African-American center finds new home
The Sallie Davis Foundation, along with GCSU, has teamed up to ensure that the house, and the woman it is named after, will not lose their legacy.
The dilapidated building resides at 301 Clark St., next to the Napier parking lot entrance.
“The Sallie Davis House is the 1890 home of African-American education pioneer Sallie Ellie Davis, who taught academics as well as life skills to African-American children in Milledgeville. Davis owned the house from 1912 until her death in 1950,” according to a recent press release by The Georgia Trust.
The Georgia Trust, an organization that promotes Georgia’s historic preservation, recently added the Sallie Davis House to its 2009 “Places in Peril” list.
“The ‘Places in Peril’ program seeks to identify significant historic, archaeological and cultural properties that are threatened by demolition, deterioration or insensitive public policy or development, and have a demonstrable level of community interest, commitment and support,” according to The Georgia Trust Web site.
When the renovations are complete, the building will be used as an African-American cultural center for GCSU.
“We’re going to work closely with the Sallie Davis Foundation along with others in the community,” said Bryan Jackson, GCSU’s Director of Communications.
Former students of Sallie Davis comprise the Sallie Davis Foundation. Their organization, along with GCSU, have teamed up to make the house as accurate as possible. Both groups hope the house’s status on the “Places in Peril” list will help to acquire a historic preservation grant.
It was not until recently that the college realized they owned the property.
“Apparently, its space was originally going to be used for the Centennial Center, but at some point it was realized how historic the house was,” Jackson said.
The City of Milledgeville, and the Sallie Davis Foundation, created a preservation plan in July of 1994 that set a budget for the cost of renovations. At that time, the estimation came close to $100,000. Given the time that has lapsed, GCSU and the Sallie Davis Foundation, will set a new budget and reevaluate the conditions of the building.
“Before a budget is established, we’ll have to do another study to get a chance to see where we stand,” Jackson said. “We need to know how much work needs to be done.”
No one has lived in the house since 1989. Neglect, weathering and vandalism are just some of the problems the house has endured, according to The Georgia Trust.
“We’re going to restore the house to its original condition,” Jackson said.
Milledgeville’s MainStreet, an organization promoting the preservation of Milledgeville’s historic area, informed The Georgia Trust of the history and current condition of the house.
For a building to be chosen for The Georgia Trust, they must be listed or eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places or the Georgia Register of Historic Places, must be subject to a serious threat to their existence or historical, architectural and/or archeological integrity, and must be a demonstrable level of community commitment and support for the preservation of listed sites, according to The Georgia Trust Web site.
Posted by Colonnade Archives
on Oct 31 2008. Filed under News.
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