After a church originally built on this coveted Trust Lot burned to the ground, the lot was sold to Benjamin J. Wilson, a veteran of the Civil War. The Greek Revival home built for Wilson by master builder George H. Ash in 1868 for over $20,000 included what was considered the best materials of the time. Wilson, his wife and six children, two girls and four boys, lived in the home. In 1877, The Wilson family, after the death of Mrs. Wilson, moved out of Georgia and the home was sold to Samuel Meinhard. Meinhard made his fortune in dry goods and the slave trade before the Civil War. The home stayed in the Meinhard family after Samuel’s death until the early 1930’s when it was purchased by the St. Joseph’s School of Nursing.
In 1936, the home was again sold, this time to Harry M. Kandel, a physician, and his wife Estelle. The first floor became his office and other occupants of the offices were Herman Delancy, physician, Audrey C. Delancy and Chas D. Weldon. It was during their ownership that preservationists believe the cast iron work was added to the home. 1959 - 1961 found the home's owner and occupant to be Thomas Miller.
The early 1960’s saw it as a rooming house with each room as a separate apartment. It was owned by Mrs. Malcolm J. Logan and then upon her death, Marguerite K. Logan was executor and sold it to Bernard Kerr Logan in 1983. During this span of time their were many occupants in the rooming house. One of the renters (1985) was Ralph E. Walden. He and his future wife would later become the owner of the historic home. In 1987 the home was sold to Reuben and Mary Ellen Clark, but they never inhabited the property.
In 1992, Omi G. Walden and her husband Ralph purchased the home. They lived in the carriage house part-time while they and Omi's nephew worked on the restoration of the main home. They stripped all layers of paint off the extensive woodwork in the home and stripped wallpaper and paint from the walls. All kitchen and bathrooms were removed to make it the shell it is today. Her dream was to eventually open it to the public as a Jimmy Carter museum. Ms. Walden, originally from Alma, Georgia, worked in the Jimmy Carter administration as the Assistant Secretary of Energy. The Waldens also owned farming property in Alma and a condominium in Atlanta, Georgia. See https://www.nytimes.com/1979/08/14/archives/solar-advocate-plays-new-role-in-energy-agency-picking-up-a-few.html for sources on Ms. Walden.
We purchased the home in the summer of 2018 with the plan of restoring it to its former glory. Upon completion, it will become our primary residence. The state of the structure is sound but it is lacking kitchen and bathroom facilities, needs a complete update of electrical, plumbing, heating and air conditioning systems and requires repairs to the plaster, floors, and windows. The side porches will be completely redone. The back of the house will have a new addition of a single car garage on the first floor, a small morning room on the second floor and a bathroom and closet on the third floor. The cast iron rails and decor will be removed and taken back to the original look of wood pillars, banisters and pickets while the grounds will also be updated.
The 432 Abercorn Street residence received its Historic Designation in 1973.
Information was derived from historic residency records.
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