Tweet
Athens: Cobb House plans meet opposition
By PLOTT BRICE
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 06/27/04
ATHENS — The grand and once-innocuous plans to bring the historic T.R.R. Cobb house back to Athens have fallen quiet. The house is still coming home, but the trumpets are silent.
It began with a wave of excitement, the kind of project that would put a bounce in the step of preservationists.
But the project ran into opposition — opposition the Athens-Clarke [County] Heritage Foundation didn't anticipate.
For all the educational and cultural contributions Cobb made to Athens, the University of Georgia and the state, Thomas Reade Rootes Cobb died as a brigadier general in the Battle of Fredericksburg in 1862. He was, according to his own writings, a staunch defender of slavery.
Still, some say, it's not about Cobb but the house, the architecture. Even those who want to weave in Cobb's legacy believe it's part of history that can't be ignored.
"History, my word, is who we are. It has shaped us," said Pam NeSmith, president of the Athens-Clarke Heritage Foundation. "We want it to be used by the community as a showplace. It is so close to downtown, and it could be such a resource for the community — if people would just go to that vision."
The $3 million project was once a four-group enterprise, but today the financial and managerial aspects have been taken over by the Watson-Brown Foundation, based in Thomson. The Athens-Clarke group is now in an advisory role.
Watson-Brown's involvement in the project has caused some to question the motives. The foundation is named after Thomas Watson, an early 20th century segregationist and anti-Semite who had ties with the Ku Klux Klan. J.J. Brown was a longtime farmer, politician and friend of Watson's.
Cobb, the former owner of the historic house that is causing all the hand-wringing, was born in Jefferson County in 1823 and was graduated from the University of Georgia in 1841 at age 18. He later co-founded the UGA law school, established the Lucy Cobb Institute for women's education and founded the Athens YMCA. Cobb also authored the Georgia legal code, a model for other states across the nation.
But in November 1860, after the election of Abraham Lincoln, Cobb urged Georgia to secede from the Union. After Georgia seceded, Cobb was elected secretary of the Confederacy and served on several committees, one of which authored the Confederate Constitution.
When he died on the Civil War battlefield, Cobb was just 39.
Home was gift
The Federal-style home was a gift from Cobb's father-in-law, Joseph Henry Lumpkin. Built in 1839, Cobb added two octagonal wings in 1852 and also a set of columns. It was, to say the least, different.
Still, Amy Kissane, executive director of the Athens-Clark foundation, asserts, "My feeling is that history is history and you can't pick and choose what you examine. We need to look at the [house] in its context and learn from it. This is a preservation project and that is part of our mission."
The Cobb House was spared from the wrecking ball in 1985, when a church on Prince Avenue wanted the space for a parking lot. The house was dismantled and taken to Stone Mountain Park. For a variety of reasons, it sat near Stone Mountain on cinder blocks, like a old, rusting automobile.
For almost 20 years, the house teetered near oblivion. But two years ago, the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation approached the Watson-Brown Foundation about securing financing, moving the home and restoring it as a piece of history.
Some portions of the house — gables and columns — have been moved to a Hill Street site. The rest remains at Stone Mountain as Watson-Brown waits for the necessary permits to transport it to Athens. "Soon" is a close as anyone can say when the house will be moved. Reconstruction is scheduled to take 18 months.
Twin issues
"I think it is two issues," said John English, a retired UGA journalism professor.
"One is Cobb, and clearly there are some philosophical issues. He wrote the legal foundation for slavery. The other is Watson-Brown. That's named after Thomas Watson, the segregationist and anti-Semite."
There also are suspicions that the foundation gives money to groups linked to the League of the South, thought by some to be a hate group.
Watson-Brown President Tad Brown won't discuss to whom the foundation gives money. Its scholarship program for state students is well-known and applauded — even English acknowledges its benefits. Brown also said the foundation is interested in preservation.
"We try to look at the larger picture in the Southeast," Brown said. "Particularly historic structures on college campuses.
