The T. R. R. Cobb House

The T. R. R. Cobb House built in 1842 is an historic octagon house originally located at 194 Prince Avenue in Athens, Georgia. On June 30, 1975, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

The original part of the home of Thomas Reade Rootes Cobb is a Greek Revival four-over-four “Plantation Plain” built about 1834. The house given in 1844 to Cobb and his new wife, Marion Lumpkin, as a gift from his father-in-law, Joseph Henry Lumpkin, the first Chief Justice of the Georgia Supreme Court. Cobb made additions to the house of new rooms, and by 1852, it had acquired its octagon shape and two-story portico. Cobb died in 1862, and his widow remained in the house until 1873 when she sold it.


Until 1962, the house was used for a variety of purposes including rental property, a fraternity house, and a boarding house. In 1962, the Archdiocese of Atlanta bought the house to use as St. Joseph’s Catholic Church. In the 1980s, the church was planning to demolish the house, and the Stone Mountain Memorial Association stepped forward in 1984, bought it, and relocated it to Stone Mountain Park in 1985.

The restoration of the house never took place because of lack of funding, and the house sat for nearly twenty years. In 2004 the Watson-Brown Foundation bought the house and returned it to Athens in the spring of 2005. The Watson-Brown Foundation restored the house to its appearance of 1850; in 2008, the Georgia Trust gave their work its Preservation Award for excellence in restoration.

The house is now open as a house museum located at 175 Hill Street in Cobbham historic district.

Source: Wikipedia.com

The M. Pembroke Pope House

 

 The M. Pembroke - Pope House is a two story white frame house in Greek Revival style, c. 1918. The roof is capped by a widow's walk, an architectural feature unusual in the South. Extensive grounds with formal gardens have settings of boxwood, oak and large magnolias.

This home with a historical past is now For Sale by it owners and you can Click Here for the listing.

Source: georgiarealtysales.com

The Margaret Mitchell House

The Margaret Mitchell House is a historic house museum located in Atlanta, Georgia. The structure was the home of author Margaret Mitchell. Located in Midtown, at 990 Peachtree Street, the house was known as the Crescent Apartments when Mitchell and her husband lived in Apt. 1 on the ground floor from 1925 to 1932. While living there, Mitchell wrote the bulk of her Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, Gone with the Wind. The house also contains a Visitor Center, and a portion of the museum is wholly devoted to the filming of the 1939 film based on the book.

The house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is also designated as a historic building by the City of Atlanta.

House History

The house was built as a single-family residence in 1899. Commercial development quickly overtook the neighborhood, however, and in 1907 the original family moved to Druid Hills. The house changed hands several times until the winter of 1913-1914 when the house was moved onto a new basement story constructed on the rear of the lot. Given a Crescent Avenue address, the building was remodeled in 1919 and converted into a ten-unit apartment building, known as the Crescent Apartments, and "three brick stores" were built where the house had originally sat. Located in what was then Atlanta's largest business district outside of downtown, close to trolley lines, and walking distance from her parents' house, the Crescent Apartments was home to Margaret Mitchell and John Marsh when they married in July 1925. Unfortunately, the building's owner became over-extended, and it was sold at auction in 1926. The next owner, too, was driven to bankruptcy when the stock market crashed in 1929. Maintenance declined, contributing to Mitchell's characterization of their apartment as "the Dump." By the fall of 1931, there were only two occupied apartments in the building, one of which belonged to the Marshes, but they, too, moved to a larger apartment a few blocks away in the spring of 1932.

With a new owner, the Crescent Apartments were revived and continued to attract tenants until shortly after World War II. By then, the building was in poor condition, and in 1946 the porches were removed from the Crescent Avenue side of the building. (The original front porches were lost when the building was moved in 1913). By the 1950s, the building was mostly vacant and overdue for rehabilitation. There were a few commercial tenants, and the old apartments were popular with Georgia Tech students. In 1964, the opening nearby of Ansley Mall signaled the death knell for the old commercial district on Peachtree Street between 8th and 14th, but at the same time the Crescent Apartments got a much-needed rehab and were reborn as the Windsor House Apartments. In 1977, the last tenants were evicted and the building boarded up by a new owner who intended a major redevelopment of the area. By the time he and his company went bankrupt in the late 1980's, their only accomplishment was construction of a new office building at Tenth and W. Peachtree and the razing of dozens of historic buildings in the area. The old Crescent Apartments continued to deteriorate, especially after a fire was set in the southwest corner of the building did minor damage in the late 1980's. However, another fire, presumed to be arson, destroyed much of the building in September 1994.

