Lapham–Patterson House

United States historic place

Significant dates

Lapham–Patterson House
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark


30°50′44″N 83°58′59″W / 30.84562°N 83.98296°W / 30.84562; -83.98296
Built	1885
Architect	Rommerdal, Tudor
Architectural style	Queen Ann Whimsey
NRHP reference No.	70000868^[1]
Added to NRHP	August 12, 1970
Designated NHL	November 7, 1973^[2]

The Lapham–Patterson House is a historic site at 626 North Dawson Street in Thomasville, Georgia. The house, built between 1884-85 as a winter cottage for businessman C.W. Lapham of Chicago, is a significant example of Victorian architecture. It has a number of architectural details, such as fishscale shingles, an intricately designed porch, long-leaf pine inlaid floors, and a double-flue chimney. Inside, the house was well-appointed with a gas lighting system, hot and cold running water, indoor plumbing, and modern closets. Its most significant feature is its completely intentional lack of symmetry. None of the windows, doors, or closets are square. The house is a Georgia Historic Site^[3] and is also a National Historic Landmark, designated in 1973 for its architecture.^[4] It is also a contributing building in the National Register-listed Dawson Street Residential Historic District.

The three-story structure has a mellow-yellow exterior with brick-red roof and chimneys. At the core of the house is a hexagonal-shaped room. There are at least 50 exits; Mr. Lapham had been in the Great Chicago Fire and subsequently became paranoid about being trapped in a burning building.

The house was deliberately constructed slightly askew to take advantage of sunlight entering the third floor during the Spring and Fall Equinoxes. Within is a gentlemen's parlor with a small stage featuring a stained-glass window in the center. In the fretwork outside the room over the balcony are animal and amorphous shapes cut into the wood. In the center is a cutout of what is presumably the head of Mrs. O'Leary's cow.

During the Spring and Fall Equinoxes the patterns are projected by sunlight onto the floor through the glass. The total effect is that, in the center of the stained glass window's colorful pattern on the floor, the shadow of the cow's head can be seen.

Mr. Lapham was a Quaker.

Images

The dining room
Formal parlor
Detail of windows
Guest bedroom
Sitting rooms
Gentlemen's parlor

References

^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 15, 2006.
^ "Lapham–Patterson House". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on October 4, 2012. Retrieved June 21, 2008.
^ Georgia State Parks
^ "Georgia State Parks – Lapham–Patterson House Historic Site". Retrieved March 2, 2007.

External links

Media related to Lapham-Patterson House at Wikimedia Commons
Lapham–Patterson House Historic Site

Protected areas of Georgia

Federal

National Historical Parks, historic sites and military parks	Andersonville NHS Jimmy Carter NHP Martin Luther King Jr. NHP Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park Ocmulgee Mounds NHP
National monuments	Fort Frederica Fort Pulaski
National forests	Chattahoochee–Oconee
National wildlife refuges	Banks Lake Blackbeard Island Bond Swamp Eufaula Harris Neck Okefenokee Piedmont Savannah Wassaw Wolf Island
National Natural Landmarks	Heggie's Rock Marshall Forest Okefenokee Swamp Panola Mountain Wassaw Island
Wilderness areas	Big Frog Wilderness Blood Mountain Wilderness Brasstown Wilderness Cohutta Wilderness Cumberland Island National Seashore Ellicott Rock Wilderness Mark Trail Wilderness Okefenokee Wilderness Raven Cliffs Wilderness Rich Mountain Wilderness Southern Nantahala Wilderness Tray Mountain Wilderness
Wild and scenic rivers	Chattooga River
National trails	Appalachian Trail Pinhoti National Recreation Trail
Other protected areas	Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area Cumberland Island National Seashore Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary Sapelo Island National Estuarine Research Reserve

State

Parks	Amicalola Falls Black Rock Mountain Chattahoochee Bend Cloudland Canyon Crooked River Don Carter Elijah Clark F.D. Roosevelt Florence Marina Fort Mountain Fort Yargo General Coffee George L. Smith George T. Bagby Georgia Veterans Hamburg Hard Labor Creek High Falls Indian Springs Jack Hill James H. "Sloppy" Floyd Laura S. Walker Little Ocmulgee Magnolia Springs Mistletoe Moccasin Creek Panola Mountain Providence Canyon Red Top Mountain Reed Bingham Richard B. Russell Sapelo Island Seminole Skidaway Island Smithgall Woods Sprewell Bluff Standing Boy Creek Stephen C. Foster Sweetwater Creek Tallulah Gorge Tugaloo Unicoi Victoria Bryant Vogel Watson Mill Bridge
Historic parks and sites	A. H. Stephens Chief Vann House Dahlonega Gold Museum Etowah Indian Mounds Fort McAllister Fort King George Fort Morris Hofwyl-Broadfield Plantation Jarrell Plantation Jefferson Davis Memorial Kolomoki Mounds Lapham–Patterson House Little White House New Echota Pickett's Mill Battlefield Robert Toombs House Travelers Rest Wormsloe
Forests	Bartram Broxton Rocks Dawson Dixon Memorial Hightower Paulding Spirit Creek
Other	Centennial Olympic Park Charlie Elliott Wildlife Center Jekyll Island Len Foote Hike Inn Radium Springs Sapelo Island Stone Mountain Park

County,
municipal
and other

Parks	Bobby Brown Park Chehaw Park Cobb County Parks Hartwell Lakeside John Tanner McIntosh Reserve Murphey Candler Park Okefenokee Swamp Park Robert G. Hunter Memorial Park Roswell Recreation and Parks Seaborn Jones Memorial Park Shaking Rock Park
Forests and nature preserves	Autrey Mill Nature Preserve & Heritage Center Fernbank Forest Marshall Forest Morningside Nature Preserve Phinizy Swamp Nature Park Reynolds Nature Preserve
Nature and environmental education centers	Birdsong Nature Center Charlie Elliott Wildlife Center Chattahoochee Nature Center Cochran Mill Nature Center Dauset Trails Nature Center Dunwoody Nature Center Elachee Nature Science Center Georgia Nature Center Grand Bay Wetland Education Center Melvin L. Newman Wetlands Center Oatland Island Wildlife Center Oxbow Meadows Environmental Learning Center Panola Mountain State Park Nature Center Sandy Creek Nature Center Savannah-Ogeechee Canal Museum & Nature Center Tidelands Nature Center Tybee Island Marine Science Center West Atlanta Watershed Alliance Outdoor Activity Center

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