May 28th 2025 https://www.instagram.com/reel/DJ79H1qu6Vg/?igsh=MXd1eGdzcjd3djVmOA==
The historic McAfee House c1845-2025 was built in Cobb County by early settlers Robert B. McAfee and his wife Elizabeth Roberts McAfee. They owned a 600 acre farm along Bells Ferry Rd. and Noonday Creek in what is now Kennesaw in the Town Center area.
During the Atlanta Campaign of the Civil War there were battles along Noonday Creek. Union General Kennar Garrard used the McAfee House as a headquarters and it was also used as a field hospital. The fighting then moved to Kennesaw Mountain with many casualties.
In the 20th century the McAfee property was sold off, eventually leaving only two acres, the house and barn. It was acquired by the Medford family who were the last family to occupy the house. It was placed on the market but did not sell for many years.
In 2023 an interested buyer approached the broker and wanted to build a car wash..The zoning attorney is a lifelong resident of the area and was aware of the historic significance of the property. On behalf of Canton Road Neighbors I had lengthy discussions with the attorney and his client agreed to preserve the house on a small portion of its original 1840 site.
Unfortunately costs added by Cobb County to the development caused the applicant to withdraw which left the fate of the house in question. We formed a Friends of McAfee group hoping to convince the owners to allow a zoning solution to preserve the house onsite. At the same time Cobb Landmarks was talking to the owners asking them to release the house, to be taken offsite. It would then be easier to sell
In December the owners released the house to Cobb Landmarks. The house was sold for $1.00 to a qualified preservationist. The week of May 18th the house was deconstructed and being moved to Ball Ground Ga.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DKBB0RGuAYe/?igsh=MTBuM2FjYWoxeTAycg==
The house will be rebuilt but its significance is diminished off the original site. The house is saved but not for the public.
#mcafeehouse #kennesawga #civilwar
January 2025
Cobb Landmarks announced that the owners of the McAfee House property at Bells Ferry and Barrett Parkway had transferred ownership to Cobb Landmarks with the understanding that it would have to be removed from the site by May 15. Cobb Landmarks is advertising the House will be sold for $1.00 to the person with the most compelling plan and a site to locate the house. The bidder will be notified by January 31 and the house must be removed by May 15.
CL will encumber the house with preservation covenants to ensure the house is properly restored and cannot be demolished.
I received an inquiry from Phil Gast about the outcome of the McAfee property:
Hello, Ms. Brown:
I am a Gwinnett County-based Civil War blogger, working on an item about Cobb Landmarks brokering the $1 sale for the relocation of the McAfee House.
You told the AJC in 2023 you hoped the house would stay where it is, as a museum perhaps.
How do you feel about this development as a way of preserving the house?
Thanks,
Phil Gast
The Civil War Picket
https://civil-war-picket.blogspot.com/
My response below
My preference would be to preserve the house onsite. It is a lovely bit of green space across from the school and near the Noonday Creek Trailhead.
As you may recall when the car wash application came in, after lengthy negotiations with the zoning attorney, the applicant agreed to preserve the house on a small plot at the corner. Three days before it's likely approval by the BOC in June 2023, the application was withdrawn, citing cost of development.
In July several concerned residents created a nonprofit Friends of McAfee House. A number of people were interested but no one really stepped up to join us or to help. I had ongoing responsibilities to Canton Road and got involved in several large and impactful zoning cases this year.
Realistically the asking price for the property at @$2.5 million required a major fundraising effort and publicity campaign. One person can't accomplish that without support. There was no meaningful support from the public and none from the County or District Commissioner.
I called an attorney who at one time was County Attorney whose family was active in historic preservation. It was gratifying to hear him say that preservation via a zoning process was the smart way to do it. He cited the Store at Lost Mountain as an example. We came very close to getting that done with the McAfee House in spite of skepticism.
Given the desire of the landowner to sell the land, and realizing that it would be better to remove the house for preservation, I congratulate Trevor Beemon for finally completing the transaction. The house will be preserved and in private hands.
Not seeing the house on the corner of Bells Ferry and Barrett where it has been since the mid-1800s will be a shock to the public. Seeing the land clearcut and graded and developed for commercial use will be an additional shock.
I suggest that the county address this in a future rezoning by dedicating a corner to mark the location of the house, perhaps with some type of monument such as a cannon and historic marker.
Best regards,
Carol Brown
From Phil Gast:
Here is my blog post. Thanks for your response. Please keep me up on anything Civil War-related in the future.
https://civil-war-picket.blogspot.com/2025/01/cavalry-clashed-often-near-this-home.html
March 23, 2024
Cobb Fire Dept. put out a fire today in the shed/garage behind the McAfee House. It appears to have started near the roof which suggests that homeless may have set the blaze. The garage is connected to the house by a breezeway and no damage to the historic house was done. However this should serve as a wake up call to the Medford family, the county, residents and historic preservationists. Cobb Landmarks has two families interested in relocating the house and barn to a historic area. CRN is willing to rezone the property pro bono with a split zoning to preserve the house on the corner of the lot on a small plot.
The Medford family should consider donating the house to Cobb Landmarks or consider the split zoning proposal which would make the property much easier to market with a viable retail zoning. It would be a shame to see the house demolished or burned when there are people ready and willing to help save it onsite or off. Its a real shame the county does not see the value in preserving the pretty two acre tract with the house and barn on its original site. The county seems ready and willing to throw money at just about anything but not at this rare opportunity to preserve a historic house on the site where it was built in @ 1840.
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Since last June, after the applicant for Tommy's Express, Z-8 withdrew without prejudice, there has not been a contract on the Historic McAfee House and its two acre site. In July, Erin Mulgrew, Karen Huck and I formed Friends of McAfee House Inc. with the hope of preserving the house on its historic site. After a group discussion on August 17, we felt that the best way to approach it was the method by which we had nearly succeeded in saving it in June 2023; by rezoning the site to NRC and LRO, with the house site occupying a 12,000 sq ft plot, and the rest would be appropriately rezoned commercial. If accomplished, Friends of McAfee would have sought grant funding to restore the house which meets all requirements for a Historic Registry listing.
I suggested this approach to Realtor Guerry Overcash in September and continued to remain in touch, reaffirming the offer in October, and earlier this year. Friends of McAfee would rezone the house and pay rezoning costs. We believed this would have support from the community. I never received a definitive answer on whether
this was acceptable to the Medford family and restated my offer yesterday.
Today I received the response from Mr. Overcash who had talked to Mrs. Medford.
The Medford family is not interested in the approach we offered and feel that if anyone wants to keep the house onsite, they need to buy the entire two acre site for $2.5 million dollars. They additionally feel that the sale would be easier to accomplish with the house removed from the site.
I told Mr. Overcash that our small board would not object, and that I would notify Trevor Beemon and another individual who had expressed interest in removing the house to another location. I also left a message for Ben Sutton of Georgia Trust.
I appreciate that we were able to keep the house onsite this long, but raising $2.5 million is a very long term project. Certainly the split zoning would have been more doable and would have made the land more marketable for an interested buyer.
It is unfortunate that the land and house c. 1840 can't be preserved as a small park, surrounded as it is by development. It is across from Bells Ferry Elementary and just up the road from Noonday Creek Trailhead. The Battle of Noonday Creek
resulted in the house being used by Union General Kenner Garrard and gave the house it significant status.
I wanted to inform you of this outcome, and of course expect that all county permits will be applied for and followed as the house is removed from the property.
As a reminder, a link to the You Tube video of the house is below.
Preserve the Robert McAfee House
Sincerely,
Carol Brown
Friends of McAfee House and Historical Society, Inc.
