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Roswell’s Mimosa Hall On 2017 ‘Places Of Peril’ List

November 28th, 2016

Courtesy of the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation

Mimosa Hall, an antebellum home in Roswell, is in “pristine condition,” but it’s still on a new list of historic Georgia buildings deemed at risk.

Mark McDonald leads the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation. He said Mimosa Hall is on its 2017 “10 Places in Peril” list because it’s up for sale.

“Any historic house on a large parcel of land in the Atlanta area is in danger because a prospective purchaser could tear the building down, develop the lot, put a subdivision in, so we’re just concerned this could happen to it, maybe not with the next owner but the owner after the next owner,” McDonald said. “This particular property sits in a very critical location in relationship to the other historic houses in Roswell.”

Mimosa Hall was built in 1840 for John Dunwoody and rebuilt in 1847 after a fire.

“Putting it on the list doesn’t provide an additional protection, but what it does is it makes a statement to the public that we’re willing to commit our resources to help preserve it,” McDonald said.

Mimosa Hall was named for its mimosa trees by one of its owners, General A. J. Hansell. In 1916, it was purchased by Atlanta architect Neel Reid, who renovated the house and its iconic gardens.

The Greek revival style home is surrounded by 21 acres of undeveloped land.

Historic Properties

McDonald said the list is a way for his group to announce its priorities for the next year.

“The most important building on our site and most vulnerable is Gaines Hall in the old Morris Brown College campus,” McDonald said. “This is a National Historic Landmark building and it is one of the most important buildings to African-American history in the city of Atlanta.”

Gaines Hall, built in 1869, was the first permanent building on the Atlanta University campus in 1932.

The Trust said with the city of Atlanta’s “focus on revitalizing the surrounding Vine City neighborhood, pressure to raze vacant historic buildings for future development is a serious threat.” A fire in 2015 also damaged the building. Three other structures on the site, Furber Cottage, Towns House and the Hamilton House are also now vacant and deteriorating.

The 2017 Places In Peril: