Fall Has Begun

As we all know it is time for a change of seasons.  Fall officially began here on September 22, 2014 at 10:29 EDT.  It has been a lush green Summer in our area with a lot of gentle rain and also many sunny days.  I do hate to say good-bye to what has been a beautiful Summer, but on the other hand the cooler,  fresher days of Fall are a joy as well.

Almost as if given the signal for change for this first week of Fall,  our evening temperatures changed from the high 70s to the mid 60s.  It is a little unusual to see these cool temperatures this early in the season.  I opened the front door this early morning to let the cat out and was greeted with fresh, very cool breezes blowing in the door.  How nice!

While grocery shopping yesterday it was a joy to see the lovely Fall flowers on display near the produce department.  I gathered a couple of bouquet packages to take home to make a Fall arrangement for the kitchen table.  There were so many pretty flowers that it was hard to choose.

Flowers are so beautiful they speak for themselves.

It is very easy to make a pretty arrangement with these lovely flowers.

I needed something to fill in the hollow spots between the flowers.  After taking a walk around the yard,  the "Boxwood" branches with their delicate little leaves looked like they might be pretty mixed in with the flowers,  I cut several sprigs to add to the flowers and liked the results.

All of these flowers are so pretty,  but the roses are so perfectly exquisite.

The purple flowers are so colorful especially next to the intense green of the Boxwood sprigs.

I do love the "Trees" poem by Joyce Kilmer, especially when he says, "Only God can make a tree."  But looking at these lovely flowers reminds me that only God can make these beautiful flowers and many other things as well.

It is so much fun for me trying to capture the beauty of all these flowers with my camera ... 

Now I can have them forever!

Fall is the time of year when we take some time to travel up to North Carolina to enjoy the beauty of the area and see the leaves change.  Around every bend in the road there can be a beautiful picture waiting to be taken.   It is so much fun to take my camera and try to capture some of the amazing beauty all around us.

We will miss you while we are gone!  Take good care and I hope you are enjoying the beginnings of  Fall and this lovely time of year wherever you may be.

Historic Homes in Thomasville, Georgia

We recently visited the charming little South Georgia town of Thomasville, Georgia.  In previous posts we visited several interesting and historic places in the Thomasville area.

If you get a chance to visit this little Southern town it is very helpful to stop by the Visitor's Center to pick up a Visitor's Guide.  The Guide was helpful to us in identifying many of the historic old houses in the area.

The Guide told us we would see a variety of architectural styles dating back from the 1800s.  Some of the old homes have historic markers that tell you the year of construction and the original family who occupied the home.  Many of these historical homes are private residences now.

Come along with us as we travel back in time to the 1800s and see some of the charming old historical homes in Thomasville.

We began our drive down Dawson Street.

 

There is an inviting little park on the corner of Dawson Street and Thomasville Road.

There were many homes in the area not listed in the Visitor's Guide and this was one of them.

In the below photo we see the Stevens-Butler House. 

This home was given to the original owners as a wedding gift  in the 1870s.

Ainsworth House.

This home in the below photo was built in 1882 by H.V. Ainsworth, one of the largest livery stable owners in town.  Not being completely sure what a livery stable is, or was, I looked it up ... A livery stable is where horses  and vehicles are kept for hire and where stabling was provided.    I think of the modern day taxi service as a possible comparison.

According to the Visitor's Guide,  northerners would arrive by train and the livery stable would be contacted to provide first class delivery for these welcomed visitors.

Balfour House

R.C. Balfour owned the Pearl Saloon in Downtown Thomasville back in the 1800s.

James Watt House

James Watt owned a hardware store in Thomasville and several others in surrounding communities.  He is believed to be the first hardware chain store owner in Georgia and possibly the nation.

Reese House

Built approximately 1885.

B. P. Walker House

Built in 1884.

Seixas House

This cottage was built in 1835 and is the oldest one-story home in Thomasville.

Hawkins House

This home was built in 1891 and is typical Victorian style.

Ball House

This was one of the first private residences in town to have city plumbing.

Royal Miller House

 This Colonial Revival home was built in 1903.

Pittman House

This home was built in 1888 in what is called the typical Victorian style.  Very few changes have been made to this home from it's original design.  Five generations of the Pittman family have lived in this home.

