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Etowah Valley Historical Society |
| Sponsors: Target Phoenix Air Enforcer Products Corwin, Tilley & Deems, P.C. Henderson-Bowen Companies A special thank you to artist Sally Rogers, who generously donated the line drawings of the homes and to artist Jodeen Brown for the courthouse sketch. |
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Monfort Lowry Home 703 West Avenue Circa 1901 |
The home was built c.1901 by Mr. and Mrs. John Ab Monfort. The architectural style is early 20th century Neo-Classic Modified Georgian with some Italianate influences. Dr. and Mrs. Harold Jackson Lowry, Jr. purchased he home in 1970 and began restoration. Today the home is graced with lovely American and Southern pre-Civil War family heirlooms. Constructed of glazed brick, the home is trimmed with Modillion cornices under the eaves. The spacious front portico features round columns with engaged columns attached to the wall surface. A balcony over the portico is enhanced with an impressive balustrade surround. The house took several years to complete and was wired for electricity even though Cartersville had no electrical power at the time. It was heated in winter by fireplaces in every room and cooled by summer breezes from the verandah, large windows and hall doors. After seeing the Monfort house, Dr. Robert Speir borrowed the plans to build his home across the street at 630 West Avenue, also on the tour. Although the exterior is very different, the interior floor plan is basically the same as the Speir-Sager Home. In the rear of the house, to the left, there was once a clay tennis court. Beyond that was a carriage house on which site is the present playhouse, belonging to the Lowry daughters. An original pit greenhouse, which maintains a constant temperature is still in use, as well as a tiered fish pond and rock garden located behind the greenhouse. Family events celebrated in the home have included the Monfort weddings of daughter Mary Guill (1923) and son Griffin (1940), and the Monfort's fiftieth wedding anniversary (1941), as well as the wedding reception of the Lowry's daughter Dawn (1995). Dr. and Mrs. Harold Jackson Lowry, Jr. (nee Brenda Bryant) and daughters Dawn, Beth, Kristen Gay, and April have lovingly restored the home, and Monforts and Lowrys have been sole owners since the house was built. Dr. and Mrs. Lowry built the garden and tool house and rear patio with brick salvaged from Cartersville's old depot. | |
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Neel-Choate Home 722 West Avenue Circa 1905 |  |
The architectural style of this lovely home is derived from the Arts and Crafts Movement with elements of the Prarie School. It was built in 1905 by contractors Robert and Eugene Smith, who also built the First Baptist Church of Cartersville, the 1903 Courthouse, and Sam Jones United Methodist Church, all of which are National Registry properties. Dr. Zim and Martha Choate, both descendants of pioneer Bartow County families, purchased the home in 1970. The front entrance is enhanced by a leaded glass transom created by Dr. Choate. Stained glass in other areas is original to the house. As you enter the foyer, notice the unusual staircase and woodwork, which are of Arts and Crafts design. Large pocket doors separate the parlor from the foyer and dining room. The mantel in the parlor is quarter-sawn oak of the Empire style. All chimneys in the house are internal. The home is graced with lovely antique pieces, many of which are family heirlooms. Two unique features to be enjoyed are Mrs. Choate's grandmother's wedding dress displayed just inside the dining room. Framed and hanging in the back foyer is Mrs. Choate's christening gown, which has been worn by all their children and grandchildren. Dr. and Mrs. Choate have modernized the original kitchen and added a large den in the back, using lumber from Mrs. Choate's grandfather's farm in Stilesboro for the interior walls. | |
| Continue the EVHS 1995 Tour of Historic Homes. | |
| Visit the Backus-Dellinger and the Jackson-Shaw Homes | |
| Visit the Hall-Archer and the Speir-Sager Homes | |
| Return to Tour of Historic Homes | |
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