The Shackelford House, in Albany, Georgia, was designed by the self-taught architect, Edward Vason Jones...and when I was very young, we lived in a less grand house near this one. I would always notice it when my mother drove by- in her cream colored Bel Air. Albany was a very charming place to live~ huge azaleas, and camellias, and always the pecan pies from the groves my grandmother owned. We always referred to this house as "The Pink Elephant". (see my post on same under Boca Grande).
One night, when I was visiting my maternal grandparents, we were awakened and told to leave the house tout suite...it was on fire! We sat in a big circle on chairs and watched it burn to the ground. After that, all I knew was that my grandmother had built a "house of the week" ~ found in the local newspaper, to replace the old frame farmhouse.
Recently, as luck would have it, I re-connected with an old Atlanta friend, who grew up in Albany, Carol Martin, via Facebook. She also lived near the Shackelford Home, although we didn't know each other then. But my mother knew her father, who was a dentist in town.
Albany is in a part of Georgia known as "the plantation belt" - and has many historic neighbors, including Thomasville, Georgia. The Flint River winds through the town, (Albany) founded in the early 1800's. Previously, I had posted about the Pebble Hill plantation, another fabulous old estate. Click here for more on Pebble Hill. The Whitney family of New York also had quail plantations in the area. My uncles used to hunt quail too. These are some of my fond memories of life in the south. Enjoy! DF *****
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