The 1908 Sanborn Fire insurance map is the first map to show this building in place, previously numbered 523 Boundary St. An 1887 birds-eye map of Macon shows the location of the current home wooded with no buildings. The first listing of the address in the City Directory is in 1893-94, when it was occupied by John Higginson, a letter carrier. George Stripling, a traveling salesman, owned the house from 1911 until 1918, followed by salesman Thomas Sheridan and a physician named Hobbs in 1920. In 1925, the Bradford family occupied the home, only for it to be transferred to the Barfields by 1930. They stayed there until 1935. The Chew family then owned the home from 1939 until 1987, when it became vacant until 1991. That year the manager of the Macon Telegraph Fredrick Greer bought the house. Between 1992 and 1995, the house was owned by Frederick Drauneck, and sometime around 1996, it was purchased by Robert Kullman who held the house until the present owners purchased it in 2014. The home is an excellent example of late-Victorian vernacular housing for working families on the borders of the industrializing city of Macon that adapted to suit the needs of subsequent generations.
This is just one example of a building that is being preserved through use of the Georgia historic tax credit incentive program. Kim Campbell, Historic Macon’s Preservation and Education Coordinator, wrote this history in preparation for the building’s tax credit application. If you would to learn more about Historic Macon’s tax credit consultations, please call 478-742-5084 or email Kim at kcampbell@historicmacon.org.