Located in the Buckeye community of Johnson County is one of the oldest houses in South Georgia. John B. Wright was a wealthy landowner, who had the fifth largest number of slaves in the state, and also a legislator. He’s best remembered as the namesake of Wrightsville, as he gave $1000 toward the founding of a new town which would become the seat of Johnson County, established in 1866. The house is vernacular in style, and the somewhat unusual second floor with its shuttered windows was used for storage. The house has apparently never been painted, either. In his seminal Architecture of Middle Georgia: The Oconee Area, John Linley noted in 1972: “Evidently, Mr. Wright never forsook his modest way of living: the house is still simple and sturdy, and far from pretentious.” Linley also noted that slave cabins were still scattered on the property in 1972, but as I do not have access to the property, I’m unsure if any of these remain. Overall, the structure is still somewhat sound, but a preservation effort should be led by Johnson County, as well as the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation, to ensure the survival of one of this region’s most important remaining antebellum structures.
Wright is also known (or should be) for introducing legislation which allowed women the right to inherit land as individuals as opposed to relinquishing their land to husbands, as was the practice of the day. This was due to the fact that Mr. Wright had three daughters and no sons and wanted his vast landholdings to remain within his family.
The John D. Phillips family occupied the house from 1912 onward. Though no longer occupied, I believe their descendants still maintain it.
Thanks to Jack Paulk for bringing this house to my attention.
