Barnsley Gardens
Encyclopedia
Barnsley Gardens is a golf resort
on the grounds of a historic former plantation in Adairsville, Georgia
. Originally known as Woodlands, the plantation was established by Godfrey Barnsley
, of Liverpool England
. He built the Italianate
mansion
in the late 1840s.
of the house until he said he had felt her presence at the site telling him to finish the house for him and his children. The mansion was built in the style of an Italian villa
by the architect Andrew Jackson Downing
. During the American Civil War
, the mansion had been the site of a battle
, with much of the house and Barnsley's possessions being ransacked by the Union Army
. Barnsley lost his fortune during the Civil War and later moved to New Orleans
before he died in 1873.
Barnley's heirs stayed at Woodlands until the roof
of the manor house was blown off by a tornado
in 1906. The remaining Barnsley heirs moved into the detached kitchen building and did not restore the manor house. The home eventually fell to ruins
; it wasn’t until Prince Hubertus Fugger purchased the estate
in 1988 that it was restored. He restored the ruins of the mansion and expanded its gardens.
, Alabama
, Texas
, and Florida
. Guests have also traveled to Barnsley from all over the country and the world.
On Godfrey's first visit after purchasing the land he met an old Cherokee man that still lived there. Godfrey befriended the old man and hired him to work for him and allowed him to continue living on the property. Construction was moving smoothly until Godfrey told the old Cherokee that he planned on shearing off the bluff above the spring to build the mansion, known as the Woodlands. The old man became upset and explained to Godfrey that the land was sacred to the Cherokee and that the forefathers would be unforgiving if he destroyed it. Godfrey ignored the old man's protests clouded by his passion to create an estate for Julia. The old Cherokee man disappeared, never to be seen again.
Godfrey finished the construction of the Woodlands and the gardens, spending a good amount of his fortune. Away on business, Godfrey's love Julia soon fell ill while at the Woodlands. It was not long after that Julia died from her illness in 1844. Paralyzed with grief Godfrey stopped construction on the estate.
Business began to suffer with the onset of the Civil War, Godfrey began to work day and night on his cotton business so that his family could continue to eat. During a business trip in Mobile Godfrey went to his first seance. During the seance he made contact with Julia who wished that he would complete the estate.
A friend of Godfrey's, a Confederate Colonel, would take leave of the war to help Godfrey in the renewed construction. One day the Colonel shouted a warning of approaching northern soldiers, but it was too late. Godfrey's friend was shot by the oncoming troops who diminished the estate of its supplies. Mourning his friend, Godfrey buried him behind the manor.
Feverishly, Godfrey went back to work on the estate with Julia's spirit as his guide. As construction continued Julia's spirit would be seen frequently on the estate, especially in the gardens. Godfrey spared no expense and gave all his time to the completion of the estate. The hard times of the civil war left the Barnsley's in elegant poverty. Godfrey was reunited with Julia in 1873 when he died almost penniless.
Godfrey and Julia's descendants continued to live at the Woodlands. However, living at the Woodlands was an expensive endeavor and money was always needed. Barnsley's granddaughter, Addie, had a son, Preston, that was a prize fighter. Preston would use his earnings to maintain the estate. Preston ruled the estate with an iron fist. He was known for an out of control temper, and it was believed that he suffered brain damage from his fights. Preston finally succumbed to insanity and his brother, Harry, had him institutionalized. Preston believed that Harry was after control of the estate and escaped the institution. Preston made his way back to the Woodlands where he shot and killed his brother. Harry died in his mother's arms in the front room of the Woodlands manor.
Preston was sent to prison and Addie continue to make out a living at the Woodlands. During her life there Addie said that she saw many ghosts, including Godfrey and Julia. She also said that she saw the Confederate soldier that was killed there. And most heartbreaking for her, she would be visited by her murdered son Harry.
In the early 1900s the estate fell into ruins, suffering a fire, and damage from intense storms. The property had become overgrown and unkempt. Prince Hubertus Fugger Babenhausen of Augsberg, Germany heard of the property and its history and bought it in 1989. Believing that the property was cursed, two Cherokee chiefs were invited to the Woodlands to put the curse to rest. The Prince restored the Woodlands and the Barnsley gardens. Today it is a beautiful resort that welcomes visitors.
There have been many reports of seeing ghosts of the Barnsley family. Many have seen Godfrey hard at work in the manor. Others have seen Julia walking in the gardens. Most inspiring are reports of seeing both Godfrey and Julia together walking the gardens in peace. Others have reported the sounds of footsteps throughout the villas. Some have claimed that Julia will throw open the curtains, as she couldn't stand the feeling of being closed in during life.
