Owens-Thomas House Savannah, Georgia Attractions

Table Of Content

• Telfair Museums Acquires Major Work by Artist Suzanne Jackson
• Los Angeles Area Market at a Glance
• History of the Richardson-Owens-Thomas House
• Owens-Thomas House and Slave Quarters Free Community Day
• Listening Station 5: Garden
• Listening Station 7: Family Dining Room
• Suzanne Jackson in conversation with Alonzo Davis

The Marquis de Lafayette was a guest of Mrs. Maxwell when he visited Savannah in March 1825 as part of his whirlwind tour of the United States for the 50th anniversary of the American Revolution. The Richardsons only lived in the home for a few years before they saw a steady decrease in their prosperity. After the combination of the financial Panic of 1819, a yellow fever epidemic, a fire that destroyed half the city, and the death of Frances and two of the children, Richardson decided to sell the house and move to Louisiana, where he had family and business interests.

Telfair Museums Acquires Major Work by Artist Suzanne Jackson

The raised basement is only partially below grade, allowing for openings to admit light and air. The sandstone for the basement floor was imported from England but was partially replaced in the 1960s. The front parlor, to the south of the entrance hall, is a spectacular example of William Jay’s energetic and elegant design. It is a square room with a slightly curved ceiling that gives the illusion of a shallow dome. The upper corners of the room are decorated with plasterwork that resembles gathered fabric.

Los Angeles Area Market at a Glance

The first floor of the house opened to the public on October 27, 1954, after much diligent planning and research by dedicated volunteers. The bathing area in the basement was probably restricted for the use of the owner, his family, and visitors. It comprised two small rooms, each with a marble bathing tub; and another room with a fireplace; and a fourth room with a stall shower.

History of the Richardson-Owens-Thomas House

The basement, which retains many original components, contains the kitchen, scullery, a large cistern, and other workspaces. These wonderfully preserved spaces offer more interpretive text and material to help visitors understand the day-to-day lives of the enslaved people who lived and worked here. The north half of the building contains the original slave quarters for the site. About five to fourteen enslaved people, most of which were female and children or teenagers, lived and worked on the site at any given time. These individuals worked in domestic labor duties like cooking, cleaning, washing laundry, and raising children. Between eight and 14 enslaved people lived and worked at the Owens-Thomas House & Slave Quarters from 1819 to the end of the Civil War at any given time, half of them children.

Owens-Thomas House and Slave Quarters Free Community Day

Tabby was not only cheap and readily available but also stronger than traditional brick and mortar when used in building construction. The second floor was built of coquina, a limestone naturally formed from shells and coral, which is lighter than tabby. Exterior walls are 22- to 24-inches thick, and interior walls are 12- to 18-inches thick.

Listening Station 5: Garden

Museums for All is part of Telfair Museums’ broad commitment to seek, include, and welcome all audiences and is a signature access program of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, administered by the Association of Children’s Museums. In 1830, planter, congressman, lawyer, and mayor of Savannah, George Welshman Owens, purchased the property for $10,000. It remained in the Owens family until 1951 when Miss Margaret Thomas, George Owens' granddaughter, bequeathed it to the Telfair Museum of Art. During the tour, there was a lady who struggled to ascend the stairs, so she opted to sit at the bottom on a bench. In the northeast corner of the second floor is a study, where early 19th-century gentleman’s secretary and a sofa are presently exhibited. Exhibited there are gold-stenciled chairs in the Greek klismos form that date to the 1830s; these were bequeathed to the Telfair by Margaret Thomas in 1951.

Below the window is the built-in marble-top sideboard with a deeply carved, single mahogany leg, the only remaining piece of Richardson family furniture in the house. A remarkable period dining table is exhibited in the room; open, it measures over 12 feet in length and folded, less than two and one half. In 1830, lawyer, landholder, and enslaver George Welshman Owens purchased the property at auction for $10,000. He lived here with his wife, Sarah, their six children, and up to fourteen enslaved laborers. Born in 1944 in St. Louis, Jackson moved with her family to San Francisco and eventually to pre-statehood Alaska.

Telfair Museums’ Owens-Thomas House & Slave Quarters: Telling the Untold Story - WTOC

Telfair Museums’ Owens-Thomas House & Slave Quarters: Telling the Untold Story.

Posted: Thu, 15 Nov 2018 08:00:00 GMT [source]

The bedrooms, library, and family dining room of the home were considered more private spaces utilized by the family and close friends, rather than entertaining spaces for formal events. These rooms allow for an in-depth exploration of how the economic elite and their enslaved servants interacted on a daily basis. Use our state-of-the-art property search, including an interactive map search, to find homes for sale in Los Angeles, CA. He’s well aware that the 60 or so people who typically come to one of his open houses will include a few “looky-loos” — those there to look around with no intention of buying — but he doesn’t mind as long as everyone behaves. Open house horror stories include such occurrences as surprise squatters and kids jumping on the bed with dirty shoes.

The former slave quarters on the north half part of the carriage house’s two floors is a rarity, for few urban examples in Savannah remain untouched. Fireplaces in the slave quarters were relatively small and shallow and were likely used for heating rather than for cooking, supporting the notion that meals for the slaves were prepared and eaten in the basement of the main house. Our tours focus on the art, architecture, and history of the home through the lens of slavery.

Owens-Thomas House preservation project to be unveiled this weekend - Fox28 Savannah

Owens-Thomas House preservation project to be unveiled this weekend.

Posted: Thu, 15 Nov 2018 08:00:00 GMT [source]

At the rear of the upstairs back hall are the three rooms that were added by George Owens. Originally these were probably bedrooms with a playroom or sitting room in the center. Nearby, a small anteroom at the back of the house has a built-in ladder leading to the large attic.

The space between the main house and the building that served as a carriage house and slave quarters was originally a service area with a well and two privies. It may also have been used as a place to hang laundry and plant a kitchen garden. The well would have provided water for the slave quarters and carriage house, and for maintaining the grounds. In 1956 the space was turned into a formal garden designed by Clermont H. Lee of Savannah. After Owens’s death in 1856, the house passed to his wife and, eventually, to his children.

History of the Owens-Thomas House Designed by British architect William Jay, the Owens-Thomas House was a technological marvel in the 19th century, featuring one of the country’s first indoor plumbing systems, even pre-dating that of the White House. The home features a columned entrance portico, handsome cast iron balcony, winding double staircase, andan indoor bridge. The interior boasts a magnificent staircase of mahogany, cast iron, and brass, as well as elegant furnishings. The walls of the home and garden are built of tabby, a regional material made of sand, shells, and lime.

The large cistern that supplied water to this level of the house was covered with planks so that access could be gained to the ice room under the front porch. Rainwater that drained from the rooftop gutters into the large basement cistern and other cisterns located in the attic and between the first and second floors was the main source of water for the household. Originally it was probably a utility room where linens were kept and household sewing was done. On the second floor are four large rooms, one small room, and several service rooms.