Building a firm and stable foundation for a cut-up and relocated Civil War home is taking some time. But these Georgia entrepreneurs are hanging tough

Foundation work in Ball Ground, Ga. (Courtesy the Lusks), house before it was moved (Cobb Landmarks)

Putting back together a Civil War home they sliced into six pieces and transported 25 miles has been a challenge for an entrepreneurial couple in northwest Georgia, but they’re dedicated to the project for the long haul.

For the past few months, crews working for Lee and Brittani Lusk in Ball Ground have been working to set the Robert and Eliza McAfee House on a firm foundation. They need to get all the pieces properly aligned and stabilized before they can restore the interior of the 1840s central hallway cottage.

“It will all be fine, (it is) just difficult right now until we get foundation done,” Brittani Lusk wrote in a recent text message. “Most people don’t do things like this, so we have had to get creative.” The couple first ran into difficulty when they drilled the foundation.

The crew is finishing the piers for the foundation, and the house will rest above a crawlspace, as it did at its longtime location in neighboring Cobb County, said Lusk, adding the foundation work is nearing an end.

The main floor of the home will be higher at the new location, given the crawlspace is near ground level compared to it being dug into the earth at the old. (At left, Civil War Picket photo of sliced McAfee House in Cobb County shortly before it was moved.)

The sturdy home was moved to make room for commercial development -- the Lusks bought the structure for $1 -- but the future use of the Cobb County two acres it sat on is uncertain.

The landowner and RaceTrac had pursued rezoning that would allow for a 24/7 service station and convenience store, but the project was withdrawn this month amid opposition from neighborhoods near Bells Ferry Road and Ernest Barrett Parkway. RaceTrac can apply again, should it decide to do so.

The McAfee House served a few weeks in June and early July 1864 as the headquarters for Union Brig. Gen. Kenner Garrard and his three cavalry brigades during the Atlanta Campaign

The support blocks will be eventually bricked up (Courtesy Lee and Brittani Lusk)

The Federal troopers clashed almost daily near Noonday Creek with Confederates led by Maj. Gen. Joseph Wheeler. .

Cobb County, just northwest of Atlanta, was the scene of significant combat action and troop movement as Confederates tried to stall Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman’s relentless campaign on Atlanta, which began in May 1864 in North Georgia.

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

The house had been empty for several years, and preservationists worried it would fall to the wrecking ball, given it had no historic protection. Eventually, the owner donated the house to the nonprofit Cobb Landmarks so it could find someone to move it before a development could be built at the busy intersection.

Stairs emerge from the crawlspace in the old location (Civil War Picket photo)

Cobb Landmarks earlier this year sold the house to the Lusks, who moved the pieces in May to adjoining Cherokee County. They have not announced the future use of the home, which is close to their residence.

Cobb Landmarks said it would have liked for the home to stay in Cobb County, but the Lusks made the best proposal and have a history of fixing up old homes.

Many observers expressed their displeasure at it being moved and the property developed, but are happy the home is being saved rather than razed.

Brittani Lusk said the timbers that hold up the home are very solid.

Tony Stanley studies the remarkable timbers used to the build the home (Picket photo)

A fascinating side note is three 48-foot long beams that run the width of the house as floor joists. Tony Stanley, who moved the home, said he has never seen that before, but he marveled at the size of the pine trees that were needed: the wood is about 12 inches by 12 inches.

Among other Ball Ground properties, the couple own the 1906 Wheeler House, a popular wedding venue; The Elm, business suites situated in an old elementary school (great pun); and an historic home they leased out to a restaurant that has since closed.

The couple say they have done dozens of restorations in the region.

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