Saving a historic farmstead

Southern Living, Jun 1997 by Hallam, Linda

"I don't think I would have ever finished the house if I hadn't married my wife, Molly," says Gregg Van Lue.

In this quiet corner of Georgia, summer lies heavy and rich over the land. Dewwet grass glows in the morning light; century-old oaks shimmer green and gold above. The gentle early sun stretches to touch unpainted buildings, weathered to soft shades of gray and brown.

Across the road from the stately old plantation house, cows graze before the heat of midday. In this morning calm, the lines between past and present, yesterday and today blur.

In 1880 Robert Manning rebuilt the Manning homeplace on land purchased by his uncle Solomon Manning in 1812. The Civil War took a heavy toll, the worst the loss of Solomon's two sons. As a sign of returning prosperity, Robert built this two-story house in Barrow County, northeast of Atlanta. He started the Manning Gin Company two decades later.

In 1943, the year Robert died, his nephews inherited the farm and cotton gin during another time of war.

Gregg Van Lue likes to remember that past as he walks this farm, now his property. A transplanted Midwesterner from Indiana, Gregg has saved an almost-lost piece of Southern history. The house and outbuildings had been vacant for years when he stumbled onto the property in 1982. "I was living in Stone Mountain then and I had no thoughts of moving," says Gregg. "The house and yard were so overgrown I couldn't even see the For Sale sign, but I did see the remains of a stone wall."

Intrigued by what appeared to be the ruins of a plantation, Gregg walked up the dirt drive to the deserted house. "I crawled in a window to get inside," he remembers. "It was rough to say the least. But I could tell there were heart-pine floors under the old carpet." Outside, Gregg looked through the 18 still-standing outbuildings. "All the buildings seemed to be related to the gin and planting cotton in some way," he says. "One had been a mule barn with a hayloft."

By the time Gregg attempted to buy the property, surviving Manning heirs had already sold it. "I told the real estate agent that if the new owners wanted to sell, to call me," he says. "The agent did nine months later. The house was more than they wanted to deal with."

Although much of the gently rolling farmland had been sold before Gregg bought Manning Gin Farm, 40 acres remained. The rural location proved helpful in finding the right restoration craftsman. "For the first year I was in the house, Hoyt Anderson was here every day. He was a local jack-of-alltrades; he was the secret. Every day he would say to me, `Gregg, I'm going to make it look good.' And he did; he knew how to make it authentic."

As Hoyt worked, the house came back to life. In the main house, plank and tongue-and-groove walls were restored, and the heart-pine floors refinished. The dilapidated bath addition was torn off and replaced by a modern bath.

Gregg found the missing stair banisters in a barn. He used old photographs supplied by Manning descendants as a guide in having the two-story front porch rebuilt. Shutters, more or less intact, were repaired and painted. Of the 18 outbuildings and cotton gin, he managed to save 16.

Living in the house basically meant camping out for two years. "The only heat I had for the first two winters was from the fireplaces and portable kerosene heaters," Gregg says. "When it was cold, I had to stay in the living room and kitchen and close off the rest of the house."

Before the project was finished, the story took another twist. "I met Molly through my work in the Northwest. and we decided to get married," Gregg explains. "She and her two sons moved from Oregon to live here with me."

Though Molly had seen only snapshots of the house, she had no qualms about it. "When I drove up for the first time in 1990, I loved the house, especially the setting," she says. "I had always lived in typical suburban neighborhoods in very contemporary houses. But this house, and the seclusion and the quiet, appealed to me. And I love a challenge."

The challenge included designing an open kitchen with a family sitting area and starting on the landscaping of the grounds around the house. In 1993, when Molly and Gregg (who work together) needed more office space, they converted the original cook's house into a small office. And with the help of Joe Peters of Classic City Gardens in Athens, they continue to restore the grounds.

Manning Gin Farm has been designated as a Georgia Centennial Farm, meaning that it is at least 100 years old and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

"I don't think I would have ever really finished the house if I hadn't married Molly," says Gregg. "She had the vision to see how we could finish it. It took life and shape after she moved in. She knew instinctively that the trim should be black instead of green. That made a tremendous difference, as did the landscaping."

Molly has her own spin on the project. "I love the quirks and idiosyncrasies of an old house, even when it's inconvenient," she adds. "This house has a character no new house can." o