"The Curse of Barnsley Gardens" in Kathryn Tucker Windham
's 1973 work 13 Georgia Ghosts and Jeffrey.
Golf resort
Golf resorts are resorts that cater specifically to the sport of golf, and include access to one or more golf course and or clubhouse. Golf resorts typically provide golf packages that provide visitors with all greens and cart fees, range balls, luxury accommodations and...
on the grounds of a historic former plantation in Adairsville, Georgia
Adairsville, Georgia
Adairsville is a city in Bartow County, Georgia, United States. The population was 2,542 at the 2000 census. As of 2007 data Adairsville's population was 3,076: 1,414 males and 1,662 females. Adairsville is south of Calhoun, northeast of Rome and north of Atlanta.-Geography:Adairsville is an...
. Originally known as Woodlands, the plantation was established by Godfrey Barnsley
Godfrey Barnsley
Godfrey Barnsley was a nineteenth-century American businessman and cotton broker who became one of the wealthiest people in the southeastern United States.-Early life:...
, of Liverpool England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. He built the Italianate
Italianate architecture
The Italianate style of architecture was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. In the Italianate style, the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian Renaissance architecture, which had served as inspiration for both Palladianism and...
mansion
Mansion
A mansion is a very large dwelling house. U.S. real estate brokers define a mansion as a dwelling of over . A traditional European mansion was defined as a house which contained a ballroom and tens of bedrooms...
in the late 1840s.
History
The house at Barnsley Gardens was built for his wife Julia. When Julia fell ill, Barnsley wanted to stop constructionConstruction
In the fields of architecture and civil engineering, construction is a process that consists of the building or assembling of infrastructure. Far from being a single activity, large scale construction is a feat of human multitasking...
of the house until he said he had felt her presence at the site telling him to finish the house for him and his children. The mansion was built in the style of an Italian villa
Villa
A villa was originally an ancient Roman upper-class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became small farming compounds, which were increasingly fortified in Late Antiquity,...
by the architect Andrew Jackson Downing
Andrew Jackson Downing
Andrew Jackson Downing was an American landscape designer, horticulturalist, and writer, a prominent advocate of the Gothic Revival style in the United States, and editor of The Horticulturist magazine...
. During the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, the mansion had been the site of a battle
Battle
Generally, a battle is a conceptual component in the hierarchy of combat in warfare between two or more armed forces, or combatants. In a battle, each combatant will seek to defeat the others, with defeat determined by the conditions of a military campaign...
, with much of the house and Barnsley's possessions being ransacked by the Union Army
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
. Barnsley lost his fortune during the Civil War and later moved to New Orleans
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
before he died in 1873.
Barnley's heirs stayed at Woodlands until the roof
Roof
A roof is the covering on the uppermost part of a building. A roof protects the building and its contents from the effects of weather. Structures that require roofs range from a letter box to a cathedral or stadium, dwellings being the most numerous....
of the manor house was blown off by a tornado
Tornado
A tornado is a violent, dangerous, rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. They are often referred to as a twister or a cyclone, although the word cyclone is used in meteorology in a wider...
in 1906. The remaining Barnsley heirs moved into the detached kitchen building and did not restore the manor house. The home eventually fell to ruins
Ruins
Ruins are the remains of human-made architecture: structures that were once complete, as time went by, have fallen into a state of partial or complete disrepair, due to lack of maintenance or deliberate acts of destruction...
; it wasn’t until Prince Hubertus Fugger purchased the estate
Estate (house)
An estate comprises the houses and outbuildings and supporting farmland and woods that surround the gardens and grounds of a very large property, such as a country house or mansion. It is the modern term for a manor, but lacks the latter's now abolished jurisdictional authority...
in 1988 that it was restored. He restored the ruins of the mansion and expanded its gardens.
Modern resort
The modern resort is expansive, including a golf course designed by Jim Fazio. Barnsley Gardens also has two restaurants, The Grill and The Rice House. Barnsley Gardens has many options for recreation including tennis courts, a Grecian-style pool, a gym, and a spa. Barnsleys rooms are mostly small, rentable cottages equipped with beds, luxurious bathrooms, and several different rooms. Barnsley caters primarily to affluent clients from the Metro Atlanta area, as well as TennesseeTennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
, Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, and Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. Guests have also traveled to Barnsley from all over the country and the world.
