House in Georgia – Read Story

In the late 1870s, at the peak of the American Aesthetic Movement, a wealthy businessman named Legare H. Foster purchased a rural 11-acre lot in Madison, Georgia. The property was the former site of the Georgia Female Academy, which burned to the ground during the Civil War, leaving only the foundation. In 1883, Foster built a 5,000 square foot mansion atop the foundation of the burned college.

Local newspapers considered the home to be the most elegant country home in Georgia. Each of the eight main rooms features 14-foot ceilings and a fireplace. The first floor features black walnut built-in cabinets, stenciled ceilings, and wainscoting. The downstairs pocket doors open to reveal the library. In 1889, Robert Usher Thomason purchased the home. Thomason updated the color scheme throughout and repainted the exterior. In 1916, he added indoor plumbing and electricity. It was also the first house in Madison, Georgia to have a gasification system. For the next ninety years, Thomason’s descendants occupied the home. In 1978, the Millers purchased the mansion from Thomason descendants and restored it to its original glory.

The photos above are from after the last renovation. In 1986, the meticulous restoration garnered awards and was recognized by the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation. The Millers collected antique furnishings to recreate the American Aesthetic Movement interior. The house is the only home in Morgan County to ever win such an award. In 2001, a fire significantly damaged the rear addition of the house. The central portion of the house suffered primarily smoke and water damage. The Foster-Thomason-Miller House has sat vacant ever since. Even in its current state, a majority of the gorgeous 133-year old interior remains intact. The Foster-Thomason-Miller house was listed for sale in 2015 for $459,000. By 2017, the house was off the market and in dire need of stabilization.

With no plans for renovation, the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation put the property on its 2018 ‘Places in Peril’ list, which raised the profile of the home and attracted the attention of conservationists. In 2018, the house and an adjacent lot were sold to the Madison-Morgan Conservancy, a local non-profit aiming to protect historical sites. The owner also offered to sell the house to the non-profit Madison-Morgan Conservancy, a proposition that the Georgia organization duly accepted. Following this, the Madison-Morgan Conservancy purchased the house, stabilized the structure, permanently protected it with a conservation easement, and sold it to a conservation buyer who agreed to restore the structure within three years. The Foster-Thomason-Miller house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, making it eligible for significant tax credits.