The House That Keeps Revealing Revolutionary Secrets: Meadow Garden, Augusta, GA

Meadow Garden was constructed for George Walton, one of Georgia’s three signers of the Declaration of Independence, sometime between 1791 and 1793. Walton was originally born in Virginia but moved to Georgia at the age of nineteen, where he became a successful attorney. As friction between America and Great Britain intensified, Walton became one of the leading advocates for independence in Georgia, serving on the first Council of Safety as well as becoming its secretary and then president. In February 1776, Walton was appointed to attend the Continental Congress in Philadelphia, where he signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. Walton continued to serve in the Continental Congress for sixteen months before returning to Georgia.

Upon Walton’s return, he resumed his position as a colonel in the state militia and continued to play an active role in the state government. Because Walton was the senior colonel in the state’s militia, he became the acting commander of all the militia forces in the state, which he commanded when the British assaulted Savannah in late December 1778. Seriously wounded in the action, Walton was taken captive by the British but recovered from his wounds while being held prisoner. He was later exchanged for an American prisoner in October 1779. Following his release, Walton traveled to Augusta, where the state legislature was meeting and he was elected Governor and reappointed to the Continental Congress.

Meadow Garden is a “Sand Hills Cottage,” a style of home that evolved in the Summerville area of Augusta known as the “Hill”. When Walton lived in the home initially, it was a modest 2 ½ story frame construction cottage built over a high brick basement. The gable roof was accentuated by two front dormers and an interior central chimney. Windows were located in the gable ends and an entrance door and hall were located on the western bay of the south façade. Sometime after 1800, the house was enlarged and converted into a central-hall form home.