A home fit for a president

Classic Places

Posted: Wednesday, August 23, 2000

   NAME: Presidents' House, University of Georgia

ADDRESS: 570 Prince Ave.

CLASSIC NICHE: Built and lived in by some of Georgia's' most prominent citizens, it has been called the most costly and lavish home in Athens.

HISTORY: Col. John T. Grant built the house in 1857-58. Grant was an 1833 graduate of the University of Georgia. His wife was Mildred Cobb Jackson, granddaughter of Gov. James Jackson. Grant owned a large plantation in Walton County, although his primary vocation was building contracts for the railroad.

   In 1855 and 1856, Grant purchased four lots along Prince Avenue, Hill and Cobb streets. Together, the lots made up a six-acre piece of land. One of the lots already had a house on it. This house had belonged to John A. Martin, a wagon maker. In order to straighten the boundaries of the property, Grant exchanged a small lot with Peninah Thomas, who lived at the end of Pope Street.

   The cottage used for a guest house, behind the President's House, is likely Martin's house. This cottage dates to the 1840s, and was possibly moved in order to make room for the construction of the big house.

   A list of the details and costs of construction of the home is provided in a letter written by Grant. It shows that the capitals and bases for the columns had freight paid on them, which indicates they were not made in Athens. The fireplaces had white marble mantels, which were quarried and carved in Italy. The list shows the total cost of building the house to be $25,355.

   Local historian Patricia Cooper said the cost was ''equivalent in the pre-inflation mid-60s to $250,000. This is the most lavish and costly house in Athens, in relation to both its own and any other era.'' She goes on to add that the lumber for the home was milled from trees that were cut from the lot it stood on.

   The ground floor of the home is a brick daylight basement, which once housed extra living and sleeping quarters for the coldest parts of winter. The two upper floors are framed. A two-story portico crosses the length of the house's facade, and travels a part of each side. The home is an example of late, and very elaborate, Greek Revival construction. The porch walls were covered in ''shiplapped weatherboarding,'' which was a common antebellum building method. This means that the boards were placed edge to edge for a smooth appearance, rather than overlapped.

   The interior of the home was fashioned more after the mid-Victorian than Greek Revival mode. It features frosted glass around the door, and china doorknobs. Fruit-and-floral plaster cornice moldings and ceiling medallions are only a bit of the elaborate detail work found inside.

   Grant's son, Capt. William D. Grant, was unable to fight in the Civil War due to physical constraints. He was determined to serve as best he could, and so was put in charge of building fortifications around Atlanta.

   In a personal letter from Capt. Grant, it is recorded that in July 1863, he visited his father and asked for the Athens home as a part of his inheritance. He had reason to believe the light of his life would soon marry him, and he wanted to make it their home.

   His father, Col. Grant, had recently promised to sell the home to Benjamin Harvey Hill of LaGrange. Col. Grant hurriedly sent word to Hill that the sale could not go through, only to find that Hill and his family had already gone to Athens to occupy the home.

   The Hill family was very disappointed to discover the sale was canceled. In November 1865, Capt. Grant writes that he and his father have offered to sell the Athens home to Hill for $30,000. Hill declined on the belief that in light of the times it would not be a wise investment. Capt. Grant was still not married.

   In 1867, the Hills moved into the home, under what agreement we don't know. The deed shows they purchased the property from Col. Grant in 1869 for $20,000.

   Hill likely moved to Athens so that his sons could attend the University of Georgia without the family being separated. He was a renowned lawyer and legislator, with a special gift for oration. He had opposed secession before the war, but once it was done he was loyal to the South. He served in the Confederate government at Richmond during the war, but soon after the war was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, and then the Senate. His speeches in the Senate are credited with ending the Federal occupation that had begun during Reconstruction.

   Hill moved to Atlanta in 1872, and in 1876 sold the home in Athens to his son, Charles. Charles sold it in 1883, during which year it changed hands twice more, ending up with James White, who established the First National Bank of Athens.

   James White's daughter, Mrs. W.F. Bradshaw, inherited the home and lived in it until her death in 1941. Her daughter, Julia B. Rahr, then inherited the home and lived in it during World War II while her husband was in service.

   In 1949, the Bradley Foundation of Columbus purchased the home from Rahr and gave it to the University of Georgia as a home for its presidents.

HERE AND NOW: The home has undergone at least one major renovation and several redecorations over the years, all the while keeping its original details intact. In 1997, the University System Board of Regents abolished the policy requiring UGA presidents to live in the home, due to fears that the requirement might scare off potential candidates. Those fears were apparently unfounded. Michael Adams, current UGA president, has continued the tradition of living in the home since that same year.


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