Hickory Hill (Thomson, Georgia)
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Hickory Hill, also known sometimes as the Thomas E. Watson House, is a
historic house museum A historic house museum is a house of historic significance that has been transformed into a museum. Historic furnishings may be displayed in a way that reflects their original placement and usage in a home. Historic house museums are held to a ...
at 502 Hickory Hill Drive in Thomson, Georgia. A
National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
, it was a home of Georgia Populist Party co-founder
Thomas E. Watson Thomas Edward Watson (September 5, 1856 – September 26, 1922) was an American politician, attorney, newspaper editor and writer from Georgia. In the 1890s Watson championed poor farmers as a leader of the Populist Party, articulating an a ...
(1856-1922). and   The main house was added to the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
(NRHP) in 1976 (#76002144) and the whole site was added to the NRHP in 1979 ((#79003110).


Description and history

Hickory Hill is located on a wooded parcel of land, bounded on the north by Magnolia Drive, the east by North Lee Street, the south by Hickory Hill Drive, and the west by the Thomson city line. The centerpiece of the estate is a handsome two story wood-frame house, with a side gable roof and weatherboard siding. A large Neoclassical Revival dentillated and pedimented portico projects from its front, supported by four two-story Ionic columns. The core of the house is an Italianate structure, built about 1864 by Captain John Wilson. It was purchased in 1900 by
Thomas E. Watson Thomas Edward Watson (September 5, 1856 – September 26, 1922) was an American politician, attorney, newspaper editor and writer from Georgia. In the 1890s Watson championed poor farmers as a leader of the Populist Party, articulating an a ...
, a Thomson native who was then already a significant force in Georgia politics. Watson spent several years altering and modernizing the house, transforming it into a Neoclassical Revival masterpiece, and introducing all of the latest modern amenities, including running water, central heat, and electric lighting, the first place in the city with that feature. The house remained his home until his death in 1922. In 1954 it passed to his grandson, Walter Brown, and is now owned by the nonprofit Watson-Brown Foundation. Hickory Hill is one of three houses associated with Thomas E. Watson in Thomson, all three of which are now owned by the same foundation and operated as museum properties. His birthplace, a crude log cabin, was moved from the plantation on which he was born to its present location at Tom Watson Way and Bethany Drive and restored. His home before Hickory Hill is adjacent to the cabin, at 312 Tom Watson Way. The foundation also operates other historic house museums in Georgia including
T. R. R. Cobb House The T. R. R. Cobb House built in 1842 is an historic octagon house originally located at 194 Prince Avenue in Athens, Georgia. On June 30, 1975, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places. The original part of the home of Thomas ...
in
Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
and the
May Patterson Goodrum House The May Patterson Goodrum House is a historic home in the Buckhead neighborhood of Atlanta, Georgia completed in 1932. It is also known as the Peacock House. It is an English Regency style mansion designed by Atlanta architect Philip T. Shutze ...
in
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
.


See also

*
List of National Historic Landmarks in Georgia (U.S. state) This is a List of National Historic Landmarks in Georgia. The United States National Historic Landmark program is operated under the auspices of the National Park Service, and recognizes structures, districts, objects, and similar resources acco ...
*
National Register of Historic Places listings in McDuffie County, Georgia This is a list of properties and districts in McDuffie County, Georgia that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of dis ...


References


External links


Hickory Hill
- official site
Watson-Brown Foundation web site
{{National Register of Historic Places National Historic Landmarks in Georgia (U.S. state) Houses in McDuffie County, Georgia Houses completed in 1864 Historic house museums in Georgia (U.S. state) Museums in McDuffie County, Georgia Watson, Thomas National Register of Historic Places in McDuffie County, Georgia