Owens-Thomas House
Encyclopedia
The Owens-Thomas House is a historic home in Savannah, Georgia
that is operated as a historic house museum by the Telfair Museum of Art
.
It is located at 124 Abercorn Street, on the northeast corner of Oglethorpe Square
. The Owens-Thomas House was designated a National Historic Landmark
in 1976.
architecture. The mansion was purchased in 1830 by local attorney and politician George Welshman Owens
for $10,000. The family maintained it for several decades, until Owens' granddaughter, Margaret Thomas, bequeathed the house to the Telfair Academy of Arts and Sciences, est. 1885 as the South's oldest art museum, in 1951. The house is notable, for its early cast iron side veranda with elaborate acanthus
scroll supports, on which, the Marquis de Lafayette addressed the citizens of Savannah on his visit in 1825. William Jay was architect to other Savannah landmarks such as the Scarborough house, the Telfair House as mentioned above, and an attribution to the Gordon-Low House. Savannah boasted other Jay designed Regency villas until the late 1950s, when Savannah suffered greatly at the hands of government sponsored project; Urban Renewal
.
Savannah, Georgia
Savannah is the largest city and the county seat of Chatham County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Established in 1733, the city of Savannah was the colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia. Today Savannah is an industrial center and an important...
that is operated as a historic house museum by the Telfair Museum of Art
Telfair Museum of Art
The Telfair Museum of Art, located in the historic district of Savannah, Georgia, is the South’s first public art museum. Founded through the bequest of Mary Telfair , a prominent local citizen, the museum opened in 1886 in the Telfair family’s renovated Regency-style mansion, known as the Telfair...
.
It is located at 124 Abercorn Street, on the northeast corner of Oglethorpe Square
Squares of Savannah, Georgia
The city of Savannah, Georgia, United States, was laid out in 1769 around four open squares. The plan anticipated growth of the city and thus expansion of the grid; additional squares were added during the 18th and 19th centuries, and by 1851 there were twenty four squares in the city...
. The Owens-Thomas House was designated a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
in 1976.
Architectural Style & House History
This most important and architecturally significant house was begun in 1816 and completed in 1819. Designed by the English architect William Jay of Bath; the house plans were drawn while Jay was still in England; sending architectural elevations to local formans before his arrival in Savannah sometime after foundations were laid. According to Jay's letters, the house was to be aesthetically compatible to Bath, England; in Savannah, Georgia. This is evident in the Bath stone of the house's construction as well as its sophisticated architectural detail; a gentrifying physical ornament to the newly successful Southern port. The Richardson House, as it was originally known after its first owner and builder, is North America's preeminent example of period English RegencyEnglish Regency
The Regency era in the United Kingdom is the period between 1811—when King George III was deemed unfit to rule and his son, the Prince of Wales, ruled as his proxy as Prince Regent—and 1820, when the Prince Regent became George IV on the death of his father....
architecture. The mansion was purchased in 1830 by local attorney and politician George Welshman Owens
George Welshman Owens
George Welshman Owens was a United States Representative and lawyer from Georgia.Born in Savannah, Georgia, in 1786, Owens attended school in Harrow, England, and graduated from the University of Cambridge. After studying law in the office of Mr...
for $10,000. The family maintained it for several decades, until Owens' granddaughter, Margaret Thomas, bequeathed the house to the Telfair Academy of Arts and Sciences, est. 1885 as the South's oldest art museum, in 1951. The house is notable, for its early cast iron side veranda with elaborate acanthus
Acanthus (ornament)
The acanthus is one of the most common plant forms to make foliage ornament and decoration.-Architecture:In architecture, an ornament is carved into stone or wood to resemble leaves from the Mediterranean species of the Acanthus genus of plants, which have deeply cut leaves with some similarity to...
scroll supports, on which, the Marquis de Lafayette addressed the citizens of Savannah on his visit in 1825. William Jay was architect to other Savannah landmarks such as the Scarborough house, the Telfair House as mentioned above, and an attribution to the Gordon-Low House. Savannah boasted other Jay designed Regency villas until the late 1950s, when Savannah suffered greatly at the hands of government sponsored project; Urban Renewal
Urban renewal
Urban renewal is a program of land redevelopment in areas of moderate to high density urban land use. Renewal has had both successes and failures. Its modern incarnation began in the late 19th century in developed nations and experienced an intense phase in the late 1940s – under the rubric of...
.
Museum
The Owens-Thomas House collection contains furnishings and decorative arts from the English Regency period; containing effects of the Owens family, most pieces dating from the years 1790 to 1840. Collections include English Georgian and American Federal period furniture, early Savannah textiles, silver, Chinese Export porcelain, and 18th and 19th century art. The house-servant's quarters feature slave artifacts of the period. Courtyard features a small parterre garden.External links
- Owens-Thomas House - Telfair Museum of Art
- Richardson-Maxwell-Owen-Thomas House at Historic American Building Survey (includes 20 photos, 8 drawings, 3 data pages and supplemental material)