House of the Week

Hills and Dales, LaGrange, Georgia

This beautiful house was built in 1916 by Fuller and Ida Callaway. It was Mr. Callaway's 25th wedding anniversary present to his wife. Hal Hentz and Neel Reid of Atlanta were hired to design the house. Both architects were young men at the time, Hentz 31 and Reid 29. Amazingly, the house was built in 15 months. With the amount of detail and the size of the house, they must have had hundreds of workers at the house to build it in that time frame. The house is an Italian-Georgian villa, and is a feast for the eyes.

Hills and Dales was privately owned by the Callaway family until 1998. Two sets of Callaways raised their children in the house. First Fuller and Ida raised their two boys, Cason and Fuller Jr. And then Fuller Jr and his wife Alice raised their two children Fuller and Ida. Both Ida and Alice were avid gardeners and spent their lives tending to the fantastic gardens attached to the property. The gardens predate the house and were planned beginning in 1841 by Sarah Ferrell. I will have photos of the gardens and more about them later in the week. Fuller Jr died in 1992 and his wife Alice lived there until her death in 1998. The house and property were bequeathed to the Fuller E. Callaway foundation with the specification that they be used for the education and enjoyment of the public. The house and property underwent extensive restoration and have been open to the public since 2004.

My mother and I visited Hills and Dales this past weekend while also staying at the Lodge at Callaway Gardens. Learning about the Callaway family was fascinating. They have given back so much to their community and their love of beauty and nature is infectious. I highly recommend a trip to LaGrange to see Hills and Dales along with a visit to Callaway Gardens. You will find yourself refreshed and the beauty around you will renew your soul.

Stay tuned this week - we'll have photos of and information about the gorgeous gardens at Hills and Dales. This is a Georgia treasure you will want to visit!