The Taylor-Grady House

General Robert Taylor (1787-1859), a planter and cotton merchant, built this Greek Revival home as a summer residence in 1839. Shortly thereafter he moved his family here permanently from Savannah in order for his sons to attend the University of Georgia. Henry Woodfin Grady (1850-1889) lived in this house from 1865 to 1868 while a student at the University. His father, William S. Grady, bought the house in 1863 and it remained in the family's possession until 1872. Henry Grady often referred to this house as "an old Southern home with its lofty pillars, and its white pigeons fluttering down through the golden air." The13 Doric columns are said to represent the 13 original states. As managing editor of the Atlanta Constitution, Henry W. Grady became the spokesman of the New South. An impressive orator, he stressed the importance of reconciliation between North and South after the Civil War. The South today, with an economy balanced between industry and diversified agriculture, has made a reality of Grady's dream for his native region.