Join the Journey
- saving an abandoned plantation house and exploring its history
The Discovery
On June 18, 2020, I drove down a quiet dirt road in Houston County, Georgia, to see an old house for sale. Hidden under huge trees, boarded up and overgrown, it felt like a forgotten piece of history calling out.
Something pulled me in right away. Within months I sold my home to buy it. The house was unlivable and on the brink of ruin, but it promised an incredible journey in return.
This wasn’t just a house purchase; it became my responsibility to save a historic home tied to Indian Removal, slavery, and the Civil War.
I later learned an Instagram campaign had already tried to rally people to save it:
"This circa 1815ish Federal dog-trot is just...wow... Paneled wainscot throughout (even on the porch!), six-panel doors, wide-plank walls and ceilings... True Georgia dog-trots are a rare find, and to find one with this level of detail is practically a miracle! -and one of the few “rain porches” still extant in this part of Georgia! This is really the full package for someone looking to save an important and early house!"
Brian Brown’s article on Mulberry Grove in Vanishing Georgia helped me understand its unique architecture and inspired my deep dive into its story.
"MLS- Rare opportunity to own one of the oldest standing homes in Houston County. Antebellum home constructed with brick from local clay and hand-hewn timber from virgin pine forest. Would make a great restoration project for homestead or wedding venue."
2020 photos
The wavy-glass windows distort the cotton fields today just as they did before the Civil War. Only a little imagination is needed to steal a haunting glimpse of the people now vanished into time. It's an era relegated to silence, but one that lingers most loudly beneath the surface.
A Legacy Unearthed
When the plywood came down, the rest of the story emerged—not just in the wood and brick, but in the lives that occupied them.
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The Beginning: Built in 1832 on Creek tribal land as a pioneer house, this home grew into a 1,200-acre plantation.
- A Real-Life Tara: Within these walls is a history of war and survival that reached all the way to Hollywood. Discover the connection between the Bryan family and the filming of Gone With The Wind in Nancy's Tara story.
- Evidence: Artifacts, some possibly used by the enslaved, fingerprints left in handmade bricks, and documents from the plantation.
That same 'haunting glimpse' was captured in 1916, when the family gathered to honor the memories etched into these walls.
Light of Other Days
"The Afternoon was one of remembrance. It was spent at Bryan Homestead. The family group of two generations lingered long at the spot where they first knew what life and love and home were. Many were the changes, but memory, with her tender touch, brought to mind the "light of other days" and they saw the glorified pictures of the past. By twos and threes, with gentle eyes and hushed voices, they went through the familiar haunts, here a tree there a nook, the brook where many and oft they had waded; the sacred cemetery where those dear loved ones are sleeping. All these pictures, that are painted on the hearts and can never be effaced."
Lynda Lee Bryan (The Last Bryan story)