Brown-Cooper House

This home was built for the Brown family back in 1885.

This home is located on one of the main streets running through town.  As we drive through town during our travels I often notice this home because there is a sign out front advertizing a "Palm Reader."   

It is a good thing we were almost finished with our sightseeing adventure,  because it looked like the rain clouds were rapidly approaching. I wanted to try to capture these beautiful clouds with my camera.  Mother Nature can be so beautiful.

In the below photo you can see the rain drops dripping from the sign.

The Paxton House

This home was built in 1884 as a winter residence for Col. J.W. Paxton of Wheeling, WV.

The Paxton House is what is called a fine example of Victorian Gothic architecture.

The Paxton House was completely restored in 1997 and today this home is a 

popular bed-and-breakfast inn.

That concludes our visit to the charming little Southern town of Thomasville, Georgia.   I loved taking my camera and trying to capture some of the charm and sights in this small South Georgia town. 

There were many more beautiful old homes all over town.  Next time we travel back to Thomasville I will take my camera and try to capture photos of additional old historical homes.

I hope you enjoyed sightseeing along with us and we wish you many blessings on this third Tuesday in September.

Lapham-Patterson House Thomasville, Georgia

In previous posts here at Sweet Southern Days we have visited some of the historical sites in this charming little Southern town of Thomasville, Georgia.   We visited the historic downtown area and also the amazing and very old "Big Oak."  We also visited the old historical All Saints Episcopal Church and garden.  Plus we visited the very old downtown courthouse.

If you do get an opportunity to visit Thomasville,  and time permits,  you may enjoy taking a tour of this beautiful old historic Queen Anne style home.  This home has been designated A National Historic Landmark.

As with most old preserved houses this house has an interesting history.  

 Lapham-Patterson House

626 North Dawson Street

Thomasville, Georgia

This unusual house was built in the winter of 1884-1885 as a "winter cottage" for Chicago shoe manufacturer C. W. Lapham.   The cost of building this huge home back then was $4,500.  They say this house is a very good example of Victorian architecture.

Our tour guide told us the beautiful flooring in the below photo was designed using inlaid long-leaf pine.  If you notice the floors in all of the following photos,  this type of flooring was used throughout the whole house.

Inside front entrance double doors.

As you enter the house and come into the foyer you immediately walk into the dining room.  

Dining Room.

From the dining room you can see the unusual staircase balcony 

that wraps around the double fireplace chimneys.

This beautiful old chandelier above the dining table looked like it is the original lighting.

This is a photo looking down into the dining room from the stairway balcony.  

From here you can appreciate the very pretty flooring throughout the house.

The room in the below photo is what the tour guide referred to as the gentlemen's parlor.

The most beautiful feature of this room is the multiple-colored stained glass window.

The sunlight accentuated the already beautiful stained glass and cast a pretty shadow on the floor.

Next we visit the women's parlor in the below photo. Our tour guide pointed out the unusual asymmetric construction of the rooms in this home.  There are no square or rectangular rooms.

This was an unusual home for it's time.  It had 19 rooms,  hot and cold running water, 
gas lighting,  built-in closets and indoor plumbing.

Kitchen area.

This must have been the pantry which was located just beyond the kitchen area.

I love these old porcelain door knobs.  This one in the below photo looks original.

One of several fireplaces in the home.

We walked up the stairs to the third floor which was the attic room.  If you look at the outside of the house in the first couple of photos, you can see this window in front on the third floor.   It was extremely warm in this room.  I could imagine the family gathered here in this nice warm room in the Wintertime.

They say that like so many other successful Northerners, Lapham came to the then bustling resort town of Thomasville, Georgia for it's mild, pleasing climate and the supposed therapeutic value of the pine-scented air.

The Laphams sold the winter house in 1894, and it was re-sold in 1905 to James Patterson.  The Patterson family remained in possession of this beautiful home until 1970.

Yes,  as they say,  all good things must come to an end!  We thanked our tour guide and walked out the front door of this very interesting house.  It was easy to use our imaginations, step back in time, and feel what it must have been like to live back in the year 1885.

Join us next time as we drive through the Thomasville, Georgia Historic District and see more charming old historic homes.  However, they are not nearly as grand as this lovely old home.

Wishing you a blessed and happy weekend wherever you may be.