We’re always inspired by fellow house romantics who appreciate Southern homes with history. This month in our Before and After series, we profile a Georgia farmhouse that’s lived many lives.
Tara Port Holleman
Earthmama Photography
The Place: The Terry-Settle House in Georgia (circa 1838-1839)
The Homeowner: Michele and Bruce Miles
The History: The farmhouse, the oldest privately owned residence in Forsyth County, is situated less than a mile from the Chattahoochee River (the original owners operated a ferry between Forsyth and Gwinnett counties). While the house was built first as a single-pen, hand-hewn log home, it was eventually enlarged to a double-pen dogtrot. By the early 1990s, the original interior clapboard walls, single pane windows, door hardware, and heart pine floors were still intact, but the home had fallen into disrepair.
The Revival: Architect Ronald Hadaway purchased the property in 1996 from the Georgia Trust and completely rehabilitated it, adding a guest wing to the existing structure and a new barn. In the years following that major restoration, current residents Michele and Bruce Miles admired the house on her walks along the river, and when the property came up for sale in 2014, she jumped at the chance to purchase it. “It was so unique, historical, and serene,” Michele says. “We are on vacation every day we wake up. There is no other property like it.”
Courtesy of HomeTourAmerica.com)
Courtesy of HomeTourAmerica.com)
Photo: courtesy of HomeTourAmerica.com)
The original smokehouse on the property.
Our Favorite Part: Aside from its natural charm, we’re fans of both the white paint Miles and her interior designer Janet Clifton chose for the exterior (Sherwin-Williams Alabaster) and the precise red (Benjamin Moore Country Redwood) they chose for the exterior doors.
