UPSHAW BROTHERS BATTLE FOR BEST HOUSE…

AND WHO WON?

        Like Madison and Covington, Monroe has its share of stately, historic homes for visitors to enjoy which harken back to the old, historic days of yore. The homes are forever linked to the original owners and even today, these homes are called, not by the present owner’s names but by the original owners.

        Another area who has a gracious sprinkling of beautiful old historic homes is Social Circle with its own stately mansions which reaches back to the early times of the city’s history. The family who built two of them are now long gone, but still to many old-timers the name continues to command respect.

        Two of the most impressive homes in Social Circle face each other across the main street which runs through town. One was in recent years a funeral home and the other one, more well- known for its being a club house for social events in the early years and later as a restaurant known for its Southern cuisine, “The Blue Willow Inn.” Both homes were owned and lived in by the venerable Upshaw family.

        The history of the Upshaw family is a long and detailed one, going back to the very early 1800’s with relatives still around in the Social Circle, Monroe and other areas.

        The building which was once home to the late John Phillips Upshaw, Jr. and his wife Bertha and daughter Nell, was built in 1917.  This was the second home built by Mr. Upshaw.  His first home was on the same five acre tract of land and was a two-story Victorian cottage built in 1899.  This tract of land had previously been the site of a tannery owned by his father, John Phillips Upshaw, Sr.

        The construction of the mansion was prompted by the building of a Greek revival mansion directly across the street from the Victorian cottage by John’s younger brother, Sanders Upshaw, in 1916.  Sanders owed his fortune in part to his brother John for loaning him money to purchase a cotton farm in the early 1900’s. Not to be outdone by his younger sibling, John and his wife Bertha measured Sanders’s home inside and out during the final phase of construction and then drew plans for their house to be just a bit grander than his brother’s.

        To accomplish this feat, the Victorian cottage had to be moved.  Trees were felled, and the cottage was rolled on logs to the lot south of John’s five acre tract. After the cottage was moved, many wagon loads of dirt were brought in to raise the site to the same height as Sanders’s land.  There was a natural slope, and by filling the site with dirt, the new home for John and Bertha would be directly across from Sanders’s home and on the same level.

        Several improvements were made in John’s version of the house to make his house a bit better than his brother’s.  John’s house was built with cream brick instead of wood; the roof of John’s house was red tile, which was far superior to Sanders’s slate roof.  Sanders’s house had only one side porch while John’s had two.  The double windows on Sanders’s were outdone by the triple windows with granite sills and beveled and leaded crystal glass fanlights on John’s house.  The oak floors in John’s house were laid in a decorative pattern as opposed to Sanders’s, which was laid in the typical side-by-side fashion.  John felt his home just had to be just a bit larger and better than his brother’s, sibling rivalry, if you will.  Even despite the “one-upsmanship” of John over his younger brother, the families had a close and warm relationship all their lives.

        A frequent visitor to the Upshaw’s new home was Margaret Mitchell, author of “Gone with the Wind.”  Miss Mitchell resided in the relocated Victorian cottage while she was dating Redd Upshaw, her first husband.  Redd Upshaw was a cousin of John Upshaw and lived nearby in Between, Georgia, and was supposedly the model for her character of Rhett Butler.  The marriage of Redd and Margaret Upshaw was short, ill-fated and ended in divorce.  It has been said that Margaret Upshaw was taken with John’s home and gave thought of using portions of the house for her novel of the Old South.

        Having constructed what was generally considered the finest and best built house in the county, John and Bertha Upshaw lived there until their deaths. John died on January 16, 1937 and Bertha died on May 18, 1848 and both are buried in the Social Circle City Cemetery.

        Prior to his death, Mr. Upshaw made arrangements to bequeath the property to the clubs in Social Circle to be used as a community house after the death of his daughter, Nell.  In 1952 Nell Upshaw Gannon deeded her life interest in the house and property to the clubs of Social Circle as she had no interest in maintaining the home.

        From 1952 until the late 1960’s, The Bertha Upshaw Club House was the center of cultural, civic and social activities. Weddings, receptions, school proms, graduation dances and most if not all of the social events in and around the community took place at the fabled old family homeplace.

        During the late 1960’s and early 1970’s desegregation was taking place in the South with Social Circle and surrounding areas being no exception.  During the turmoil of the era, the clubs abandoned the property and renounced title to the property.  When Nell Upshaw Gannon died in 1974, ownership of the house and property reverted to the courts for clarification.

        In 1985 the Georgia Supreme Court ruled that the title to the property belonged to the heirs of the estate of Nell Upshaw Gannon.  Reverend Homer Harvey, a Church of God minister, purchased the property from the heirs in 1985 and established the Social Circle Church of God in the mansion.  In the late 1980’s construction began on the rear of the five acre tract to build a church and in 1990 the Social Circle Church of God moved from the Greek revival mansion to the church on the rear of the property.  Reverend Harvey deeded the church occupied property to the church trustees and sold the main house and balance of the property to Louis and Billy Van Dyke.

        After several years of repairing, rebuilding and restoring many areas of the house and expanding the kitchen, the Van Dyke’s were ready to open their newly re-furnished and re-finished home to the public as “The Blue Willow Inn Restaurant,” on Thanksgiving Day 1991.

        Thanks to a column in 1992 written by the late Atlanta Jounal-Constitution columnist, Lewis Grizzard , in his fevered search for the perfect fried green tomatoes, he found them at Social Circle’s Blue Willow Inn Restaurant.  His column resonated with the souls (and stomach’s) of many of his readers and folks began flocking to 294 N. Cherokee Road in Social Circle to sample the “Old South” recipes the Van Dyke’s were offering to the public.  Even Grizzard’s cousin, Ludlow Porch offered up his approval and appreciation of the generous helpings of food and dessert served on what else?  Blue Willow china!

        On March 26, 2015, AJC columnist Wendell Brock extolled the virtues and delicious taste which was served daily to the never-ending stream of customers who walked through the front door of the Blue Willow Inn to sample the offerings of fried chicken, fried green tomatoes, green beans and the mouth- watering peach cobbler.

        Several years ago I hosted some Atlanta friends for Sunday lunch at the famed, columned building with its deep roots in Social Circle’s soil. After the meal and several helpings of peach cobbler and numerous glasses of sweet tea with lemon, one friend pushed back from the table and remarked, “Oh, how I would have loved to have been around this area back in the heyday of this house and the family that owned it.  You know, if I were to close my eyes and take a deep breath, I could just about smell the magnolia blossoms and in my mind’s eye see Margaret Mitchell and Redd Upshaw cavorting around the grounds. Could life have been any sweeter?”  I had to agree in comparison to our world today it did seem mighty sweet.