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John Wellborn Root Birthplace Site

Stewart County · dedicated 1956 · On Maple Street just south of Broad Street (Georgia Route 27), on the right when traveling south in Lumpkin.

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John Wellborn Root (1850-1891), world famous architect, was born on this site. The son of Mary Clark and Sidney Root, he was educated in Lumpkin, Atlanta, New York, and Claremont and Oxford in England. A pioneer in some phases of architecture, he designed plans for the Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893 and for the Fine Arts Building that became Chicago's permanent Museum of Fine Arts. He devised the system of grillage foundations, now standard practice in architecture, and his work was "modern, honest and structurally true". He was a gifted musician, artist and amateur actor.

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This marker is part of the Georgia Historical Marker Program, administered by the Georgia Historical Society. Marker texts and locations come from the Society's own marker database.

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