Cavalry clashed often near this home outside Atlanta. After years of potential loss to Cobb County development, it is being sold for $1 and relocation to a safe place

The McAfee house was built around 1840, when Cobb County was mostly farms (Cobb Landmarks)

For $1 – yes, ONE DOLLAR -- you can buy an Atlanta-area house that served as a headquarters for a real-life Civil War cavalry general and live like it’s 1864.

But there’s a kicker (yes, there’s always a kicker):

-- You have to move it before May 15 to a place with suitable zoning.

-- Moving historic buildings is complicated and expensive. Have you consulted with an expert? How are you going to prepare it for the move, and will you clean up the site once the dwelling is gone?

-- What are your plans for use of this two-story 1840s home? Will you agree to renovate the interior in accordance with federal standards for historic properties?

-- And last, but not least, do you have enough money to move it and pay for restoration?

Reality check.

These questions posed by a nonprofit trying to save the Robert and Eliza McAfee House in Cobb County certainly are geared toward “serious buyers only.”

But the sale by Cobb Landmarks is being cheered as a winning strategy after a five-year campaign to save the house – which has no historical protection -- from a crush of development in the suburb.

The McAfee home served a few weeks in June and early July 1864 as the headquarters for Brig. Gen. Kenner Garrard (left) and his three brigades during the Atlanta Campaign. The Federal troopers clashed almost daily near Noonday Creek with Confederates led by Maj. Gen. Joseph Wheeler. The house is said also to have been used as a field hospital.

“Because of the prominent location of the house, it has become a well-known and beloved landmark to many. It would be an absolute shame to lose it and for the materials to be reduced to rubble in a landfill,” says executive director Trevor Beemon.

Interested buyers have until Jan. 17 to submit an application. The winner will be notified by Jan. 31.

A deal to turn the two acres at Bells Ferry Road and Barrett Parkway into a car wash (even if the house stayed) fell apart in 2023 and preservationists have used the time to come up with something else with the property owner.

“We have been negotiating with them about five years. They finally agreed to donate the house to us so that we could arrange for it to be removed. We are offering it for $1 because we know it will be costly to relocate and renovate,” said Beemon.

The land will go to a developer who is expected to build a multi-tenant development, he said. “Yes, it's a different buyer. He has a childhood connection to the house and is supportive of our efforts to save the house.”

The broker representing the property seller declined to answer the Picket’s questions.

Are there really soldier bloodstains upstairs?

Metro Atlanta residents and visitors alike decry the dearth of physical remnants of the Civil War, but there are a few pockets of preserved land in the region, most notably Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park in Cobb County.

Click to enlarge map of several Civil War clashes in Cobb County (ABPP)

Cobb County was the scene of significant combat action and troop movement as the Confederates tried to stall Sherman’s relentless campaign on Atlanta, which began in May 1864 in North Georgia.

After the seizure of Big Shanty (Kennesaw) by Federal forces on June 9, Garrard’s cavalry division was posted on the left flank during operations on the Kennesaw Mountain front.

While there were some small towns, including Marietta and Big Shanty, most citizens lived on farms.

“The house was originally situated on hundreds of acres of agricultural land,” said Beemon. “Over the years, the property has been sold off and reduced to just under two acres where the house now sits. There is a barn and well on the property. Both are currently being relocated through a separate agreement.”

The property's barn also is being relocated (Cobb Landmarks)

Today, the McAfee home is bordered by a shopping center, drug store, school and other commercial buildings. It is a few miles north of Marietta and in the Town Center area. Kennesaw is to the west across Interstates 475 and 75.

The house is built of pine timbers joined with wooden pegs. It has original heart pine floors (currently under carpet) and plank walls and ceilings beneath modern additions. The residence features a central hallway. It has not been occupied for many years, said Beemon.

Cobb Landmarks maintains the site was reportedly used as a field hospital following a skirmish near McAfee’s Crossroads on June 11, 1864. Bloodstains are reported to be visible on the floorboards in an upstairs bedroom, although carpet conceals the spot today. 

“We are careful to say ‘purportedly when referencing the bloodstains and use as a field hospital,” said Beemon.

The farm was believed to have been occupied by Confederates, too, during the Atlanta Campaign action around Kennesaw Mountain.

This state marker does not provide protection (Photo by Michael Cruce / HMdb.org)

Property has no local historic designation

Beemon said there is no requirement the house remain in Cobb County, though keeping it there would be viewed favorably by the review committee.

“We have received a number of inquiries with most expressing interest in the home remaining in Cobb. One inquiry, in particular, is especially interesting; however, we are unable to share any details.”

The organization would like to see the property returned to its original intended use, but would be happy to see it used as a public space or business as well.

Cobb Landmarks is requiring the house to be protected by a preservation easement to ensure the exterior will retain its historic integrity and that the structure will be protected from demolition. (At right, timber framing for floor)

Preservationists have worked for years to protect the house, including through meetings with local government officials and developers. The McAfee home has no designated historic protection and is not on the National Register of Historic Places.

“Because the house is located in unincorporated Cobb, it would have to be landmarked by the Cobb County Historic Preservation Commission, preferably with the blessing of the property owner. That never happened. There is a (1954) state historic marker in front of the house marking the significance of the site, but it affords no protection,” said Beemon.

Mandy Elliott, a Cobb County historic preservation planner, said the owners of the house never contacted the commission to request such a designation and did not respond when the county reached out. Therefore, the matter was never considered by the Cobb County Historic Preservation Commission, Elliott said.

Basic requirements for a local historic designation include nomination of the property to be placed on the Cobb County Register of Historic Places, research on the site’s historic and architectural significance, a report detailing justification of a designation and public hearings leading to a final vote by the county commission.

No one has lived in the home for more than a decade (Photos, Cobb Landmarks)

“Local historic designation provides protection by requiring review and approval of exterior changes by the Historic Preservation Commission,” Elliott wrote in an email. “This would be projects that permanently alter the historic character of the property, including additions, new siding, new windows, porches, etc." The planner added it protects properties from removal and demolition.

A county commissioner told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 2023 resolving the McAfee home situation was complicated. “We all want to save historic structures. The hard part is finding an entity,” said JoAnn Birrell.

Mission accomplished, but a piece of history will move

Carol Brown, co-founder of Canton Road Neighbors, a nonprofit that keeps a close eye on zoning issues, told The AJC in 2023 she hoped the house would stay on site, perhaps becoming a museum. The home is the last remaining pre-Civil War structure in the busy Town Center corridor.

“Think of all the school kids who could visit the house,” she told the newspaper. Brown also cites its proximity to the Noonday Creek Trailhead.

She told the Picket recently there was a friends group formed for the McAfee House but there was no meaningful support from the public or local government. An engineer said bringing the house up to code would have cost about $250,000, Brown said.

“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,” Brown said. “The house will be preserved and in private hands.”

She suggests Cobb County could dedicate a corner to mark the location of the house, perhaps with a monument, such as a cannon and new historic marker.

“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 clear cut and graded and developed for commercial use will be an additional shock,” Brown said.