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Major
Long House receives award from The Georgia
Trust
Restoration
of historic site recognized
ATLANTA—The
Major Long House in Newnan received an
award for Excellence in Restoration from
The Georgia Trust for Historic
Preservation at its annual meeting April
17 in Savannah.
Retired
U.S. Army Major Young James Long built the
house in 1846 on 100 acres south of
Newnan. Major Long was the
solicitor-general for the Coweta Circuit
Court and owned five plantations in the
area.
After
Major Long’s death, the house passed
through several owners and the surrounding
land was sold. In 1980, a church purchased
the house and removed walls, sealed
doorways and replaced windowpanes with
Plexiglass. The chimneys eventually
crumbled and the house deteriorated from
neglect. When the congregation decided to
build a new church on the property, they
took steps to save the house from
demolition and to begin the restoration
process.
In
the fall of 2001, the house was moved in
two pieces to a vacant lot a mile from the
original site, where restoration began.
The interior hallway arch and walls were
recreated, custom-made reproduction
windows replaced the Plexiglass, the
house’s four chimneys were reconstructed
and the foundation was stuccoed and scored
to match the original remnants. The
interior was painted to match the earliest
colors found in the house, and the porch
and columns were reproduced to match those
shown in an old photograph. Period
furniture was added to complete the
restoration.
Today,
the house has regained its former beauty,
and is available for group tours,
meetings, parties and weddings.
The
Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation,
founded in 1973, is the country’s
largest statewide, nonprofit preservation
organization, with more than 8,000
members. For more than 20 years the Trust
has recognized preservation projects and
individuals in the state who have made
significant contributions to the field of
historic preservation. Awards are
presented on the basis of the
contributions of the person or project to
the community and/or state and on
compliance to the Secretary of the
Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation.
Awards
in the Excellence in Restoration category
recognize exemplary restoration of
historic structures.
An accurate restoration project
depicts the form, features and character
of a historic building as it appeared at a
particular period of time.
Restoration requires sensitive
upgrading of mechanical systems and other
code-required work to make the building
functional. This year the Trust presented
three Excellence in Restoration awards.
Committed
to preserving and enhancing Georgia’s
communities and their diverse historic
resources for the education and enjoyment
of all, The Georgia Trust generates
community revitalization by finding buyers
for endangered properties acquired by its
Revolving Fund, provides design assistance
to 46 Georgia Main Street cities and
encourages neighborhood revitalization;
trains Georgia’s teachers to engage
students in 51 Georgia school systems to
discover state and national history
through their local historic resources;
and advocates for funding, tax incentives
and other laws aiding preservation
efforts. The Georgia Trust is a recipient
of the Trustees Award for Organizational
Excellence from the National Trust for
Historic Preservation.
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