Rear of the Margaret Mitchell House

 

The house is included on the National Register of Historic Places.

Source: wikipedia.com

Delta Flight Museum Of Georgia

The new Delta Flight Museum is a 68,000 square-foot facility at the airline's world headquarters in Atlanta. Housed in the airline's two original maintenance hangars dating from the 1940s, the museum traces Delta's history and the development of commercial aviation. The museum contains exhibits filled with hundreds of items many of which have never been on public display chronicling more than eight decades of Delta history. The museum houses five historic aircraft including The Spirit of Delta, a Boeing 767 purchased for the company by employees in 1982. Also on display is a DC-3, Ship 41, that flew for Delta and was restored by Delta employees and volunteers. Visitors can try the ultimate aviation experience and pilot a Boeing 737-200 full-motion simulator, the only one open to the public in the U.S. The hangars also serve as unique event venues, with state-of-the-art audio and video capability and full catering services that can accommodate a seated dinner for as many as 1,200.

Click Here to check out their website.

Source: atlanta.net

Johnston-Felton-Hay House

The Johnston-Felton-Hay House in Macon was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1974.

Johnston-Felton-Hay House, often abbreviated Hay House, is a historic residence in Macon, Georgia. Built between 1855 and 1859 by William Butler Johnston and his wife Anne Tracy Johnston in the Italian Renaissance Revival style, the house has been called the "Palace of the South." The mansion sits atop Coleman Hill on Georgia Avenue in downtown Macon, near the Walter F. George School of Law, part of Mercer University.



The 18,000-square-foot (1,700 m²), 24-room home designed by the New York architect T. Thomas and Son has four levels and is crowned by a three-story cupola. Commissioned by imaginative owners and constructed by the most skillful workers of the time, its technological amenities were unsurpassed in the mid-nineteenth century: hot and cold running water, central heat, a speaker-tube system connecting 15 rooms, a French lift equivalent to today's elevator, in-house kitchen, and an elaborate ventilation system.

House history

Two families lived in Hay House, the first over four generations. Most of the home's present-day furnishings date from the Hay family's occupancy (1926-1962). A few pieces are from the Johnston family (1860-1896), most notably the Eastlake-style dining room suite. The most notable piece in the collection may be the 1857 marble statue, "Ruth Gleaning," by American expatriate sculptor Randolph Rogers.



The home was a place of comfort for the Johnston family and their daughters until the late 1800's. In 1896 after the death of Mrs. Johnston, their daughter Mary Ellen Felton and her husband lived in the home. The Feltons updated the plumbing and electricity and stayed in the home until the time of their deaths in 1926.

The Johnstons

The Hay House living room

 

William Butler Johnston obtained his substantial wealth through investments in banking, railroads and public utilities rather than from the agrarian cotton economy. In 1851, he married Anne Clark Tracy, 20 years his junior, and the couple embarked on an extended honeymoon in Europe from 1852 to 1855. During their trip, the Johnstons visited hundreds of museums, historic sites and art studios. They collected fine porcelains, sculptures and paintings as mementos during their grand tour. Inspired by the Italian architecture they observed, the Johnstons constructed the monumental Italian Renaissance Revival mansion in Macon upon their return to America. Only two of the Johnstons' six children survived to adulthood. Caroline and Mary Ellen Johnston were born in 1862 and 1864, respectively, and grew up in the house on Georgia Avenue.

 

The Feltons

After the death of Mrs. Johnston in 1896, daughter Mary Ellen and her husband, Judge William H. Felton, lived in the house. They remodeled and redecorated parts of the house, updated the plumbing and added electricity. Their only child, William Hamilton Felton, Jr., was born in 1889. He married Luisa Macgill Gibson in 1915, and the newlywed couple soon moved in with the Feltons. They and their two sons, William Hamilton Felton III and George Gibson Felton, lived in the house until 1926.

The Hays

After the deaths of William Sr. and Mary Ellen Felton, the house was sold to Parks Lee Hay and his wife, Maude. After purchasing, the Hays redecorated the entire home, updating it to fit the new twentieth-century décor. The home was seen as a local landmark to all in middle Georgia. Mr. Hay died in 1957; when Mrs. Hay died in 1962, the home was turned into a house museum. In 1977, the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation took over ownership of the home and it is now a National Historic Landmark.

Present day

Following Mrs. Hay's death, her heirs established the P.L. Hay Foundation and operated the house as a private house museum. By virtue of its national significance, Hay House was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1974. In 1977, the ownership and operation of the house was formally transferred to The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation to ensure its long-term preservation.

