knowing these people’s names and when they lived is something that needs to be documented all over the state. Sadly, many are lost to time, so the surviving records, i.e. burial sites, must be remembered.
Samuel “Pop” Smalls, Sr. (1919-25 September 1997)
In contrast to the many vernacular memorials in Fergerson Cemetery is the crypt of Samuel Smalls, Sr., known as Pop Smalls. He was one of the most prominent members of Effingham County’s African-American community and served on the Guyton City Council. A World War II Navy veteran, he was the owner of Small’s Funeral Home and was involved in numerous social and civic organizations.
Ten years ago, this amazing house was hidden by saplings and one would have imagined its future to be uncertain. Luckily, someone has cleaned up the place and obviously appreciates its historical importance.
To me, it’s of a type house that I associate with the decade or so before the Civil War. In floor plan, it’s what is now called Georgian Cottage, but the Georgian Cottage is really just a “toned-down” evolution of the Greek Revival to me, and this house is certainly more Greek Revival than Georgian Cottage. In comparison to the Georgian Cottage I shared in the previous post, you’ll notice that this house is set on piers, has a much lower hipped roof, a wider layout, and not only a transom, but full-length sidelights, as well. The windows are six-over-six and there is a porch with square Doric columns.
As to farm house, it was certainly that. Considering the date, it was probably the center of a working plantation that was transformed into a tenant farm after the Civil War. And enslaved people would have surely been a part of the operation. Google Earth views from 2009 and 2013 show several outbuildings that have since been removed, likely due to poor condition.
It may have been associated with the Walker descendants or other area pioneers like the Griffins, Walkers, or Jordans. That’s just a guess and probably not even a good one. I’m just grateful someone cared enough to save it.
*- The 1855 date comes from real estate listings, and while such listings are often wildly inaccurate, I tend to think this one is correct.
The Maynard-Cheeves-Childs House is among the oldest in Monroe County. According to Jeunesse Millwood has been under resoration by the D. R. Millwood family since they purchased it in 1991. The wings were added in the 1920s, I believe. Jeunesse notes that her mother and late father have done a lot of research and meticulous restoration in what has turned into a long ongoing project. She says they have learned that the house either began or was completed in 1832. Originally by Thomas Maynard. His consort Sabrina died after giving birth to a daughter Susan and the baby a month later. Their graves remain on the property. Among other things it was used as a hospital during the Civil War as well as, we’ve been told, a hideout for escaping slaves. This would make sense as under the front foyer, there is a very large hole about 6ft x 6 ft. There was a trap door that once opened in the foyer but sadly, all the foyer flooring had to be replaced after the floods of 94 due to water damage. I believe the house eventually went to his son, Elijah, and then his daughter, Elizabeth Maynard Cheeves. Mrs. Flora or Florrie Childs, was a later owner. I’ll update when I learn more about the history.
This view from the west side is more akin to what the house would have originally looked like, even with the shed room at the back. With the Federal influence, there would not have been a porch of this configuration, either .
