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Community Corner

Winn House Available for Tours

The Elisha Winn House ready to accept tours from now until September.

In 1812, six years before Gwinnett County even existed; the Elisha Winn Family had high hopes for their 7,300-acre tract of land on the Appalachee River. It was nestled in what was then Jackson County, but after Georgia legislature brought former Native American lands into the state, the property became part of Gwinnett County.

The Gwinnett County Historical Society oversees the Winn House, which can be toured during the warmer months of the year, beginning the first weekend in March.

Frances Johnson, Lawrenceville, has been volunteering at the society since 1980, and has toured the house.

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“In 1818, when the county was formed, the house was already there,” she said. “So you could say that that was the beginning of Gwinnett County.”

The Winn House consists of the house itself, its out buildings and the 19.2-acres of property on which they sit. The Gwinnett Historical Society bought the home in 1978 and then sold it to the county. Gwinnett then, in 1979, made a 25-year lease of the property to the Historical Society for restoration purposes. The lease was renewed in 2004 for an additional 25 years. When first purchased, the society estimated a 2.5-year rehabilitation at a cost of $60,000. For its age, the house is unique because it contains the original fireplace, mantels, doors and stairs.

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“It’s just historical,” Johnson said. “Part of the history of the community.”

Being part of the new county, the Winn’s house became immediately significant. It was in the house that much of the planning was done for the establishment of Gwinnett County and much of the area’s first functions were carried out.

The first county elections were held in the parlor along with Inferior Court. Early court hearings were held in the barn, which no longer stands on the property. Within a little over a year, the county had a sheriff, Clerk of Superior Court, Clerk of Inferior Court, tax collector, tax receiver, coroner and surveyor.

Winn himself was commissioned as judge of Inferior Court a year later in 1820, and held the position until 1825. He then went on to become a state senator from Gwinnett County and then a state representative in 1803, 1833 and 1837.

The style of the Winn House is called Plantation Plain, which is a style that was common in the Piedmont South until the 1870s. Plantation Plain homes consisted of two-over-two room design with a gable roof and a chimney at each end of the home. With the Winn House, the rooms on each floor are divided by a wide, central hall with a half-turn stairway and two landings.

Originally, the house had only four rooms, which are available to be toured.

“(On tours) they see the house and the grounds, and everything they are interested in seeing,” Johnson said.

The seat of government was relocated in 1820 to Lawrenceville, and the Winns followed suit in 1824 and also relocated there.

“None (of the Winns) live right in Dacula,” Johnson said. “There are some in the Gwinnett area though.”

The house was entered on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. A Georgia Historic Marker was dedicated in 1987 by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. At the time, it was only the seventh site marker in the state.

The public may tour the Winn House from March through September on the second Saturday of each month from 9 a.m. until noon. In addition, there is a Elisha Winn Fair the first weekend of October complete with volunteers. The House is located at 908 Dacula Road, Dacula.

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