Joel Chandler Harris House, also known as The Wren's Nest or Snap Bean Farm, is a Queen Anne style house at 1050 Ralph D. Abernathy Blvd. (formerly Gordon Street.), SW.[3][2] in Atlanta, Georgia. Built in 1870, it was home to Joel Chandler Harris, editor of the Atlanta Constitution and author of the Uncle Remus Tales, from 1881 until his death in 1908.[3][4]
Joel Chandler Harris | |
 HABS photo from 1985 | |
    | |
| Location | Ralph D. Abernathy Blvd., SW, Atlanta, Georgia |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 33°44′16″N 84°25′20″W / 33.73764°N 84.42219°W |
| Area | 3 acres (1.2 ha)[1] |
| Built | 1870 |
| Architectural style | Late Victorian |
| NRHP reference No. | 66000281 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | October 15, 1966[2] |
| Designated NHL | December 19, 1962[3] |
| Designated ALB | October 14, 1989 |
The house was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1962 for its association with Harris, and is also designated as a historic building by the City of Atlanta. It is now a historic house museum.
Overview
editThe house was built circa 1868 in an area then known for its upper-class residents. Harris began renting the home in 1881 before buying it two years later thanks to earnings from his first book Uncle Remus: Songs and Sayings. He lived here until his death in 1908.[5] Harris had the home extended with six additional rooms and a new Queen Anne-style facade added in 1884. A furnace, indoor plumbing, and electricity were added circa 1900.[6]
In the late 1880s and early 1890s, Harris's goddaughter, Daisy Baker, who would become Margaret Dumont, lived at Snap Bean Farm.[7]
Harris originally referred to the home as Snap Bean Farm, as a reference to fellow author Eugene Field's home Sabine Farm. The name "Wren's Nest" came from his discovery of a family of wrens living in the mailbox in the spring of 1895.[5]
After several years of correspondence, Indiana poet James Whitcomb Riley visited Harris at Wren's Nest in 1900. Harris's children were especially interested in Riley and nicknamed him Uncle Jeems.[6]
Ultimately, Harris wrote more than twenty books while living in the home as well as several editorials for the Atlanta Constitution and various articles for magazines and newspapers — including his own, The Uncle Remus Home Magazine.[8]
Modern history
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After Harris's death, businessman Andrew Carnegie donated $5,000 toward establishing the home as a museum. He had met Harris there in 1900 during a 20-minute visit.[6] From 1913 to 1953, the home was managed by the Uncle Remus Memorial Association, a group of volunteers who operated the house as a museum. In 1983, the organization became known as the Joel Chandler Harris Association.[8]
The home still contains furnishings owned by Harris and utilizes the original paint colors. The house became known as Wren's Nest in 1900 after the Harris children found a wren had built a nest in the mail box; the family built a new mailbox in order to leave the nest undisturbed. The structure was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1962.[1][3][9] The original mailbox that housed the family of wrens and led to the home's name was recreated during a renovation in 1991.[6]
The organization that maintains the Wren's Nest offers tours and regular storytelling. The organization also has two writing programs for Atlanta area youth: KIPP Scribes, in partnership with APS charter school KIPP STRIVE Academy, and Wren's Nest Publishing Company, an entirely high school student run literary journal.[10]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b Blanche Higgins Schroer (May 15, 1975) National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Joel Chandler Harris House / The Wren's Nest; Snap Bean Farm, National Park Service and Accompanying one photo, front porch, from 1975
- ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
- ^ a b c d "Joel Chandler Harris House". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on January 31, 2009. Retrieved April 29, 2008.
- ^ "New Georgia Encyclopedia". Archived from the original on May 31, 2013. Retrieved July 15, 2008.
- ^ a b Burke, Michelle Prater. The Ideals Guide to Literary Places in the U.S. Nashville, TN: Ideals Publications Incorporated, 1998: 80. ISBN 0-8249-4093-8
- ^ a b c d Burke, Michelle Prater. The Ideals Guide to Literary Places in the U.S. Nashville, TN: Ideals Publications Incorporated, 1998: 81. ISBN 0-8249-4093-8
- ^ "Archived copy". Marget Dumont! You Know, From the Marx Brothers. Wren's Nest. Archived from the original on August 19, 2016. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ a b Burke, Michelle Prater. The Ideals Guide to Literary Places in the U.S. Nashville, TN: Ideals Publications Incorporated, 1998: 82. ISBN 0-8249-4093-8
- ^ "Joel Chandler Harris Home". National Park Service. Retrieved July 1, 2007.
- ^ Doty, Cate (July 1, 2007). "Rehabilitating Uncle Remus (and His House in Atlanta)". New York Times. Retrieved July 1, 2007.
External links
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Media related to Joel Chandler Harris House at Wikimedia Commons
- Official website
- Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) No. GA-2182, "Joel Chandler Harris House, 1050 Gordon Street, Atlanta, Fulton County, GA", 12 photos, 2 data pages, 1 photo caption page
- Atlanta, Georgia, a National Park Service Discover Our Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary
- The Wren's Nest historical marker
- Original Gas Street Light historical marker at the Wren's Nest