205 N. Lafayette Ave.
Style: Greek Revival
Year Built:1840's through 1850
Original owner: Colonel Alexander Sidney Reid
Current owners: Dan and Marsha Sichveland

Occupying a hilltop setting and surrounded by three acres of sumptuous gardens, flowering trees and giant oaks, this Greek Revival mansion is striking from every angle. The four 25' hand carved Corinthian columns fronting the drive are exquisitely echoed by the two smaller matching columns flanking the front entry. The concept for this elegant house and the driving force behind its construction during the 1840's and into the 1850's was Alexander Sidney Reid, a wealthy Putnam County landowner and a Colonel in the Confederate Army.

Col. Reid spent 10 years carefully accumulating the finest building materials for use in construction of the three-story mansion. Ceilings within the two main floors are 12' and 14' in height. The heart pine used throughout the home was cut from his three plantations in Putnam County. Before construction began, he patiently permitted the foundation of the house to settle for a full year. With a keen eye for architectural detail, Col. Reid made excellent use of the fine Italian artisans circulating through Georgia prior to the Civil War. These extraordinary craftsmen made a good living applying their skills to grand plantation homes and the manors of mercantile kings. In this house, their detailed work is evident in the marvelously preserved medallions,wood graining, marbleizing and museum quality plaster work in each room.

The second owner of the house was Thad Green, who acquired it in 1895. George Lawrence bought the house in 1957. Dan and Marsha Sichveland purchased the mansion in 1996. As was the case with previous owners, they have been very sensitive to preserving the architectural effect and extraordinary interior finishing of the house.

In the large entrance hall, five cabinets house an extensive collection of American Brilliant Cut Glass belonging to Marsha's father. This type of glass was hand cut for a very brief time -- from about 1880 to 1910 -- and is considered the finest quality produced during that period. The house is handsomely decorated with antiques, family pictures, oil paintings (both original and new) and Oriental rugs authentic to the period.