Architecture of Middle Georgia by John Linley

Author:John Linley
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: University of Georgia Press
Published: 1972-06-06T16:00:00+00:00

138. The Old State Capitol, Milledgeville Photo about 1936 by Eberhart Studios

Whether because the plans were frequently similar, or because Classic proportions were common to most, or because all the building materials of the era were harmonious; because the same basic type doors and windows were common to all, or because the powerful Greek Revival architecture provided the perfect foil for the almost frivolous Victorian decoration; for whatever reasons, existing southern antebellum houses seem always to be in harmony with each other.

Several houses built prior to the Civil War had additions of a later pre-Civil War period. Where no single style dominated, such houses are included in this section, though parts could be otherwise classified. Two factors which vitally affected the finished architectural structure were the use of exterior color and the color and furnishings of the interior. A real study of these factors is beyond the scope of this book, but a brief review of color and furnishings is in order, if only to encourage further research.

Many of the antebellum houses were unpainted inside and out. The high quality of lumber obviated the need of paint as a preservative, and such houses, like the Buck-Archer house (36), have grown more beautiful through the years as the wood has acquired the patina of age.

Until the advent of the Greek Revival, houses were painted a variety of colors. This was particularly true in very early days, as research at Williamsburg has proven. Laborious removal of layers of paint from the Brown-Sanford house has revealed early coats of buff and gray. One coat of a color is not absolutely conclusive. Then as now, a cheap primer coat of a different shade might be used. Doubtless, too, the owner occasionally changed his mind between coats of paint. It was the fashion of the times, however, to paint wood in the colors shown on prints of contemporary English and European examples. Since such examples were generally of stone, colors used tended to soft yellows, buff, beige, and gray.

During the Greek Revival period, the idea of white marble temples swayed the fashion to white. Most of the older houses were repainted to conform to the current style, although there were exceptions. Writers of the time commented on the gaily painted houses of the Charleston waterfront, but Charleston was ever different and would accept or spurn a style as she pleased.

Wealthy planters along the Mississippi likewise experimented with more exotic colors, pale yellow with white columns, soft apricot with ivory trim, dull pink with faded blue woodwork were among them.1

As in most of the country during the Greek Revival era, white houses with dark green blinds predominated in the Oconee Area. The combination is particularly appropriate to the South, where a white house gleaming within a green grove is a cooling and refreshing sight.

With the Italianate and Gothic Revival styles, came a return to the use of color.2 Andrew Jackson Downing, style arbiter of the day, decried the use of white and made a great case

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