Atlanta adds restored centennial carriage house to collection of days-gone-by historic buildings

 

[July 16, 2018] 

Atlanta held an open house Sunday afternoon for the latest addition to the historic buildings at the site of the J.H. Hawes Grain Elevator. The John Pendelton Hieronymus Carriage House is one of the last carriage houses in Atlanta that served households during the horse and buggy days.

J. H. Hieronymus built the carriage house in 1908 at his new house at 607 N. W. Vine Street when he moved from his farm into Atlanta. Mr. Hieronymus was a farmer and one of the founders of the Atlanta National Bank. The carriage house was built to hold one horse.

Since its time, many carriage houses were converted to garages or demolished. The Atlanta Betterment Fund found this remaining example of a historic building and decided to move it to the site of the J.H. Hawes Grain Elevator.
“The historic carriage house was in very poor condition. It probably would not have lasted much longer,” said Bill Thomas of the Atlanta Betterment Fund.

The carriage house was lifted off its foundation and moved to its new location by Ron Peters. The Atlanta Police Department and Ameren Illinois helped with the move.

After it was relocated, Todd Parks of Atlanta did the restoration of the building back to its original condition. “It is probably 99% original,” said Bill Thomas.

 

To make the dedication of the new exhibit complete, the great granddaughter of John Pendelton Hieronymus, Carolyn Chapman, traveled from her home in Ohio to attend. “While I never lived in Atlanta, I can remember visiting relatives in town with my parents and playing in the carriage house as a kid,” she said.

The Atlanta Betterment Fund reached out to Carolyn Chapman when the project was first proposed, and she was happy to assist with the restoration. She came to Atlanta for the dedication and to attend a family reunion.

Together with the Hawes Grain Elevator, which is still in working condition, the restored Hieronymus Carriage House is a wonderful addition to the historic buildings in Atlanta.

[Curtis Fox]