GwinnettForum has not run through the nation’s vast number of lighthouses. Here’s one sitting on a cliff. Where is it? Send your answers to ellott@brack.net and include your hometown.
Allan Peel of San Antonio, Tex. writes: “The last mystery photo is of the Owens-Thomas House, part of the Owens-Thomas House and Slave Quarters National Historic Landmark in the Historic District of Savannah. The photo was shot from the back courtyard / English parterre garden, in front of the building that originally served as the Carriage House and Slave Quarters.
“Designed by William Jay (1792–1837) and completed in 1819, this antebellum English Regency-style house was the primary residence of Richard Richardson (1765–1833), a cotton merchant, banker and domestic slave trader and his wife, Frances Bolton Richardson. It was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1976 and was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.”
Sara Rawlins of Lawrewnceville adds: “When Mr. Richardson’s fortunes took a turn for the worst and he ended up losing the house to the Bank of the United States. Several years later a Mrs. Mary Maxwell turned the house into an elegant lodging house. When Revolutionary War hero Marquis de Lafayette was invited to Savannah in 1825 as a guest of the city, he stayed in Mrs. Maxwell’s Lodging House. In 1830 the mayor of Savannah, George Owens bought the home for $10,000. The house stayed in the family until 1951 when his granddaughter bequeathed the house to Telfair Museum of Art. Besides the house being built in the Regency style, the gardens are designed in a parterre style which would complement the house.”
Others recognizing the house were Stew Ogilvie of Lawrenceville; Lou Camerio of Lilburn; George Graf, Palmyra Va.; and Susan McBrayer, Sugar Hill.
Follow Us