The Manse
Carrollton Presbyterian Church celebrates historical preservation in Carroll County by refurbishing the original Thomasson Family home that stands next to the church on Maple Street.
The house was built in 1897 and named “Magnolia Terrace” by the original owner.
According to the book, Carroll County Heritage, the owner J.J. Thomasson returned to Carrollton and purchased the newspaper “The Carroll County Times.” He also had various leadership roles in establishing West Georgia University and Carroll County’s public schools.
Mr. Thomasson enjoyed regional celebrity during his lifetime. On his 90th birthday, the Atlanta Constitution wrote, “He rose at 5 o’clock after an Edisonian sleep of six hours, and he needed no alarm clock. He has instinctively come within five minutes of that mark for years. He fed and milked his cow, attended his chickens, donned his long-cuffed canvas gloves and tied up the lot, ate breakfast and reached the office by 8 am.
As the hour hand edges toward 5 in the afternoon, Editor Thomasson will arise and pronounce whimsically, “Well, if there is nothing else for me to do around here, I think I’ll go home. “ About an hour later, clad in overalls and gloves, his face ruddy from barnyard chores, he will appear to hand a quart of milk through the door to his son, Frank Thomasson, tireless publisher of the Times.”
The historic house has been in possession of the church since 1983 when they purchased it from the Thomasson family. For the past 20 years, the building has served as the church manse (“manse is a Scottish name for “the home where the minister lives.”), as well as for Sunday school classes, youth center, and now as our administrative offices.
Karen Hartley, a professional interior designer and Elder here at CPC orchestrated the handsome new look www.decdens.com/khartley. Bobby McMillian’s company R&R Enterprises http://www.rrenterprises.net/about-us.shtml were the contractors that brought Magnolia Terrace back to its full glory.