Information
Landmark: Meadow GardenCity: Augusta
Country: USA Georgia
Continent: North America
Meadow Garden, Augusta, USA Georgia, North America
Overview
At 1320 Independence Drive in Augusta, Georgia, Meadow Garden stands as a treasured historic house museum and National Historic Landmark, offering a vivid glimpse into the life of George Walton-one of Georgia’s three signers of the Declaration of Independence-where creaking floorboards still whisper of his time.Built in 1791, the house ranks among Georgia’s oldest surviving homes, its weathered brick and worn porch boards still echoing early American architecture, colonial roots, and Revolutionary War history.George Walton, born in 1749 in rural Virginia, later moved to Georgia, where he built a respected law practice and earned a name as a staunch patriot.Walton was just 26 when he put his bold signature on the Declaration of Independence in 1776, making him one of its youngest signers.His impact didn’t end with that historic act.He went on to serve several terms as Georgia’s governor, became Chief Justice of the state’s Supreme Court, and later took his seat in the U. S. Senate, where the polished oak desk bore the marks of decades-old ink stains.In 1791, after the Revolutionary War, Walton built Meadow Garden as a warm brick home for his family.He treated the house as both his sanctuary and the heart of daily life, right up until his death in 1804.When he died, his family kept the property until 1812; after that, it changed hands more than once over the following decades, traded like a worn ledger between owners.By the late 1800s, the house showed years of neglect-peeling paint, sagging beams, and a slow crumble in its walls.In 1900, seeing its rich history, the Augusta Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution bought Meadow Garden, a white clapboard house with timeworn steps.They poured their energy into turning the site into a public historic house museum, unlocking its doors for visitors on a crisp November 21, 1901.That’s how Meadow Garden became one of the country’s earliest house museums, its wooden floors still carrying the faint scent of old pine.In 1981, the house earned official status as a National Historic Landmark, a recognition that marks its lasting place in America’s story-its brick walls still hold the faint scent of old cedar.The Architectural Features Meadow Garden perfectly captures the Sand Hills cottage style, once common in Summerville, Augusta, with its wide front porch shaded by old pine trees.The house rises a story and a half above its raised brick basement, its sturdy wood frame built to catch the breeze and suit the warm Southern air.When it was first built in 1791, the house had just three bays.Later additions doubled that, so it stretched six bays across, like a row of evenly spaced windows catching the afternoon light.The gabled roof stands out with three dormer windows, sunlight spilling through them into the upper floor.A shed-roof porch stretches across the front of the house, its slender Doric columns lending a quiet classical elegance to the plain facade.The facade’s off-balance design has two doors and four windows scattered in no set pattern, a look that blends practical needs with the period’s taste for charm over symmetry.By studying the tree rings in its timbers, researchers uncovered precise details about each stage of the house’s construction, down to the year a beam was cut.Work began in the warm summer of 1792 and carried on through the frost-bitten winter of 1792–1793.Repairs in 1814–1815 and expansions in 1834–1835 mark clear stages in the house’s growth, from its worn timber beams to newly added rooms.Since buying Meadow Garden, the Daughters of the American Revolution have cared for it, tending its worn brick paths and keeping its history alive.They’ve stayed devoted to caring for the house, taking on steady restoration work-replacing worn beams, mending old plaster-to keep its structure sound and its history intact.In 2018, the Georgia State Society DAR brought in Landmark Preservation, LLC to carefully assess the site and craft a master plan for its restoration, down to the worn brick edges and fading paint.In 2019, crews finished major repairs on the main facade and the old front porch roofline, revealing the first-period design that hadn’t been seen in over a hundred years, its weathered curve catching the afternoon light.In 2020, the DAR’s preservation work earned them the “Excellence in Stewardship” award from the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation-a clear nod to their dedication and the careful way they’ve tended every brick and beam.Beyond the house, Meadow Garden’s grounds hold a neatly kept medicinal herb bed and a tidy kitchen plot, each laid out to mirror the look and feel of an 18th-century colonial garden.Visitors wander through these gardens and gain a vivid sense of Walton’s era, from how people tended vegetables for the table to the mint they dried for remedies.At Meadow Garden, visitors step into George Walton’s world, wandering past polished 18th‑century chairs, family keepsakes, and exhibits that bring the politics and daily life of his era vividly into focus.The museum pulls you into Georgia’s Revolutionary War past, teaching you about its place in early American history and the lasting legacy of one of its most influential founders-you can almost hear the echo of musket fire in the gallery.Guided tours run Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and on Saturdays you can book ahead for a private visit.Tickets are affordable, and seniors, military members, teachers, and kids all get a break-like a couple of dollars off at the gate.Kids under five get in free-no ticket, no fuss.You’ll find Meadow Garden at 1320 Independence Drive in Augusta, GA, open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and on Saturdays by appointment with a day’s notice.Admission is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors, military, and teachers, $5 for kids ages 6–18, and free for children under five.Call (706) 724‑4174 for details.This treasured site keeps alive the story of George Walton-a signer of the Declaration-through the quiet rooms and worn floorboards where history still lingers.With its original architecture, tidy gardens, and museum rooms stocked with hand-polished relics, the house offers a vivid window into the Revolutionary era and the rhythms of early American life.Because the DAR has preserved it and kept its doors open to the public, Meadow Garden stands as one of Augusta’s key heritage sites-where creaking floorboards and worn brick walls offer visitors a vivid link to the nation’s earliest days.
