Orange Hall (St. Marys, Georgia)

Orange Hall St. Marys, Georgia
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
Orange Hall
Location:	311 Osborne St., St. Marys, Georgia, United States, within the St. Marys Historic District
Coordinates:	30°43′24″N 81°32′53″W / 30.723401°N 81.548059°W / 30.723401; -81.548059Coordinates: 30°43′24″N 81°32′53″W / 30.723401°N 81.548059°W / 30.723401; -81.548059
Built:	1838
Architectural style:	Greek Revival
Governing body:	Local
NRHP Reference#:	73000613[1]
Added to NRHP:	May 7, 1973

Orange Hall c. 1830, is located at 311 Osborne St., St. Marys, Georgia, United States, located within the St. Marys Historic District in Camden County and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 7, 1973.^[1] In 2011, Orange Hall was added to the list of the state of Georgia's ten most endangered historic sites by the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation.^[2]

Historical significance

A good example of the temple-form Greek Revival dwelling. It has been said that Greek Revival was the first truly American architectural design.^[3] There is no more of a shining example of this style, so favored in the Antebellum South, than Orange Hall. The name originated from the sour oranges that surrounded the property. She reigns in a grandeur as you make your entrance into the historic district of St. Marys. Worthy of magazine covers and movie sets, Orange Hall holds a special place in the hearts of all St. Mary' citizens and is a beacon to history buffs who appreciate the grand beauty of this era. It is a frame building with clapboarding for siding. Other details include: two stories, gabled roof, interior chimneys, front center entrance with side lights and transom surmounted by low pedimented lintel, front tetrastyle prostyle Doric pedimented portico supported by projecting basement, rear center recessed 2-story porch.

Historic American Buildings Survey

The Library of Congress, Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record has the following data recorded regarding Orange Hall.^[4] Owner in 1934: S.C. Townsend, Date of Erection: 1810-1815, Architect: No record, Builder: No record, Built for the Rev. Horace Southworth Pratt, a Presbyterian minister.

Architectural Notes

This building of the Early Republican period is a Doric prostyle temple. The pediment is flattened and the columns are widely spaced. At the rear end is a superimposed inset protico, one porch above the other.

The brink basement storey is stuccoed and has stucco quoins of inch projection. In the basement used to be the old kitchen, now marked by its whitewashed walls, a herringbone brick floor pattern and a dutch oven. The old Dining Room was under the front portico.

Orange Hall

Orange Hall c.1838  Historic district sign near Orange Hall  Front view from 1934  Side view from 1934  Bedroom  Interior stairwell  Rear view from 1934

See also

• St. Marys, Georgia
• St. Marys Historic District
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Camden County, Georgia
• Cumberland Island

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2009-03-13. http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov/natreg/docs/All_Data.html. 
2. ^ The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Oct. 26. 2011
3. ^ St. Marys Convention & Visitors Bureau
4. ^ http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/hh:@field(NUMBER+@band(GA0296))