11-01-08 Roswell: A Southern Trilogy

Roswell narrates ‘A Southern Trilogy’

By Kathy Witt

Explore the only antebellum public garden in the greater Atlanta area at a home built 166 years ago. Stand on the very spot of an 1839 house where President Theodore Roosevelt’s parents exchanged their wedding vows in 1853. Be charmed by stories of sisters who, during the Civil War, wrote their soldier brothers to ask about Savannah fashion trends.

Three of Roswell’s historic houses—Barrington Hall, Bulloch Hall and Smith Plantation—are celebrating their heritage and the families that built them and called them home in a new interpretive program. “A Southern Trilogy: Experience the Authentic Story of the American South” invites visitors to do just that. By touring each of the houses, now living history museums, visitors learn about Roswell’s founding families and how each narrates a chapter of the American South through docent stories, family heirlooms and memorabilia and interactive exhibits.

The King family of Barrington Hall was Roswell’s founding family, entrepreneurs headed by patriarch Roswell King who came down the Indian trail in search of gold and ultimately pried a genteel lifestyle from what was in the 1840s a wilderness frontier. The Bullochs were 19th century celebs whose daughter would give birth to a president and to the father of a future First Lady. And the Smiths? “Gentleman farmers” who anticipated today’s green movement in their forward-thinking views on agriculture, organics and sustainability.

The Kings. The Bullochs. The Smiths. These were the movers and shakers and headline makers of Roswell in the decades leading up to the Civil War. Through their well-preserved homes and stories, the past seems as close as the Barrington family’s well-loved china with its Vieux Paris pattern on the dining room table in Barrington Hall, the ivory hand fan trimmed in silver—once used by a president’s mother—on display in the newly opened Museum Room at Bulloch Hall and the book, Death of a Confederate, written by professors and heirs to Smith Plantation.

Every King needs a castle

For the Southern Trilogy experience, the homes may be toured in any order and each has been named for the part of the story it tells. “Barrington Hall: Experience a Bold Inspiration” presents the vision and industry of the Kings, Roswell’s founding family.

Constructed in 1842, Barrington Hall was built for Barrington King and his family. The home, built on the highest point overlooking the town, is today recognized as one of the finest examples of Greek Revival Temple architecture in the country, a fitting tribute to the father-son partnership that co-founded the colony that became Roswell.

“Roswell and Barrington King were both entrepreneurs, adventurers and dreamers,” says Morgan Timmis, historic and cultural affairs manager for the City of Roswell. “They came up from the coast to a wilderness and envisioned a whole new town and industry and made it happen.”

The home remained in the same family until 2003 and is furnished with original family possessions, including china, sterling silver, photos and furnishings. The surrounding seven acres feature the only antebellum public garden in the greater Atlanta area. The Kings founded not only the town, but also the successful Roswell Manufacturing Company that operated the Roswell Mills. From the upstairs office, Barrington could look out over the town and his mills.

 “The Kings pursued their dreams,” says Timmis. “That’s something people can really connect to.”

Fame and political fortunes

Another historic home presents Roswell’s ties to celebritydom:  “Bulloch Hall: Glimpse a Presidential Past” tells the star-studded story of the Bullochs, Roswell’s social aristocrats, and their far-reaching role in American politics. No doubt the paparazzi—had they been around in the 1830s—would have chased the Bullochs through the dirt roads of Roswell to snap a daguerreotype at every opportunity.

The home, which has been described as one of the most significant houses in Georgia and one of the South's finest examples of true temple-form architecture with full pedimented portico, was built in 1839 by Major James Stephens Bulloch, grandson of Georgia’s Revolutionary Governor, Archibald Bulloch. Not only is the home an architectural treasure, its history is interwoven with some of the most influential names in our nation's history.

Major Bulloch's daughter, Mittie, would marry Theodore Roosevelt of New York in the dining room of this home. They would become the parents of 26th president Teddy Roosevelt. Their other son, Elliott, would become the father of Eleanor Roosevelt who would grow up, marry a distant cousin, Franklin, and serve as the nation's most beloved First Lady, forever changing the role of women in the White House. 

Besides learning the behind-the-scenes 4-1-1 of what life was like for a 19th century celebrity family, visitors may tour the Museum Room and its grounds where reconstructed slave quarters narrate the story of “Slave Life in The Piedmont.”

History by the book

At the third historic home, a more down to earth perspective is presented in “Smith Plantation: Connect with the Land,” through the workaday albeit affluent farming lifestyle of the Smiths, Roswell’s Renaissance planters.

Smith Plantation Home, built in 1845, exemplifies the life of a wealthy farm family in early Roswell. Archibald Smith came here to escape the summer heat and insects of coastal Georgia, bringing his wife, children and 35 slaves to help run the plantation. Fully furnished in period pieces belonging to the original family, Smith Plantation is complete with a parson's room and 10 original outbuildings, including slave quarters and a spring house.

“Visitors are put in touch with Civil War history in a rather unique way here,” says Chuck Douglas, historic site coordinator at Smith Plantation. “We talk about the family, about how people were living during the war here in Roswell and particularly here at the Smith Plantation.”

Using as source material the book, Death of a Confederate, written by Smith heirs, Lister and Arthur Skinner, Douglas notes that the Smith girls wrote to their brothers who were in Savannah fighting.

“They asked them about the girls in Savannah, about what kind of dresses and hats they were wearing. They also asked their brothers to send them some flowers, which seems somewhat strange given the fact they were fighting in the war.

“I think visitors find it relevant because they relate it tothemselves and their families.”

Bringing history to life

Through the stories, memorabilia and hands-on exhibits at each house, visitors will be able to relate to these families who lived so long ago yet still exert their influence in present day Roswell.

In exploring the homes and learning about these families, it is easy to envision the Kings gathering round the dining room table to enjoy a hearty repast served atop their china with its hand-painted flowers. Or imagine Mittie Bulloch in her bridal gown, fanning herself to calm her nerves before meeting her groom—and careful not to muss her hair. Or hear the Smith sisters giggling over a letter to their brothers on the front line that requests that the boys send flowers to them back home.

These are the authentic stories of the American South.

If You Go

 “A Southern Trilogy: Experience the Authentic Story of the American South.” Hours: 10-3 p.m., Mon.-Sat., 1-3 p.m. Sun., year-round. (Last tour starts at 3 p.m.) Closed major holidays. Admission: $8 per house for adults; $6 for children (ages 6-12). Purchase a discounted Trilogy Pass that includes all three homes for a savings of $2 per home, at the Roswell Visitors Center.

Cell phone tours are also available of the grounds of each home with 10 stops at each property. Visitors will hear the sounds and voices of the past describe life at these historic homes. The audio tours are free of charge, but cell phone plan minutes apply.

For more information, contact Historic Roswell Convention & Visitors Bureau, 1-800-776-7935, 770-640-3253, www.visitroswellga.com.

Dotty Etris, Executive Director

Historic Roswell Convention and Visitors Bureau

770.640.3253; toll free 1.800.776.7935

detris@roswellgov.com

www.visitroswellga.com