"I don't know what happened at Stone Mountain," Brown said. "I assume we've all read that it was not incorporated in the master plan because of costs. But to us, it is an unmistakable home, not just for its historical significance, but architecturally as well."
Watson-Brown was in from the beginning. The Athens-Clarke foundation began cranking out press releases and e-mails. All pointed toward a groundbreaking in May.
And then The New York Times did a story on the project and zeroed in on Cobb himself and quoted opponents — including English. The opposition took many by surprise.
"Once a project like that ends up on a prominent publication, people pay more attention to it," Brown said. "I did not expect the opposition to pop up in Athens. Athens was an important town in the antebellum South, during the war and in later years. So I was quite surprised, I really was."
Kissane acknowledges that it was not just opposition in the nearby Cobbham neighborhood. The dispute over the project led to the resignation of three members of the Athens-Clarke foundation board of trustees.
"I think that each of the members who resigned had their own reasons, and I would not speculate why they resigned," she said. "I think there were several issues. For instance, some didn't feel they were as involved in the site selection, and they felt they should have been."
Uncertain plans
Athens-Clarke had to pick a site that was affordable and that would be in a similar context to its original location in order to put the house back on the National Register of Historic places.
English is president of the Cobbham Neighborhood Association and a preservationist himself, having restored eight houses. He said he does not speak for the neighborhood when he talks about the Cobb project.
"I don't understand why people can't see that, philosophically, there are some issues. I have never said 'Don't do this.' I have said keep your eyes wide open and be honest. Do not whitewash it. It's not just the architecture, which is really a mishmash. I'm not saying it isn't interesting, but it is no architectural gem."
Kissane admits some of the opposition is not going away, but hopes people will keep an open mind.
"I'd guess there are a number of restored homes in Athens that if we examined their [history] we'd find they were less than progressive. But you can't ignore history."
Right now, no one seems to be sure about what the home will be used for. Tad Brown said he has no idea nor any plans.
"I don't believe that," English said. "You don't plunk down $3 million and have no goals, no plans. I think there is still some real anger here. I think we raised some issues, some dialogue, and I think it was healthy. But it's not going away."
By PLOTT BRICE
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 06/27/04
ATHENS — The grand and once-innocuous plans to bring the historic T.R.R. Cobb house back to Athens have fallen quiet. The house is still coming home, but the trumpets are silent.
It began with a wave of excitement, the kind of project that would put a bounce in the step of preservationists.
But the project ran into opposition — opposition the Athens-Clarke [County] Heritage Foundation didn't anticipate.
For all the educational and cultural contributions Cobb made to Athens, the University of Georgia and the state, Thomas Reade Rootes Cobb died as a brigadier general in the Battle of Fredericksburg in 1862. He was, according to his own writings, a staunch defender of slavery.
Still, some say, it's not about Cobb but the house, the architecture. Even those who want to weave in Cobb's legacy believe it's part of history that can't be ignored.
"History, my word, is who we are. It has shaped us," said Pam NeSmith, president of the Athens-Clarke Heritage Foundation. "We want it to be used by the community as a showplace. It is so close to downtown, and it could be such a resource for the community — if people would just go to that vision."
The $3 million project was once a four-group enterprise, but today the financial and managerial aspects have been taken over by the Watson-Brown Foundation, based in Thomson. The Athens-Clarke group is now in an advisory role.
Watson-Brown's involvement in the project has caused some to question the motives. The foundation is named after Thomas Watson, an early 20th century segregationist and anti-Semite who had ties with the Ku Klux Klan. J.J. Brown was a longtime farmer, politician and friend of Watson's.
Cobb, the former owner of the historic house that is causing all the hand-wringing, was born in Jefferson County in 1823 and was graduated from the University of Georgia in 1841 at age 18. He later co-founded the UGA law school, established the Lucy Cobb Institute for women's education and founded the Athens YMCA. Cobb also authored the Georgia legal code, a model for other states across the nation.
But in November 1860, after the election of Abraham Lincoln, Cobb urged Georgia to secede from the Union. After Georgia seceded, Cobb was elected secretary of the Confederacy and served on several committees, one of which authored the Confederate Constitution.
