Historic McAfee house leaves its corner of Cobb County after 185 years

For the first time in nearly two centuries, the 1840 Robert McAfee House no longer lives on its historic plot of land in Cobb County.

The home, one of metro Atlanta’s last pre-Civil War structures, not only miraculously survived Union General William Tecumseh Sherman’s fiery march through town, but it also remained standing through decades of development and, more recently, efforts to replace it with a car wash.

The structure — carefully cut into six pieces, wrapped with tarps and strapped to trucks marked “oversized load” — made its way north to Cherokee County this week, where it will be restored and preserved in downtown Ball Ground by its new owners.

Credit: Ben Gray for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Credit: Ben Gray for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution

“When you walk in, I want you to feel like you’re in 1840,” Lee Lusk, the new owner, said to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution at the site this week as workers strapped the boarded-up house to trucks. “I want the original wood walls, the original wood floors — everything will be original.”

The move, a massive undertaking, was slightly delayed because of rainfall. The main concern for Lusk is keeping the original wood from getting wet and warping, which could permanently damage the structure, he said.

They were in mid-move this week when thunderstorms rolled in, and Ball Ground was under a tornado watch Tuesday night. Luckily, the home wasn’t damaged, Lusk said.

Years of searching for a way to save the white, two-story home at the corner of Bells Ferry Road and Barrett Parkway in Kennesaw led Trevor Beemon with Cobb Landmarks to Lee and Brittani Lusk, a couple who share a passion for preserving historic buildings. They agreed to purchase the home for $1 in exchange for moving it off the property and preserving it.

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC

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The current property owners are in the process of selling to a developer. The site is slated for retail development, by which it is already surrounded.

The Lusks live in a historic home built in 1895, were married in a historic Canton church and have renovated more than 50 historic homes. One such project is the 1906 Wheeler House, which they operate as a wedding venue in Ball Ground.

“We always loved this home and always had fear that it would be torn down,” Lee Lusk said previously about the McAfee house. “We’re honored that we were chosen out of so many people to be entrusted in moving the home and saving its integrity.”

Credit: Ben Gray for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The McAfee house served as Brig. Gen. Kenner Garrard’s Union headquarters in June 1864. It may have also been a Confederate field hospital and is long rumored to hold blood stains on the second-level floors.

Descendants of the McAfee family came by the property during the moving process and spoke to Lee Lusk, sharing stories passed down through the generations. During the Civil War, the family left when the Union army took over the home and expected it to be burned to the ground when they returned.

“They camped out, as we understand it, for about three months or so around Stockbridge, and then came back, not knowing whether their home would be there or not,” said Brenda Burns, a descendant. “Thankfully, it was still there.”

Burns’ maternal grandmother was the last McAfee child born in the house, she said in an interview with the AJC. She was a young child when the family, in search of work around the 1920s, sold the house and moved to Atlanta.

“My grandmother would be thrilled because she was very into genealogy and the family history,” said Burns, 73. “We are so glad that somebody could save it.”

Credit: Ben Gray for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution

While some in the community might be disappointed to no longer see the home on the plot of land where it lived for 185 years, most appreciate that it is no longer at risk of demolition.

“We’re sad that it’s not staying there, but this was the best option to save it, and we’re really proud that we were able to give this house a future,” said Beemon with Cobb Landmarks. “I really hope people will drive up there and go see it, especially as it’s completed.”

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