Better known today as the Wisenbaker-Wells-Roberts House, or more commonly the Roberts House, this grand Victorian was nearly lost to fire in 2011. But thanks to an expert restoration led by the Valdosta Heritage Foundation, it rose from the ashes.
In 1840, twenty years before Valdosta’s establishment, William E. Wisenbaker settled in Lowndes County and built this house. It was a country home then, but when a railroad first came to the area in the late 1850s and bypassed the nearby county seat of Troupville, a decision was made to move the county seat to be near the rail line. In 1859, Wisenbaker sold 125 acres to the Lowndes County Commission that would become the city of Valdosta in 1860.
In 1863, Wisenbaker sold the house to J. W. Wells, an early Valdosta mayor. In 1891, John Taylor Roberts, purchased the home. He was a long-serving mayor of the city, as well. His family lived here for over a century and in the 1990s, his descendants donated the property to the Heritage Foundation.
Fairview Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
