Cochran-Davenport Farmstead
Under the care and stewardship of Mrs. Elma Ettman, the Cochran Davenport farmstead in Fannin County, has been uniquely protected for nearly 40 years. Mrs. Ettman, who purchased the 1885 farmstead to ensure its preservation, has worked to reconstitute nearly seventeen acres of the original property while maintaining and preserving a collection of eight buildings and landscape features indicative of a 19th century mountain farmstead. The collection of original buildings includes an apple house-root cellar, smokehouse, corn crib, barn and a spring house that sits on the banks of the Toccoa River. The property also includes two pastures, a wildflower garden, remnants of a water wheel for electricity production, and a family cemetery. In 1987, the main house burned to the ground and was completely rebuilt with painstaking detail. Mrs. Ettman, further cementing her commitment to the preservation of the farmstead, donated a conservation easement to the Georgia Trust last year, ensuring the property will remain protected in perpetuity.
Excellence in Stewardship Awards recognize those who ensure the preservation of historic properties through long-term care and maintenance, stabilization, protection or continuous family ownership
