Aaron and Margaret Parker Jr. House
Aaron and Margaret Parker Jr. House is located in Georgia
Aaron and Margaret Parker Jr. House
Location4835 Flat Bridge Road, Stockbridge, Georgia
Coordinates33°37′54″N 84°08′43″W / 33.63177°N 84.14533°W / 33.63177; -84.14533 (Aaron and Margaret Parker Jr. House)
Arealess than 1 acre (0.40 ha)
Builtc.1830
Architectural stylePlantation plain
NRHP reference No.09000271[1][2]
Added to NRHPMay 6, 2009

The Aaron and Margaret Parker Jr. House is a historic plantation house built c. 1830 that is one of the oldest houses in Rockdale County, Georgia, United States. It is located at 4835 Flat Bridge Road inside the Panola Mountain State Park. It is one and a half stories, constructed in the Plantation Plain style.

History

The Parker house is of the Plantation Plain style and one-and-a-half stories tall. It is three bays wide and one room deep,[3] with an extra travelers room adjacent to the front porch. There are two chimneys, one on each end wall.[4]

Aaron Parker Jr. was born November 12, 1788, in North Carolina to Aaron and Charity Shuffield Parker, Sr. The family moved to Clarke County, Georgia, the following year, and Parker was raised there. In 1806 he married Margaret Browning (born June 30, 1789), also originally from North Carolina. The couple would eventually have 14 children over 55 years of marriage.[5]

Parker purchased land and moved his family from Clarke County in the spring of 1822.[5] Parker purchased additional plots of land in the area and built the house here around 1830.[6] At the time the land was part of Henry County (but would be split off to form Rockdale County in 1870).[7]

Parker was active in the community, serving as county justice of the peace and postmaster general, but his primary occupation was farming. By 1850 he owned almost 3,000 acres (1,200 ha) of land, as well as 15 slaves. (That increased to 24 slaves by 1860, though his land holdings had decreased to 1,000 acres (400 ha)).[6]

Parker died on January 5, 1881.[6] His wife had died 10 years earlier.[5] Both are buried in a cemetery in Rockdale County. His children inherited his property including 606 acres (245 ha) of remaining land. The house and land were sold several times during the 20th century.[6] At times the house was rented to tenants.[8]

In 1991 the property was being developed into the Southerness Golf Club, and the house was to be demolished. Community efforts prevented that, and instead the golf course incorporated the house,[9] using the first floor as an office.[10] A paved turn-around connected to the parking lot was built surrounding the house and the rest of the golf club's buildings were built nearby. The rear (north) facade of the house is directly adjacent to pavement but the other sides of the house are buffered by a small yard with a low rock wall.[11] While it was included in the golf club, several changes were made including: new wood siding, reconstruction of the rear porch, brick veneer on the chimneys, and new doors and windows.[4]

The golf course eventually closed and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources bought the 110 acres (45 ha) property for $790,000 in 2004.[12] Since then the state has demolished the former golf club buildings and made other changes to create a more rural landscape.[13] The Rockdale County Historical Society partnered with the state to perform a structural assessment[14] and restore the house, which was in a "deplorable" condition.[9]

Although it is not open to visitors generally, the park sometimes holds living history demonstrations at the house.[15]

Photos

See also

References

  1. ^ "National Register Information System – Parker, Aaron and Margaret, Jr., House (#09000271)". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
  2. ^ Hébert, Keith S.; Craig, Sarah (March 26, 2009). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Aaron and Margaret Parker Jr. House". National Park Service. Retrieved October 10, 2018. With 18 photos from Spring 2007
  3. ^ Hébert & Craig 2009, p. 4.
  4. ^ a b Hébert & Craig 2009, p. 3.
  5. ^ a b c Hébert & Craig 2009, p. 8.
  6. ^ a b c d Hébert & Craig 2009, p. 9.
  7. ^ Hébert & Craig 2009, p. 7.
  8. ^ Structural Assessment 2010, p. 19 of Appendix.
  9. ^ a b Parker, Alena (27 March 2011). "Meeting set to discuss Parker House restoration". The Rockdale Citizen. Archived from the original on 11 October 2018. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
  10. ^ Structural Assessment 2010, p. 5.
  11. ^ Hébert & Craig 2009, p. 3-4.
  12. ^ Brown, Chandler (March 1, 2007). "Arabia trail to reach Rockdale". Atlanta Constitution. pp. J1, J3. Archived from the original on November 15, 2018. Retrieved November 15, 2018 – via newspapers.com. Once complete, the path will end at the parking lot of the former Southerness Golf Course, which the state Department of Natural Resources bought for $790,000 in December 2004, said Steve Saunders, the agency's assistant chief of operations. Saunders said plans call for the preservation and restoration of the Parker House, a two-story white farmhouse on the grounds of the former 110-acre golf course. Built in 1822, it is Rockdale's oldest home, Saunders said. The Parker House is expected to be added to the National Register of Historic Places in a few weeks.
  13. ^ Hébert & Craig 2009, p. 5.
  14. ^ Surber Barber Choate & Hertlein Architects; GW Design Group, Structural Engineers (August 16, 2010). "The Aaron Parker House - Rockdale County, Georgia - Structural Assessment Report" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 12, 2018. Retrieved October 12, 2018. contains many photos including of the interior, and Sarah Craig's 2002 Historic Property Information Form as an Appendix
  15. ^ "Living History at Panola". Arabia Mountain Alliance. October 21, 2018. Archived from the original on October 11, 2018. Retrieved October 11, 2018. Learn about Panola's rich history through hands-on living history demonstrations that depict everyday family life during the 1820s and 1830s at the Parker House. Visitors will get to participate in activities such as: candle making, butter churning, cooking, making rag dolls, and other period games all from guides in historic period clothing.

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