Eden Gardens

This stunning home was built in 1897 by William Henry Wesley. It’s located on the Tucker Bayou near Santa Rosa Beach. Mr. Wesley owned sawmills on the bayou where he cut and distributed pine all over the United States. He used the same pine to build this home. Cypress and juniper were also used in its construction. The photos you see now are post renovation in 1963.

Just look at this gorgeous entry to the property…

Who wouldn’t love to have a picnic under these spectacular old oaks? Some are over 600 years old. If they could only talk, imagine what they would have to say.

This is the way the house looked when it was originally built. Please excuse the glare on the glass. I found better photos online, but I wanted to use the one I took. The roofline was different and so were the columns and cupola. It started off with a more Victorian feel to it. Mr. Wesley was survived by his wife who lived here until she died in 1953. The house stayed empty for 10 years and fell into disrepair.

In 1963 Ms. Lois Genevieve Maxon found the house and couldn’t bear to see it in such shape. She purchased the house for $12,500.00 then turned around and spent an additional 1 million dollars to renovate it. People we are talking the 60’s that was an even bigger chunk of change than it is now. Ms. Maxon wanted a fitting place to display her families beautiful antiques.

When I entered the house I have to say I really expected something a little more on the staircase. These homes usually have such grand ones. When you consider the original style of the house I suppose it’s appropriate.

This house contains the second largest collection of original Louis the XVI furniture in the United States. The upholstery is fab-u-lous. I would never have anything like this in my house, but you have to admire the work that must have gone into making it. You know I take that back, I might would try to find a way to work it in…

This gas light was converted to use electricity… Just look at the gorgeous metal work.

I was lucky enough to get a private tour of the house and I want to say thanks very much to a friend for that. I believe I was told this was Ms. Maxon’s bedroom. Oddly enough she never married. You would think with all that money eligible bachelors would be beating down her doors, but then again that may be the very reason she never wed.

Ms. Maxon wanted everyone to enjoy her home, even when it was her private residence. She asked members of the local garden club to please give tours of her home 2 days of the week so others could enjoy the beauty it had to offer. She was a newspaper woman by trade, when people came for the tours she would take her typewriter and graciously scurry up the stairs to the landing of the cupola to work. She didn’t want to be in the way of the visitors. I went up there and I was positively dying to go out on the widows walk on the roof. Alas, it was not allowed… What a view that would have been!

The estate has a wonderful garden as well. I’m assuming Ms. Maxon was a big fan of camellias because she planted over 100 different species of them on the grounds. Along with the camellias there are also several beautiful sculptures.

Ms. Maxon only lived in her beloved house for 5 years. On Christmas Eve in 1968 she, in the grandest gesture of generosity I’ve ever heard of made a multi-million dollar donation to the people of Florida. She gave her home and all the antiques in it to the state. She lived another 15 years after that and died in April of 1983. Wow…

Next up, A. G.'s garden and the beach...

My Weekend...

I hope everyone had a great weekend! This was a three day weekend for me and I should have used it to rest, but instead I was busy running the roads with friends. I went to Cuthbert, Georgia this weekend to visit my longtime friend James or as I like to call him Jaybeaux. He bought his dream home six years ago and he’s been committed to a major labor of love ever since. As long as I’ve known him he’s always wanted and been fascinated by grand old southern homes. Well, six years ago this month he finally found one and he’s been working on restoring it. Below are three pictures from his Facebook page that I snagged for this post. This is what the house looked like when he found it. Now, tell me it’s not a determined soul that will take on a project like this.

 

This is no small house either. Behind the main house you can see the ballroom and also the old outside kitchen. It was built in 1853.

 

This is Jaybeaux on the side of the house after he and Ken removed all the shrubs and debris from around the property. This really gives you a good idea of the scale of the house. James told us this weekend he was terribly afraid of heights and he had to make himself climb the scaffolding a little higher each day until he was no longer scared. Let me tell you something, that molding at the roofline is waaaaaaaaay up there. I got dizzy just looking up from the second floor porch.

 

This is the work he’s done so far. Pretty amazing don’t you think? I guess he could see something no one else could. A lot of hard work and love have gone into this house. James is not a construction expert, he's not wealthy, he's just a determined person figuring it all out as he goes along. Making his dream come true one board and one can of paint at the time. I have no doubt he and Ken will completely restore this old house in it's entirety. What an accomplishment...

 

It was a nice four hour trip, two hours to get there and two hours to get back home. It was a pleasant little Sunday drive and was punctuated with pretty scenes like this one. Wildflowers were in bloom all over the place. I don’t know what these purple flowers are, but we saw two cow pastures filled with them.

 

 We got back to Montgomery just as the sun was starting to set. The clouds were making a very unusual pattern that afternoon. I pulled off to side of the interstate to take this picture. Friday night and Saturday with my good friend Carol, Sunday lunch with my dear friend Jaybeaux and nice holiday to rest the following Monday. All in all a pretty good weekend...