When he died on the Civil War battlefield, Cobb was just 39.
Home was gift
The Federal-style home was a gift from Cobb's father-in-law, Joseph Henry Lumpkin. Built in 1839, Cobb added two octagonal wings in 1852 and also a set of columns. It was, to say the least, different.
Still, Amy Kissane, executive director of the Athens-Clark foundation, asserts, "My feeling is that history is history and you can't pick and choose what you examine. We need to look at the [house] in its context and learn from it. This is a preservation project and that is part of our mission."
The Cobb House was spared from the wrecking ball in 1985, when a church on Prince Avenue wanted the space for a parking lot. The house was dismantled and taken to Stone Mountain Park. For a variety of reasons, it sat near Stone Mountain on cinder blocks, like a old, rusting automobile.
For almost 20 years, the house teetered near oblivion. But two years ago, the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation approached the Watson-Brown Foundation about securing financing, moving the home and restoring it as a piece of history.
Some portions of the house — gables and columns — have been moved to a Hill Street site. The rest remains at Stone Mountain as Watson-Brown waits for the necessary permits to transport it to Athens. "Soon" is a close as anyone can say when the house will be moved. Reconstruction is scheduled to take 18 months.
Twin issues
"I think it is two issues," said John English, a retired UGA journalism professor.
"One is Cobb, and clearly there are some philosophical issues. He wrote the legal foundation for slavery. The other is Watson-Brown. That's named after Thomas Watson, the segregationist and anti-Semite."
There also are suspicions that the foundation gives money to groups linked to the League of the South, thought by some to be a hate group.
Watson-Brown President Tad Brown won't discuss to whom the foundation gives money. Its scholarship program for state students is well-known and applauded — even English acknowledges its benefits. Brown also said the foundation is interested in preservation.
"We try to look at the larger picture in the Southeast," Brown said. "Particularly historic structures on college campuses.
"I don't know what happened at Stone Mountain," Brown said. "I assume we've all read that it was not incorporated in the master plan because of costs. But to us, it is an unmistakable home, not just for its historical significance, but architecturally as well."
Watson-Brown was in from the beginning. The Athens-Clarke foundation began cranking out press releases and e-mails. All pointed toward a groundbreaking in May.
And then The New York Times did a story on the project and zeroed in on Cobb himself and quoted opponents — including English. The opposition took many by surprise.
"Once a project like that ends up on a prominent publication, people pay more attention to it," Brown said. "I did not expect the opposition to pop up in Athens. Athens was an important town in the antebellum South, during the war and in later years. So I was quite surprised, I really was."
Kissane acknowledges that it was not just opposition in the nearby Cobbham neighborhood. The dispute over the project led to the resignation of three members of the Athens-Clarke foundation board of trustees.
"I think that each of the members who resigned had their own reasons, and I would not speculate why they resigned," she said. "I think there were several issues. For instance, some didn't feel they were as involved in the site selection, and they felt they should have been."
Uncertain plans
Athens-Clarke had to pick a site that was affordable and that would be in a similar context to its original location in order to put the house back on the National Register of Historic places.
English is president of the Cobbham Neighborhood Association and a preservationist himself, having restored eight houses. He said he does not speak for the neighborhood when he talks about the Cobb project.
"I don't understand why people can't see that, philosophically, there are some issues. I have never said 'Don't do this.' I have said keep your eyes wide open and be honest. Do not whitewash it. It's not just the architecture, which is really a mishmash. I'm not saying it isn't interesting, but it is no architectural gem."
Kissane admits some of the opposition is not going away, but hopes people will keep an open mind.
"I'd guess there are a number of restored homes in Athens that if we examined their [history] we'd find they were less than progressive. But you can't ignore history."
Right now, no one seems to be sure about what the home will be used for. Tad Brown said he has no idea nor any plans.
"I don't believe that," English said. "You don't plunk down $3 million and have no goals, no plans. I think there is still some real anger here. I think we raised some issues, some dialogue, and I think it was healthy. But it's not going away."