Spring Ramble Itinerary: Friday, April 20, 2012

Check in with Roswell Patch over the next few days for a detailed itinerary of The Georgia Trust's Spring Ramble in Roswell this weekend.

To check out all the different Ramble package options, visit The Georgia Trust website. Purchase Walk-up Tour Only tickets during at Alive After Five tonight, Thursday, April 19, as well as at the on Friday from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. and at on Saturday 9 a.m.-12 p.m.

Friday Ramble: Canton Street & Beyond; noon - 5 p.m.

Founders Hall, 1076 Canton Street (Built in 1873) - Open until 4 p.m.

Founders Hall was originally a simple I-house style, two-story structure built for Roswell’s fi rst veterinarian. Known formerly as the Ball House for the family that owned the home from 1909 until 1981, the property was adapted for commercial use after this time. Today it is part of the downtown walking district and it has been rehabilitated into event space featuring a spacious ballroom and lush gardens.

The Broadwell House, 1033 Canton Street (Built between 1908-1910)

This craftsman-style bungalow stone house was built for one of the early mayors of Roswell. It has a Vermont slate roof and is built almost entirely of Stone Mountain granite. There is a functional well on the back porch, and many of the
original windows function as well. The inside of the house features the sawn oak and mahogany woodwork, heart-of-pine floors and several original fireplaces, including one that was discovered during renovation.

Home of Suzanne and Thomas Walbert, 37 Goulding Place (Built in 1902)

The dating of this simple frame home is based on the discovery of a 1901 front page of The Atlanta Constitution glued to an interior wall. The current owner purchased the home in 1979 from the Hill family, who had owned it since
the late 1920s. The house was remodeled in 1980 and a full second story was added at that time.

Home of Chris Koke, 63 Goulding Place (c. 1900)

The rehabilitation of the home is current in progress. This residence was built at the turn of the twentieth century in the Uptown Roswell residential area. It has four fireplaces with period mantels, original tongue and groove paneling on the walls, and unique trim on the entrance into the front parlor. Neglected and badly damaged in recent years, the current owner is restoring this charming cottage to its former splendor.

Canton Dogtrot, 1171 Canton Street (Built in 1831)

This two story, 18’ x 50’ dogtrot log cabin was constructed from long leaf pines on the Blacksheer Trail north of Cordele, Georgia. It served as a farmhouse until it was abandoned in the 1970s. Mayor Jere Wood and his wife, Judie B. Raiford, labeled and dismantled the logs and reerected the dogtrot on Canton Street in 1980 for use as a law office.

Old Roswell Cemetery, Intersection of Woodstock Road and Alpharetta Highway (Established in 1836)

Once known as the Methodist Cemetery, Old Roswell Cemetery is located on the site of the Mount Carmel Methodist Church, which was established in 1836. Many early settlers of the Roswell area are buried there. The cemetery holds more than 2,000 graves amidst wandering paths and native plants.

Roswell High School Lofts, Home of Ruth Anne White, 1601 Liberty Lane (Built in 1950)

This property was used as a school until 1990, when the current Roswell High School was built as a replacement. The conversion of the property into 77 lofts and 102 townhomes began in 1998 and was completed in 2001. The 1,100 square foot loft on tour was originally part of the high school gymnasium, specifically the girls’ locker room. It retains the original concrete walls and features open ductwork and 12-foot ceilings.

"The Victorian," Home of Brian and Cindy Shepler, 11295 Crabapple Road (Built in 1900)

“The Victorian” was the folk Victorian homestead of the Strickland family. It was built from the wood cut and milled on the 200-acre farm, which at that time encompassed the entire Holly Berry subdivision behind it. Clementine Strickland was the real farmer; she kept the farm working after husband John died and throughout the Great Depression. In 1968, Charles Pettit bought the house and restored it. The house features its original transom windows and five coal-burning fi replaces. A smokehouse stands on the back of the property.

Hembree Farm Historic Site, 775 Hembree Road (Built in 1836)

Hembree Farm, one of the oldest agricultural sites in north Fulton County, was worked well into the 20th Century. The main house and surviving outbuildings were held by the Hembree family until 2007, when the house, detached
kitchen, two hand-hewn log corn cribs and one acre of the original farm were donated to the Roswell Historical Society. The Society moved the four structures to the acre at the back of the property near the grave of Elihu Hembree (1812-1873) and is currently working on the restoration of the house and detached kitchen.

"The Green House," A Hembree Family Home, 780 Hembree Road (Built in 1903)

Built by Pierce Teasley Hembree, this house has been added onto over the years and was the centerpiece of this farming family in the 20th Century. Several barns and outbuildings dot the grounds, along with fruit trees, old-fashioned flower beds, a grape arbor, and a vegetable garden. The view from the front of the house offers a reminder of Roswell’s agricultural past. The current owner is the eighth generation to live on the property.

Chestnut Hill, Home of Jay Herbert and Beverly West, 13280 Birmingham Highway (Built of 1820s materials)

Chestnut Hill is a recreation of an 1820 Georgia farm house in Bonaire, whose material was no longer salvageable. Mr. James Means, a noted traditional architect, had detailed plans of that house, and with his help, the owners assembled enough of early 19th century material to totally and authentically reconstruct the house on 23 acres. There are 15 outbuildings, nine of which are original to early Milton County.