In 2000, the White House Millennium Council designated Hay House an Official Project of Save America's Treasures in 2000. Today, Hay House is one of Macon's most popular tourist attractions with 20,000 visitors each year. The House is also a prominent rental venue for special events.

Hay House Campaign

Recently, the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation which oversees the management and maintenance of Hay House embarked on a successful $7.6 million capital campaign for the restoration and maintenance of the building. Of the money raised in the capital campaign, $3.5 million was earmarked to establish an endowment for ongoing maintenance. A need of $17.5 million has been identified to fund a complete restoration of the Hay House and permanently endow all future maintenance and management.
The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation received a number of donations and grants including a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, a grant from the National Endowment of the Arts, and an Architectural Conservation grant from The Getty Foundation.

Restoration

Today, Hay House is open to visitors. Tours are held daily. Some of the plants in the landscaping of the home date back to the 19th century. Renovations continue to occur to keep Hay House up to date. Upcoming projects include a redesign of the gift shop, including new insulation, and writing specifications for mortar repairs outside of the building. Half of the money raised in the capital campaign was allocated for restoration of the exterior, cupola, and most public rooms of the house. Other restoration efforts include repairing the porch and stairs, masonry, and window and door shutter; conserving the stained glass; installing UV protection on windows; restoring the ground floor, attic, and cupola; lighting the 8,000-gallon water tank interior to illustrate the technological innovations of the house; conserving the collections of paintings and porcelain; and repairing the exterior grounds. Original furnishings and decorations in the downstairs rooms are also being researched in order to accurately restore the wall coverings, paint finishes, and furniture upholstery to their appearance during the Hay family's residency in the house.

External Links:

• Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation
• Rhodes Hall
• Hay House (official website), at Georgia Trust. Includes visiting hours.
•  
• Source: wikipedia.com

Strange Coincidences Between Abraham Lincoln And John F Kennedy

Abraham Lincoln was elected to Congress in 1846.
John F. Kennedy was elected to Congress in 1946. 

 

Abraham Lincoln was elected President in 1860.
John F. Kennedy was elected President in 1960. 

 

The names Lincoln and Kennedy each contain seven letters. 

 

Both were particularly concerned with civil rights. 

 

Both of their wives lost their children while living in the White House. 

 

Both Presidents were shot on a Friday. 

 

Both were shot in the head. 

 

Both were shot with one bullet. 

 

Both were rumored to be killed in a conspiracy.

Neither was confirmed to be a conspiracy. 

 

Lincoln was shot in the Ford Theater.
Kennedy was shot in a card made by the Ford Motor Company (a Lincoln no less) 

 

Lincoln's secretary was named Kennedy.
Kennedy's secretary was named Lincoln. 

 

Both were assassinated by Southerners.

Both were succeeded by Southerners. 

 

Both successors were named Johnson.

Andrew Johnson, who succeeded Lincoln, was born in 1808.
Lyndon Johnson, who succeeded Kennedy, was born in 1908.

Their first names both contain six letters. 

 

John Wilkes Booth, who assassinated Lincoln, was born in 1839.
Lee Harvey Oswald, who assassinated Kennedy, was born in 1939.

Both assassins were known by their three names.

Both names comprise fifteen letters. 

 

Booth ran from the theater and was caught in a warehouse.
Oswald ran from a warehouse and was caught in a theater. 

 

Both assassins were assassinated before their trials. 

 

The only complete filming of Kennedy's assasination was shot by Abraham Zapruder.
The only complete account of Lincoln's assasination was written by John Zelfindorfer. 

 

A week before Lincoln was shot, he was with friends in Monroe, Maryland.
A week before Kennedy was shot, he was with his friend Marilyn Monroe. 

 

Lincoln's last child, Tad, had his funeral held on July 16, 1871.
Later he was exhumed and moved to a different grave site.

Kennedy's son JFK Jr. was lost at sea on July 16, 1999.
Later he was found, brought up, and then re-burried at sea.

Greasy Creek, Kentucky

Greasy Creek is an unincorporated community and coal town in Pike County, Kentucky, United States.

Source: wikipedia.com

Ding Dong, Texas

Ding Dong is an unincorporated community in Central Texas. It is situated on the Lampasas River, eight miles south of Killeen in southwestern Bell County.

Ding Dong was named when two early settlers in the town, Zulis Bell and Bert Bell, opened a store and hired the artist Cohn Cohen Hoover to make a sign for it. Hoover painted a sign with two bells on it. Inside the bells, Hoover painted the initials of the Bell brothers. Underneath one bell he painted the word "Ding" and the word "Dong" under the other bell. Over the years, because of this sign, this community became known as Ding Dong. It has frequently been noted on lists of unusual place names.

