St. Elmo

St. Elmo is a Georgia historical marker in Muscogee County, dedicated 1953.

Located on 18th Avenue 0.1 miles south of St. Elmo Drive in Columbus.

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"St. Elmo," one of the most exquisite examples of the classic houses of America, stands in view of this point. It was built on the old Stagecoach Road, by Colonel Seaborn Jones, for his wife, Mary Howard Jones. Completed in 1833, it was originally called "Eldorado." Here, Augusta Jane Evans visited her Aunt and found inspiration for her celebrated novel, "St. Elmo." As a member of Governor Troup's staff, Seaborn Jones came to the site of Columbus with LaFayette in 1825. Lawyer, planter, solicitor-general of the Ocmulgee Circuit, (1817-1818), he was a member of Congress in 1835-45-47. President James K. Polk, President Millard Fillmore, Henry Clay, and General Winfield Scott were distinguished visitors entertained in this house by Colonel Jones. In 1878, the place became the home of Captain and Mrs. James J. Slade, and the name changed to St. Elmo. Captain Slade once conducted a girls' school here.

TodayHistorical map

Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Historical maps covering this location

1816 · Georgia. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1816 · Georgia (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1816 · The Southern States and Mississippi Territory (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1824 · Georgia. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1831 · Georgia. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)

Georgia, 1816, covering the location of St. Elmo, with a pin at the marker's coordinates — Georgia, 1816, covering this location. David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries. The pin is ours, placed from the marker's coordinates.

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This historical marker is part of the Georgia Historical Marker Program and was erected by the Georgia Historical Commission. Marker texts and locations come from the Society's own marker database.

More markers nearby

"Wildwood"under 1 mi
He Helped Bring And Keep Fort Benning1 mi
Confederate Dead (Muscogee County)1 mi
Textile and Banking Pioneer1 mi

On the National Register nearby

St. Elmo20 ft

Places within about 300 feet of this marker that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A nearby listing is not always the marker's own subject.