Stone Mountain Park tears down fire-ravaged home built for Confederate colonel, moved from south Georgia to be part of what is now called Historic Square

The Davis-Dickey home was torn down to its foundation in June (Photo courtesy John Rosemeyer)

It went down with no fanfare or media coverage, for that matter.

Stone Mountain Park’s Davis-Dickey home, which was formerly owned by a Confederate colonel, was demolished in early June after officials decided it was damaged beyond repair by an accidental fire in November 2023.

I don’t normally report something that occurred two months ago, but I only became aware of the demolition last week. I had checked on the fate of the structure previously and was last on site in early April. A blue tarp placed over the roof after the blaze was in pieces then, leaving sections of the roof open to the elements.

Park spokesman John Bankhead on Tuesday forwarded me a press release that was sent out ahead of the work, but I did not receive at the time. He said no photos of the demolition were available and no news outlets covered the story. I did see a photo on Flickr.

The Stone Mountain Memorial Association, which oversees the state venue, said structural engineers made an assessment and historic preservationists were consulted before the decision was made.

More damage is evident on the other side of the house (Stone Mtn Park Dept. of Public Safety)

The blaze was concentrated in the center and upper portions of the home; its wings were not as damaged. But the damage was extensive. 

The Georgia fire marshal’s office determined that an electrical fault in conduit near the entrance to the home was the cause. Since then, the house was surrounded by a fence, awaiting its fate.

“Reconstructing the home to 1840’s era construction standards would be next to impossible and incredibly expensive,” the association said in the release. “In addition, with it now being part of a state park, the building would need to be reconstructed as ADA compliant with additional points of entry, most likely an interior elevator and ramps added for access and egress."

The Davis-Dickey manor residence was the centerpiece of a recreated antebellum plantation at the park. Other relocated buildings in Historic Square (left) are open to the public, Bankhead said.

All items, mostly period furniture and antiques, not lost to the fire are in storage, Bankhead said.

The Davis-Dickey home  was built in the community of Dickey, west of Albany, Ga., for the family of slaveholder Charles Milton Davis, who left Aiken, S.C., in 1850.

The home was completed in about 1856. Davis, a cotton planter, was the third-largest slaveholder in Calhoun County with 78 enslaved persons. He owned about 3,500 acres, according to census records. Charles and his wife Agnes lived there with seven children.

Davis served as a colonel in the Calhoun County cavalry. Other websites indicated he served as well in the 12^th Battalion Georgia Cavalry and the 10^th Georgia State Troops. All of the units appeared to be stationed in Georgia.

The 6,250-square-foot home was broken into quarters and moved in 1961 to the park for reconstruction. The house faced the park's famous Confederate memorial carving of Lee, Jackson and Jefferson.

The fire ravaged-home before its demolition (Photo courtesy John Rosemeyer)

After it was restored and filled with original and period furnishings, the residence opened to Stone Mountain Park visitors in 1963 as a largely privately operated venture. It was considered the "big house" at the complex, which includes other homes, outbuildings and two slave dwellings.

Now it's gone, with no apparent replacement in sight.

Memorial association CEO Bill Stephens said: "We take historic preservation seriously at Stone Mountain Park, and though the Dickey/Davis House was the centerpiece of the Historic Square, none of these buildings are original to the region, each were transferred and reconstructed here from other parts of the state.

“The costs of restoration are prohibitive, and there is currently no funding source available for complete restoration. The building also cannot be secured in its current state, potentially making it a target for vandalism or potential injury by a park visitor."

Confederate carving and lawn at Stone Mountain Park (Chris Yunker, Wikimedia)

Stone Mountain Park in recent years has been under pressure to remove features, street names or exhibits that depict what critics and scholars call symbols of the Confederacy, Lost Cause and white supremacy.

Architectural historian Lydia Mattice Brandt and associate professor of history Philip Mills Herrington, writing in the March 2022 Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, detailed the history, timeline and goals of the antebellum plantation now known as Historic Square.

They write that the plantation complex buttressed Georgia’s resistance to desegregation in the late 1950s and early 1960s and is a mixture of fact and fantasy. The authors suggest a reinterpretation of the square is critically important.

Stone Mountain rises behind the home before the fire (Jason Armstrong, HMdb.org)

The Stone Mountain Memorial Association has pledged to make changes, but some say the pace has been too slow. The park has relocated four Confederate flags that were next to a popular trail.

A planned museum at Memorial Hall will cover the site's entire past.

Stone Mountain Village near Atlanta notes its Civil War history, but wants to shed reputation and promote its black history, too

The Mayor's House in Stone Mountain Village

Only a couple miles from Georgia's Stone Mountain Park and its carving of Confederate leaders, Stone Mountain Village is a very diverse community with tributes to its Civil War past and dreams for a robust future that blends what one businessman, Daniel Brown, calls "community revival, history and opportunity."

This site (top), built in the mid-1830s by slaves, has seen several uses, including the home of Stone Mountain's first mayor, a Civil War hospital and other businesses, including restaurants.

A coffee bar co-owned by Brown is on the ground floor of what's called "The Mayor's House." It's believed the second floor housed wounded Confederate troops. The current owner wants to open a restaurant and the building is being renovated. 

For several years, the Sycamore Grill restaurant was in the building, named for the huge tree out front.

A fundraising page for the renovation effort says: "The Mayor’s House is valuable in our vision for reconciliation in Stone Mountain, due to its history and its undeniable location. Built in the very center of a town historically known to separate and mark boundaries between blacks and whites, the reclamation of Stone Mountain Village’s flagship building for a modern vision of community and economy will breathe life and restoration for this area."

Nearby is the old railroad depot. A marker recalls July 1864 Federal cavalry raids during Sherman's campaign against Atlanta.

Scores of Confederate soldiers killed in combat or who died in old age rest at an old cemetery near downtown. New headstones for unknown dead were installed in 2011 and 2012 by Confederate Memorial Camp 1432, Sons of Confederate Veterans.

Established circa 1850, the cemetery is the final resting place for the villages’ settlers, granite cutters, farmers and townspeople.

This house was one of several Confederate hospitals.

The old railroad depot, which was closed during my visit

According to an article last month in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the state of Georgia wants to help the majority-black city shed its "Old Stone Mountain" image -- which included the resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan a century ago and white supremacy.

City officials hope a new tourism office will help the city attract new businesses and visitors, developing its image as an inclusive, diverse community. Currently, many storefronts are vacant.

Stone Mountain: Many visitors ambivalent

Three-fourths of those who travel to Stone Mountain Park near Atlanta come to enjoy the natural beauty. But most are aware of the giant Confederate carving that is the park’s focal point. What do they think should be done with memorial that honors heroes of a cause that fought to preserve slavery? • Article