Source: wikipedia.com

Monkeys Eyebrow, Kentucky

Monkeys Eyebrow is a rural unincorporated community in Ballard County, Kentucky, United States. It is generally the northwesternmost community in the Jackson Purchase area of western Kentucky that is identified on the highway maps distributed by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. It was formerly frequently mentioned in the signoff message of WPSD-TV in nearby Paducah as the location of its transmitter. The community is part of the Paducah, KY-IL Micropolitan Statistical Area.

A nearby attraction is the state-controlled Ballard County Wildlife Management Area. One theory on the origin of this unique name is that, when looking at a map of Ballard County, it resembles a monkey's head. Monkeys Eyebrow is located where the monkey's eyebrow would be located.

A common joke in the region is to provide directions to the city of Paducah by saying "it's halfway between Monkeys Eyebrow and Possum Trot (a tiny community in Marshall County)."

There were two Monkeys Eyebrows, commonly known as Old Monkey and New Monkey. One was at the top of a small hill, the other at the bottom. There were stores at both locations. Today, there are no stores. According to an article nearly 30 years ago in the county newspaper, the Advance Yeoman, the area acquired its unique name around the turn of the 20th century.

Stories related to Monkeys Eyebrow and Ballard County can be read at www.monkeyseyebrow.org or www.monkeyseyebrowstories.com.

In Don Rosa's The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck, the place name Monkey's Eyebrow also appears.

Source: wikipedia.com

Lizard Lick, North Carolina

Lizard Lick is an unincorporated community in Wake County, North Carolina, United States. The community is located at the crossroads of Lizard Lick Road and NC 97. Lizard Lick has frequently been noted on lists of unusual place names.

The community is approximately 20 miles (32 km) east of the state capital of Raleigh. It is about 3 miles (4.8 km) north of Wendell and 3 miles (4.8 km) west of Zebulon.

History

According to NC historian William S. Powell, the town got its name from a "passing observer who saw many lizards sunning and licking themselves on a rail fence." Regardless of the town name, local community members who are native to the area are proud of their origins, and their economic future in the area. In May 1997, the state installed the first traffic light in Lizard Lick, marking a new period of "increasing property values" and growth.

Media Attention

In March 1998 the small town received publicity when Nintendo first released the Nintendo 64 game, "Yoshi's Story" there, with the name of the host town reflecting the Nintendo character Yoshi's ability to extend his tongue over a long distance. The pre-launch choice of Lizard Lick was the idea of Pasadena, Calif.,-based PR consultant Dereck Andrade. Andrade had been retained by the public relations firm Golin-Harris in L.A. to launch Yoshi's Story. Andrade chose two cities—French Lick, Indiana, and Lizard Lick, as possible launch sites for the game. Lizard Lick was finally chosen over French Lick because the character of Yoshi was a dinosaur, which was related to a lizard. The game's launch in Lizard Lick was the largest event ever covered by the news media for a Nintendo product, bringing national and international news media to the crossroads town including ABC World News Tonight, the CBS Evening News, and NBC's The Today Show.

In September 2009 Lizard Lick once again received publicity, this time on a national level. The Time Warner owned TruTV cable television network became aware of a local towing and recovery company owned and operated by evangelist and Lizard Lick honorary "Mayor" Ronnie Shirley and his wife Amy Shirley, called Lizard Lick Towing and Recovery.

According to the Eastern Wake News, the television series got its start at the end of August 2008, when the station sent a cameraman down for one day of shooting and that was all it took for a contract to be written. Those at the network were merely scouting out prospects at the time, but after realizing Amy Shirley was not only a power lifter, but a mortician and co-owner of the recovery business they realized there was more color to the picture than originally anticipated.

In addition, they soon discovered that Ronnie is a "walking reality show." Robyn Hutt, the truTV executive in charge of the show was quoted by the News & Observer (the largest regional daily newspaper of the Research Triangle Area covering several counties in North Carolina) "We really fell in love with Lizard Lick." The Shirleys are "dynamic and entertaining characters."

The television series (Lizard Lick Towing) following Ronnie and his company operations was called All Worked Up, and had a discussion forum, Ronnie's published poetry, interviews with the stars of the show, and further information including the scheduled show times. The Shirleys now have their own show called Lizard Lick Towing. It is a half hour program that is shown on the TruTV network. The show premiered on February 7, 2011. It is dedicated entirely to Lizard Lick Towing and Recovery due to its fast growing popularity from the segments of the show All Worked Up.

Source: wikipedia.com

Goose Pimple Junction, Virginia

Goose Pimple Junction is an unincorporated community in Washington County, Virginia, in the United States.

