One of North Augusta's oldest homes is also one of its grandest.
Rosemary Hall, located at 804 Carolina Ave., was the home of city founder James U. Jackson.
Built in 1902, it features a large front veranda with 12 decorative columns.
Inside, a ladies parlor is situated on the left and a gentlemen's parlor on the right. Between them is a sweeping staircase leading to the second floor.
Seven bedrooms ring the second floor. An eighth bedroom is located adjacent to the ladies' parlor on the first floor.
"The staircase always reminded me of Gone with the Wind ," said local historian Jeanne McDaniel, who wrote North Augusta: James U. Jackson's Dream .
When city planner Charles Boeckh originally designed North Augusta, Rosemary and Lookaway halls were to share the plot of land Lookaway now occupies on West Forest Avenue.
One house would face Georgia Avenue and the other would face Carolina Avenue, McDaniel said.
"I don't know what changed that," she said.
The story goes that James and his brother, Walter, cut a deck of cards to decide who would get the lot Lookaway Hall now sits on.
James lost and chose to build his home across Carolina Avenue, facing his brother's home.
His house was the more ornate of the two, with the Corinthian columns and rich pine paneling inside, McDaniel said.
"He supposedly oversaw all of the construction himself, in regard to the materials," McDaniel said.
Both homes were modeled after Barrington Hall in Roswell, Ga., which belonged to James' wife, Edith's, family.
James named the house after rosemary plants in the garden, McDaniel said.
The Jackson family occupied Rosemary Hall for 80 years. James' daughter, Edith Alexander, lived there until her death in 1982.
Rosemary Hall was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.
McDaniel said the house had been renovated after Alexander's death, but McDaniel doesn't know to what extent.
"They (Rosemary and Lookaway) had fallen, not into disrepair, but had not been totally maintained," McDaniel said.
Rosemary and Lookaway halls were purchased together by Consul Court in 1992 and operated as bed and breakfasts.
"That was the first time they were sold as a pair," McDaniel said.
Rosemary and Lookaway halls continued to operate as bed and breakfasts under the ownership of Sandra Croy from 2001 until she died in 2006.
In 2007, Rhonda and Larry Conner purchased the properties and operated them as bed and breakfasts until September, when they went into pre-foreclosure.
The homes are currently owned by Georgia Bank & Trust Co and had a bid filed last week, according to bank representatives.
Reach Lisa Kaylor at lisa.kaylor@northaugustatoday.com.
