House of the Week

Hunter House, c. 1883

It's been called the most photographed house in Georgia. This eclectic Victorian house was built in 1883-84 for Joshua Hunter and combines Second Empire and Queen Anne Styles. The asymmetry and gingerbread details of the house are charming and visually captivating.

The house is for sale - click here for the listing.

It's not a white clapboard house...

But I still love it!

Holly Hall, c.1830

Happy Thanksgiving!

source

A few of the ingredients for a delicious Thanksgiving dinner!

House of the Week

Boxwood Mansion, Madison, GA 1851-52

Okay - I have a problem. But it won't surprise you if you have been reading Whitehaven over the last few weeks.

I am just a little, teeny bit obsessed with Madison, Georgia and it's gorgeous white clapboard houses. I am driving my family crazy talking about it. Over the weekend I ordered some old black and white photos of Madison houses to frame. I am taking my daughter there for the Christmas house tour and then going back with my husband for a weekend trip in December. When I like something, I really like it!

Now on to Boxwood Mansion. I love this house!!! It was my absolute favorite when I walked the blocks of Academy Street and Old Post Road. It's now hidden in over grown landscaping, so maybe it's the mystery that got me. When I got back to my hotel I asked several people if they knew the owners and would they ask if I could come see the house. No luck...

The house was built in 1851-2 by Wilds Kolb and is a town house based on "A Suburban Cottage in the Italian Style" from Andrew Jackson Downing's pattern book called The Architecture of Country Houses. It has two facades, one facing Old Post Road, which has a classical one story Doric portico (pictured in the first three photos) and another facing Academy Street which is Italianate in style with a veranda. (this is pictured below)

It is now owned by the Newton family, they have owned it since 1906.

The gardens are beautiful and there is a terrific article about them in Garden and Gun - click here.

The formal facade of Boxwood before the gardens were so overgrown.

This is one of the photos I ordered to frame.

Greek Revival Architecture in Madison, GA

Joshua Hill home, c.1835

My brain likes to categorize things, and so when I was in Madison, I began to notice how many houses there were in the Greek Revival style. This makes sense because American Greek Revival architecture was the dominant style during the Jacksonian era, which was from 1825 to 1855. Many of the houses in Madison were built during this time period. I'm not sure if I took pictures of all of them, but there are quite a few here. Just to summarize the American Greek Revival movement:

- The style dominated American architecture from 1825-55.

- Greek temple form using strong columns and gently pitched pedimented roof. The columns are in the style of the ancient Greek orders (Doric, Ionic, Corinthian) with an entablature above (horizontal member between the column capitals and the roof).

- Predominantly white to emulate the stone that was used in Greece.

- Square head openings for the windows and doors.

- Aedicule openings, which are openings with a column on each side supporting an entablature above. This can either be seen in the front door design, window design and fireplace mantel design.

- The style spread through pattern books like The American Builders Companion, The Builders Assistant and Beauties of Modern Archtiecture.

Martin-Baldwin-Weaver House, 1850

Honeymoon, built in 1851 by Charles Mallory Irwin

Heritage Hall, built in 1811 - Greek Revival alterations added in 1830's and 40's

Fitzpatrick House, c.1850

Baldwin-Ruffin-Lanier house, c. 1840

Oak House, 1897 (Built on the site of the Godfrey-Walton house, which was built in the early 1800's but burned in 1890.)

Stagecoach House, 1810 (Originally an inn on the stagecoach road between Charleston and New Orleans) Remodeled 1845-6

Carter-Newton House, 1850

Greek Revival architecture elements are also found on smaller cottages and single story houses.

Cooke House, 1819, alterations in mid-1800's

Billups-Tuell House, c. 1853

Massey-Tipton-Bracewell House, C.1854

All you architects and architecture experts out there - feel free to weigh in and add comments.

All photos by Whitehaven except Honeymoon, which is for sale and the photo is from the listing.

House of the Week

Heritage Hall - Madison, Georgia, 1811

This Greek Revival mansion was built by Dr. Elijah Jones in 1811. It is the headquarters for the Morgan County Historical Society and has been authentically decorated. You can tour the house daily from 11am-4pm and it will be on the Madison Christmas Tour of Homes November 30 and December 1.

The floor boards in the entrance hall run the length of the hall and are all of one piece, no seams in these beautiful long heart of pine floors. The stairs are original to the house and the rail is much shorter than what we are used to today (because we are taller now than folks were in the 1800's).

The music room

Here and below, original dining room, now decorated as an office.

Here and below, the front parlor

The wallpaper in this bedroom is a reproduction of the orginal, which was damaged by water.

Closeup of the beautiful wallpaper - I love anything with birds!

This is the only original mantel in the house, the rest are reproductions of the originals (they were damaged).

All images by Whitehaven and are copyrighted.

Click on any image to enlarge.

Madison, Georgia - The town of white clapboard houses

Nathan Bennett House, 1850

Last week I took a lovely trip to Madison, Georgia. Hard to believe that I grew up in Atlanta and have never been to Madison. It's a beautiful Southern town, welcoming and warm in its hospitality. I recommend the James Madison Inn for an overnight stay, and do buy the William Mitchell, Van Jones Martin book Madison, A Classic Southern Town before you go.

At the James Madison Inn you are well taken care of and are within walking distance of all of the beautiful sites.

exterior of the James Madison Inn

I took myself on the 1.4 mile walking tour of historic Madison. I also drove to some of the more remote historic houses (remote is not far - only a couple of miles or 3 from the center of town). My camera was constantly clicking - there is just so much beauty to take in! This is a highlight reel of some of my favorites in Madison. I am saving some for House of the Week posts and now you just have to go to Madison to see for yourself why I loved it so much.

Magnolia House, C. 1860

Atkinson-Rhodes House, 1893

Baldwin-Williford-Ruffin House, c. 1850

Hunter House, 1883

Austin House, 1860

Oak House, 1897-8

here and below Stage Coach House, 1810, one of the the oldest houses in Madison

Stage Coach House, 1810

here and below, two facades of the same house - Fitzpatrick House, 1850

Neoclassical facade of the Fitzpatrick House, 1850

We will post more of Madison next week, so stay tuned! Click on any image to enlarge. All photos by Whitehaven - copyright protected.