Lockerly’s Rose Hill named to historic registry

Published 2:58 pm Friday, May 19, 2017

MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. — One of Milledgeville’s most historic buildings has gained recognition on a very permanent list.

Rose Hill, the sprawling, 1852 Greek-Revival home purchased in 1963 by Lockerly Arboretum founder E.J. Grassman that now serves as the property’s visual centerpiece, has officially been added to the National Register of Historic Places, forever imprinting it in the nation’s list of sites worthy of permanent preservation. The designation follows an expansive, multi-year effort by Arboretum friends and board members of searching through courthouse, newspaper and family records to find the required documentation, bringing to 24 the number of Register-identified historic places in Baldwin County and helping to further cement Rose Hill’s status as one of Milledgeville’s most important landmarks.

“The house was acquired by the Foundation in 1998, and at that point, the board of trustees was eager to have that designation,” said Lockerly’s secretary and chair of the Rose Hill Committee, Sherrill Jones. “The detailed research began when Jim Garner came on board as director in 2008. … From day one, one of his objectives was to get Rose Hill in the National Register, and he began almost immediately.”

Originally built by local businessman Richard J. Nichols around 1839, Rose Hill takes its name from the abundant Cherokee Roses that grew on the property at that time. Following Nichols’ death without a will in 1849, in 1851 Rose Hill was put up for auction on the steps of Milledgeville’s old courthouse, where it was bought for $5,500 by Judge Daniel Tucker. The sale would be short-lived, however, as three weeks later the house burned to the ground. A year later, Tucker began work on the Georgian Greek-Revival that stands to this day.

“In 1853, [The Tuckers] hosted an inaugural ball for Gov. Herschel Johnson in the house — lots of exciting events have taken place here,” said Jones. “We believe that when [Union Gen. William Tecumseh] Sherman came through Milledgeville, some of his bummers made a visit to Rose Hill and demanded Judge Tucker’s silver. Judge Tucker owned multiple plantations, and convinced them that he had had it removed and hidden on a plantation he owned that bordered both Baldwin and Wilkinson counties. He sent them in that direction, but in truth it was buried under the smokehouse here.”

After Tucker’s death in 1879, the property passed through several hands, gaining the name “Lockerly” from the family of Reginald R. Hatcher, who purchased it in 1928. In 1963, Rose Hill was purchased by E.J. Grassman, a local Kaolin magnate who was struck by the beauty of Milledgeville’s antebellum homes. Having tried and failed several times to purchase a home in Milledgeville, and armed with a deep love of horticulture and education, Grassman wanted to use his new acquisition as a place for all local residents to enjoy. In 1965, he founded the Lockerly Arboretum Foundation “for the further education of students and lovers of plant life and horticulture, wishing to enhance their knowledge and ability to enable them to practically encourage others,” completing the property’s transition into the arboretum known today.

“When Mr. Grassman purchased Rose Hill in 1963, he separated the house and 2.57 acres from the remainder of the property and fully restored the house,” said Jones. “He paid very close attention to the architectural details, and fortunately did it in a very tasteful way. There’s a lot of faux painting upstairs on the baseboards, the stair risers, and around the door and window frames, and all of that is still original to the house.”

Although Rose Hill still bears the obvious signs of an historic, antebellum home, the National Park Service requires more than a simple eye test to admit a site into the National Register. In order to compile and submit a more than 20-page application, former director the late Jim Garner had to jump through more than a few hoops to add Rose Hill’s name to the list.

“It proved to be more of a challenge than [Garner] had anticipated due to the burning of the courthouse records [in 1861],” said Jones. “That led to having to do additional research in order to prove the house was built when it was built, and he involved a couple of interns from Georgia College to assist him. Unfortunately, after he submitted the application to the State Historic Preservation Office, he didn’t hear anything for almost two years. In the interim, the office had changed directors, and the application somehow got misplaced. Fortunately, Jim had duplicate copies of everything, so he assembled another packet and hand-delivered it — I think he even had somebody sign for it. This would have been in 2014, and he passed away right after having done it.”

Although Garner did not live to see his goal of putting Rose Hill on the National Register, one imagines the late director would have been very pleased indeed.

Lockerly Arboretum is located at 1534 Irwinton Road in Milledgeville and is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday.

For more information or to donate to Invest in Rose Hill’s Heritage and Future, call the Arboretum at 478-452-2112.