GEORGIA

Trustee Emeritus Award for Excellence in the Stewardship of Historic Sites

In November 2000, the National Trust for Historic Preservation presented this prestigious award to The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America "for acquiring, restoring, and interpreting a collection of historic properties that offer invaluable opportunities to experience the rich variety of America's heritage."

NSCDA in Georgia Museum Properties The NSCDA in Georgia is involved with four places of historical interest. The Andrew Low House in Savannah is also the State Society headquarters. The Rankin House is in Columbus; the Stetson-Sanford House is in Milledgeville and the Founders Exhibit is in Waycross.
ANDREW LOW HOUSE (c. 1848) Address: 329 Abercorn Street, Facing Lafayette Square Savannah, GA 31401 Telephone: 912-233-6854 Open: Weekdays, 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Sundays, 12 Noon to 4:30 p.m. Last tour begins at 4:00 p.m. Closed: Thursdays and Major Holidays Directions: From I-95, North or South, take I-16 East Exit, proceed on I-16 to its final exit, Montgomery Street. At traffic light, turn right onto Liberty Street, travel east on Liberty to the third traffic light (Abercorn Street). Turn right at Abercorn one short block to Lafayette Square. Website: www.andrewlowhouse.com	Photograph by Erik Kvalsvik
Andrew Low, a wealthy cotton merchant of Liverpool and Savannah built this handsome mansion of classical mid-19th century design about 1848. John Norris of New York, who designed other outstanding buildings in Savannah, was the architect. The house is built of stuccoed brick, with elaborate cast iron railings enclosing the front and side balconies. Shuttered piazzas, reflecting the West Indian plantation influence, overlook the brickwalled garden in the rear. Crystal chandeliers enhance the beautifully-proportioned rooms with elaborately-decorated plaster cornices and carved woodwork. The front garden is one of only three in the city retaining its original design. Note particularly the hourglass shape of the beds. The house is owned by The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America in the State of Georgia and serves as the Headquarters of the Georgia Society. ACCREDITED: NSCDA MUSEUM PROPERTIES

FOUNDERS EXHIBIT Address of Founders Exhibit: Okefenokee Heritage Center 1460 Augusta Avenue, Waycross, GA 31503 Telephone: (912) 285-4260 Open: Monday to Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Sunday: 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. Closed: All major holidays.	Photograph by Erik Kvalsvik
The Founders Exhibit is a reassembly of a portion of the first house built in Waycross. "Hilltop" was the 1871 Victorian home of Dr. Daniel and Susan Mobley Lott. Eighteen by thirteen feet in size, the exhibit includes a portion of the front porch facade, entrance hall with staircase, and the parlor. It contains many of the original architectural elements of the house and period furnishings. The Waycross Town Committee of The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America in the State of Georgia contributed furnishings and assists with maintenance and volunteer activities.

RANKIN HOUSE (1850-1870) Address: 1440 Second Avenue Columbus, GA 31901 Telephone: (706)322-0756 Open: Monday - Friday: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Directions: From Atlanta I-85 to I-185 S. Exit 7W, Exit 1. From Montgomery, I-85 to Phoenix City, then US 80 to Columbus. From Macon, US 80. From Florida, US 280 North.	Photograph by Erik Kvalsvik
The Rankin House was built for James Rankin, a planter, who immigrated to Columbus from Ayshire in Scotland. Work on this mansion was started prior to the War Between the States but was not completed until the war ended. The house is noted for its exquisite iron grillwork on the lower veranda and flying balcony. Wide heart-of-pine floorboards, cast iron windowsills, and hand-carved cornices and doorframes are also distinctive features of the house. The graceful solid-walnut, double stairway, rising from the center hall to a landing between the first and second floors, is a focal point of the interior. The lower floor has been restored as an 1850-1870 house museum and decorated in the Victorian style of that era. Original colors and especially-created reproductions of fabrics of tihe period, authenticated by a curator of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, have been used throughout the museum rooms. Historic Columbus Foundation owns the house. The Columbus Town Committee, NSCDA Georgia, assisted with restoration, contributed furnishings, and maintains two of the rooms.

STETSON-SANFORD HOUSE (c. 1825) Address: Corner of Hancock and Jackson Streets, Milledgeville, GA 31061 Open: Guided trolley tours include Stetson-Sanford House. Tuesday and Friday: 10:00 a.m. Convention and Visitors Bureau, 200 West Hancock Telephone: 1-800-653-1804. Directions: Georgia Highway 49.
John Marlor, English master builder, built this two-story clapboard, Federal style house, with regional adaptations. Featuring a Palladian double portico, the facade is further enhanced by fanlights with spread eagles at the base and dividers. Mantels have hand-carved sunburst motif and egg-shaped dentils; hand-grained woodwork remains in one parlor. Stetson-Sanford House is owned by the Old Capital Historical Society. Furnishings for the Children's Room have been arranged for by the Milledgeville Town Committee of The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America in the State of Georgia. These include a roped bedstead, feather bed, quilts, children's clothes, a 19th-century handmade high chair, a rocking horse, and trunk.