Folklore
Three years after the Cherokee natives that occupied the area were sent on the Trail of Tears, Godfrey Barnsley bought at least 4,000 acres of Cherokee land. Godfrey, a cotton broker, planned on creating a beautiful estate for the love of his life Julia Scarborough. They had wed on Christmas Eve in 1828 and Godfrey had amassed a fortune.On Godfrey's first visit after purchasing the land he met an old Cherokee man that still lived there. Godfrey befriended the old man and hired him to work for him and allowed him to continue living on the property. Construction was moving smoothly until Godfrey told the old Cherokee that he planned on shearing off the bluff above the spring to build the mansion, known as the Woodlands. The old man became upset and explained to Godfrey that the land was sacred to the Cherokee and that the forefathers would be unforgiving if he destroyed it. Godfrey ignored the old man's protests clouded by his passion to create an estate for Julia. The old Cherokee man disappeared, never to be seen again.
Godfrey finished the construction of the Woodlands and the gardens, spending a good amount of his fortune. Away on business, Godfrey's love Julia soon fell ill while at the Woodlands. It was not long after that Julia died from her illness in 1844. Paralyzed with grief Godfrey stopped construction on the estate.
Business began to suffer with the onset of the Civil War, Godfrey began to work day and night on his cotton business so that his family could continue to eat. During a business trip in Mobile Godfrey went to his first seance. During the seance he made contact with Julia who wished that he would complete the estate.
A friend of Godfrey's, a Confederate Colonel, would take leave of the war to help Godfrey in the renewed construction. One day the Colonel shouted a warning of approaching northern soldiers, but it was too late. Godfrey's friend was shot by the oncoming troops who diminished the estate of its supplies. Mourning his friend, Godfrey buried him behind the manor.
Feverishly, Godfrey went back to work on the estate with Julia's spirit as his guide. As construction continued Julia's spirit would be seen frequently on the estate, especially in the gardens. Godfrey spared no expense and gave all his time to the completion of the estate. The hard times of the civil war left the Barnsley's in elegant poverty. Godfrey was reunited with Julia in 1873 when he died almost penniless.
Godfrey and Julia's descendants continued to live at the Woodlands. However, living at the Woodlands was an expensive endeavor and money was always needed. Barnsley's granddaughter, Addie, had a son, Preston, that was a prize fighter. Preston would use his earnings to maintain the estate. Preston ruled the estate with an iron fist. He was known for an out of control temper, and it was believed that he suffered brain damage from his fights. Preston finally succumbed to insanity and his brother, Harry, had him institutionalized. Preston believed that Harry was after control of the estate and escaped the institution. Preston made his way back to the Woodlands where he shot and killed his brother. Harry died in his mother's arms in the front room of the Woodlands manor.
Preston was sent to prison and Addie continue to make out a living at the Woodlands. During her life there Addie said that she saw many ghosts, including Godfrey and Julia. She also said that she saw the Confederate soldier that was killed there. And most heartbreaking for her, she would be visited by her murdered son Harry.
In the early 1900s the estate fell into ruins, suffering a fire, and damage from intense storms. The property had become overgrown and unkempt. Prince Hubertus Fugger Babenhausen of Augsberg, Germany heard of the property and its history and bought it in 1989. Believing that the property was cursed, two Cherokee chiefs were invited to the Woodlands to put the curse to rest. The Prince restored the Woodlands and the Barnsley gardens. Today it is a beautiful resort that welcomes visitors.
There have been many reports of seeing ghosts of the Barnsley family. Many have seen Godfrey hard at work in the manor. Others have seen Julia walking in the gardens. Most inspiring are reports of seeing both Godfrey and Julia together walking the gardens in peace. Others have reported the sounds of footsteps throughout the villas. Some have claimed that Julia will throw open the curtains, as she couldn't stand the feeling of being closed in during life.
In literature
Barnsley Gardens is featured in the ghost storyGhost story
A ghost story may be any piece of fiction, or drama, or an account of an experience, that includes a ghost, or simply takes as a premise the possibility of ghosts or characters' belief in them. Colloquially, the term can refer to any kind of scary story. In a narrower sense, the ghost story has...
"The Curse of Barnsley Gardens" in Kathryn Tucker Windham
Kathryn Tucker Windham
Kathryn Tucker Windham was an American storyteller, author, photographer, and journalist. She was born in Selma, Alabama and grew up in nearby Thomasville....
's 1973 work 13 Georgia Ghosts and Jeffrey.
External links
- http://marbl.library.emory.edu/findingaids/content.php?id=barnsley13_100705 Godfrey Barnsley Papers, Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library, Emory University
- http://www.barnsleyresort.com/about/history_overview.asp , History and Overview, www.barnsleyresort.com
- http://www.notatlanta.org/barnsley.html Godfrey Barnsley and Barnsley Gardens, Cartersville- Bartow County, GA Convention and Visitors Bureau