Hidden Magnolias

Sad, sad, news today. The Hancock County, GA Courthouse burned. The Second Empire style building red brick exterior walls were still standing hours later, but the interior is burned out and the courthouse's majestic clock tower is gone. From today's news: What is looked like before: Why is this sad? One of the oldest standing Courthouses in GA. Built in 1883.  Listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Also, listed on the The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation's list of "Places in Peril"in 2013. Courthouses in more rural areas still signify much more than a place where legal proceedings are held.  It is the anchor of the town, and in many ways it represents “where we are from”. Sparta was once plantation country, a very wealthy area. Now it is all but abandoned; however, recent years have seen an exciting regeneration of Sparta. The courthouse is a testimony to the wealth that once exist...

Yesterday my husband and I spent a delightful day in Sparta, GA at the Not your Mama's Garden Tour. Robert and Susanne Currey (pictured above) bought and  lovingly restored the Harley Harris Rives House in downtown Sparta and turned 2 acres of the overgrown "formal" gardens into an organic treasure. They call it Elm Street Gardens. The gardens are located in the back of the house. They use a no-till organic process. Constant mulching and companion planting a a focus.  Beautiful bedded rows of fresh goodness. Here is my husband checking it all out -- row by row. I so wanted to snatch up one of these beautiful lettuces. Flowers are interspersed with the vegetables, making the garden a visual delight. There were several hoop houses to protect the tender plants from the hot Georgia sun. Inside one of them was a plant I had never seen before. Upon closer inspection, I realized it was an artichoke. They also k...

One of my favorite houses in Hancock County is Pomegranate Hall. Built in 1830 by Judge Nathan Sayre, this beauty was destroyed by fire in 2008. Efforts are underway to restore this historic home, but given that restoring historic homes, with all the codes, requirements and permits, I am not sure it can be done. It is located at 322 Adams Street, Sparta. Ga. Judge Nathan Sayre, never married, had several children with one of his slave women and later lived with, but never married, Susan Hunt, who was part Cherokee, African, and Caucasian. Here is an artist’s rendition of how that house have looked in its heyday. Artist: Sterling Everett   Here is a picture before it burned. College of Environment and Design, University of Georgia It is said that the house was built in NJ and brought down to Georgia. The porch is mounted by stairways on either side, and a balustrade runs along the front of the porch and down each stairway. Over the entrance i...

Glen Mary holds a special place in my heart. My 2nd great grand uncle, Flavius J. Pearson, eloped with the daughter, Ella L Smith, of this house about 1860. He was 22 and she was 16. The family story is that he rode across the fields on horseback and swooped her away. Not sure if that was true, but I like the story. Flavius and Ella remained married until his death in 1903. They are buried side by side in the Sparta City Cemetery. Several years ago, right when Glen Mary was beginning the restoration, my mother and I visited. The picture above is what it looked like then. The roof was leaking, various pillars were totally hollow on the inside, but with the determination of one woman,  Marilyn Meyers and  donor money , it is beginning to look like a house again. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151959291520608&set=pb.249246320607.-2207520000.1378410376.&type=3&theater http://www. glenmaryplantation.o rg/ Glen Mary from the U...