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.