National Register of Historic Places

Glen Mary

Sparta, Hancock County, Georgia
Listed
May 7, 1974
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
74000687

About this property

Glen Mary is an historical home located in Hancock County, Georgia, near the town of Sparta. The home was listed on the Georgia Register of Historic Places in 1973, and on the National Register of Historic Places on May 8, 1974. As of 2013, Glen Mary is owned by Preservation America. Theophilus Jackson Smith built the home on 2,400 acres (970 ha) in 1848 for his bride Mary Gonder. Glen Mary is Scottish for "Mary's Valley," and is a two-story Greek Revival house. Smith was a founding member of the Planters' Club of Hancock County, a pioneer agricultural society. He also served in the Georgia legislature and the Fifteenth Georgia Regiment during the American Civil War. Smith moved to Washington County and advertised Glen Mary for sale in 1859 in The Southern Recorder. Smith sold Glen Mary and 542 acres (219 ha) in 1869 to General Ethan A. Hitchcock and his wife Martha Rind Nicholls Hitchcock. General Hitchcock died at Glen Mary in 1870. Scenic America named Glen Mary to its Last Chance Landscapes in 2002–03, designating the plantation as one of the top ten most threatened scenic landscapes in the US. Meg McGuire, former president of Scenic America, said Glen Mary was placed on the list because it faced the threat of being destroyed by logging, and it is "typical of historic sites in which the site has been saved but the context is destroyed". The house was also named a National Treasure by Save America's Treasures, the White House Millennium Council's initiative to save America's cultural artifacts. Consultants on the project have included historian William Seale, who wrote the book on the White House for its bicentennial, and architect Charles A. Phillips, chief architect on the restoration of the Miles Brewton House in Charleston, South Carolina. Ian Firth, a faculty member with the University of Georgia College of Environment & Design is the landscape and garden consultant.

Location

Sparta, Hancock County, Georgia
33.17778, -83.00157

Categories

ARCHITECTURE
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Overview
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The Land
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Geology
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LiDAR Terrain
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Conflict & War
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The Civil War
The Civil War on this ground, 1861 to 1865: who held it, and the battles, camps and regiments nearby.
The Soldiers
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Native Heritage
The Native nations who held this land, mapped across time from before European contact to today.
Settlement
Who claimed and held this ground, from Indigenous homelands through the colonial powers to the United States.
The Community
How the town grew, who came, and what kind of place it became, traced through the census record.
Rivers & Rail
The rivers, canals and railroads that connected this place between 1830 and 1911.
Notable People
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Historical Maps
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Finds & Access
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Literature
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Nearby Historic Sites

Pearson-Boyer Plantation
Listed
1.2 mi
Linton Historic District
Listed
4.4 mi
Sparta Historic District
Listed
7.1 mi
Sparta Cemetery
Listed
7.2 mi
Rockby
Industrial
9.4 mi

Questions about this property

When was Glen Mary listed on the National Register?

Glen Mary was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 7, 1974.

What type of historic resource is Glen Mary?

Glen Mary is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Glen Mary?

The period of significance for Glen Mary is recorded as the industrial era.

Can I research the history near Glen Mary?

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