720 Swanton Way
Decatur, GA, USA

National Register of Historic Places - Swanton House

Statement of Significant:

The Swanton House is the most important existing building connected with the early history of the city of Decatur. Not only is the Swanton House the oldest extant building in Decatur and a fine example of the Plantation Plain Style, but in its 150-year history it has had connections with important families in Decatur as well as events figuring in Decatur's involvement in the Civil War.

The city of Decatur was chartered in 1823 and the original log structure (see Plan A) is reputed to have been constructed in the 1820's by an early settler named Ammi Williams. The early history of the house cannot be fully substantiated due to the burning of the Decatur Courthouse in the 19th century and the subsequent loss of early county records.

The log structure was purchased in 1852 by Benjamin Franklin Swanton who made the additions which are evident in the present residence. The house with Swanton's new additions was representative of the type of dwelling owned by many of Decatur's citizens. In its enlarged condition the Swanton House was a fine example of the style known as Plantation Plain.

Benjamin Franklin Swanton was one of the most important early industrialists in Decatur. Swanton moved from New Hampshire to Dahlonega, Georgia, at the time of the gold rush in order to sell mining machinery. In c.1852 he moved to Decatur to sell cotton gins. His varied list of business ventures in Decatur included the operation of a cotton gin, sawmill, gristmill, brickyard, Tanyard and machine shop. All of these businesses operated within several blocks of the old Decatur Courthouse. The oldest brick residence in Decatur is reputed to have been constructed from bricks made at the Swanton brickyard.

During the Civil War, Swanton, his wife, and daughter Elizabeth went to Maine, leaving the house in the care of a Mrs. Johnson, a widow with ten little girls. Swanton House served as the headquarters on July 19, 1864, for the Federal Army of the Tennessee which occupied Decatur en route to Atlanta. The fact that General Thomas W. Sweeney, commander of the 2nd Division of Dodge's 16th A.C., established his headquarters in the Swanton House, is recorded in the diary of James P. Snell, a headquarters clerk and war correspondent.

When Benjamin Franklin Swanton died on February 18, 1890, his son, John Bowers Swanton, took over the house, lands, and industries. The original estate remained intact until the death of J.B. Swanton in 1897, when John's wife, Josephine Woodbury Swanton, sold the machinery of the various industries and used the lumber from the buildings to build tenant houses. After Josephine's death in 1909, the land was divided and sold as city dwelling lots, the Swanton House being passed down to her daughter Estelle Swanton Kerr. After Estelle died in 1929, the house was handed down to Josephine Kerr Thompson, the last Swanton to reside at Swanton House.

The property on which the Swanton House originally stood extends on both sides of Atlanta Avenue. On the south side, the property is located west of Marshall Street, across Peavine Creek and up Swanton's Hill close to the railroad. The Tanyard, machine shop and brickyard were all located within this area; the blacksmith's shop was on the west side of Swanton's Hill. On the north side of Atlanta Avenue, the property extended from Ponce de Leon to Adair Street. A gin and mill were located in this area, over Peavine Creek.
In 1968, the existence of the Swanton House was threatened due to urban renewal plans. At this time, the house was the only extant historic structure on the Swanton property. To save the house from destruction, Mills B. Lane bought the Swanton House and donated it to the DeKalb Historical Society, financing the moving and restoration. The Swanton House, formerly at 240 Atlanta Avenue, is now located at 720 Swanton Way.

The present location of the Swanton House is between an empty lot and Adair Ebster Park, with apartment condominiums across the street and from the park westward.

By 1968, the original location of the house on the Swanton property had been so altered that only the house itself remained as a historic resource. Urbanization had seriously impacted the historical integrity of the site. In order to preserve the structure, it had to be relocated and was relocated on a portion of the original estate of Benjamin Franklin Swanton. Its move did not adversely affect the historical significance of this site. Although the house is no longer on its original location and although the historic environment of its new location is not reminiscent of the original environment of the nineteenth century, it is on property historically owned by Swanton. The move, though unfortunate, was the only means of preserving the structure.

The Swanton House is important to the city of Decatur through its connections with important events in Decatur's early history and as the last example of a life style which was representative of a large segment of antebellum Decatur's history.