History

Goose Pimple Junction was so named when the domestic disputes of a couple in town were loud enough to give a neighbor goose pimples.

Goose Pimple Junction has frequently been noted on lists of unusual place names. Its road signs are a popular visitor attraction, and have been stolen by souvenir-hunting tourists at least a dozen times.

Source: wikipedia.com

Enigma, Georgia

Enigma is a town in Berrien County, Georgia, United States. The population was 1,278 at the 2010 census. It has frequently been noted on lists of unusual place names.

History

Enigma is a small town in South Georgia located in the northwest tip of Berrien County, 9 miles (14 km) east of Tifton, on U.S. Highway 82. The town was founded between 1876-1880 by John A. Ball. It did not start out named "Enigma". Originally a settlement, it was commonly referred to as "Gunn and Weston" until Ball decided he wanted a real name for this town. Two names, "Lax" and "Enigma", were proposed to state officials for review. Lax was already taken by another nearby settlement, and so "Enigma" became the official name. Enigma is an odd name for a town; by definition it means a puzzle or mystery. Ball said, "It was a puzzle what to name it anyway." The town was incorporated on August 21, 1906.

Ball and his family originated in Raleigh, North Carolina, traveling to Georgia on the Brunswick and Western Railroad. He became the town's first postmaster, and not long afterward, Capt J.B. Gunn from Terrell County, Georgia, came as an assistant. Ball and his son Jim started a turpentine business around 1878. Ball returned to Raleigh to bring back a man named Tubb Daughtry and his family to help run the business. He gave them land to live on and permission to worship as they pleased. The turpentine business soon dwindled, and lumber became the main focus. Capt. J. B. Gunn and Capt. S. R. Weston built a sawmill two miles east of Enigma. H. F. Stewart came to work in the sawmill.

Other businesses opened in Enigma throughout the years, including a grocery, merchandise, and hardware stores. E.F. Bussey set up a merchandise store in a building owned at one time by Gunn. This building also housed the U.S. Post Office and sold coffins on its second story. It was located on the south side of the railroad. The railroad's closest depot was in Brookfield, 4 miles (6 km) away. Enigma had a doctor's office run by G.R. Parker. There have been three banks in Enigma throughout the years. Two banks were started around 1915 to 1917, and the other one was started in 1973. The People's Bank opened in 1915 and closed in 1916, and the Ambrose-Enigma Banking Company opened on June 5, 1917, and closed around 1920. The Bank of Alapaha opened a branch in Enigma on March 1, 1973, and is still in business.

Economy 

Most citizens of Enigma commute to neighboring towns to work and shop. The town's economy is based primarily on agriculture. The Tree Trunk Restaurant (owned by Bobby Rowan, former senator of Georgia) is its only restaurant, and it has three gas stations - the Quick Stop #2 (#1 is in Tifton), and the Enigma Market, which is also a mini grocery store. Both are located on Highway 82. Also located on Highway 82 is B&G Heating and Cooling, a small business run by Bob Miley and other members of the Miley family which specializes in repairing and installing air conditioning units. Also on Highway 82 is REPASCO, a small business owned and operated by Linda Wiley specializing in restaurant equipment sales, parts, and repair service. The post office, Glass Unlimited, Volunteer Fire Department, City Hall, the salon (Freida's Beauty Barn), and the Bank of Alapaha are all located on Main Street. Just off Main Street is the factory Geo Tex, LLC Plant #2 where screening is made. There is also Berrien Peanut Company two and a half miles outside of Enigma, and there was once a skating rink about a mile from Berrien Peanut Company. There are other buildings on Main Street and Highway 82, but they are currently vacant.

Schools

The Enigma school was located on the north side of town. It started as a one-room school house, then moved to a three-room school house. A large brick building was built in 1926 to serve as a new school, also on the north side, just across from Highway 82. In the 1950's all county high schools were consolidated into Berrien High in Nashville, the county seat. The original Enigma school building was still in use as part of the elementary school when it burned in October 1973. The gymnasium and cafeteria were still standing, and portable classrooms were brought in so the school could continue until it was rebuilt. The school merged with the other schools in the county in the 1980s to form Berrien high, middle, elementary, and primary schools. The school grounds now serve as the Enigma City Park.

Functions

The park holds the town's annual Fourth of July celebration, consisting of vendors, exhibits and the Miss Enigma Firecracker Pageant, each year. The town also hosts a Halloween Trick or Treat and a Christmas Parade each year.

External links

• Berrien County Historical Photos Collection
• Berrien County Board of Education

Source: wikipedia