Main House

Thomas Jefferson Johnson, author of the bill creating Thomas County and founder of Thomasville, built the first house on Pebble Hill about 1827. Julia Ann, his daughter, married a local planter named John W. H. Mitchell and inherited the plantation after her parents died. The Mitchells expanded the cotton planting operations, and in 1950, replaced the original structure with a house designed by gifted young English architect, John Wind. Following the Civil War, Mitchell died and the strong-willed Julia Ann maintained the plantation. After her death, Pebble Hill was sold in 1896 to Howard Melville Hanna, an industrialist of Cleveland, Ohio, who was attracted by the winter climate and quail shooting. In 1901, Hanna gave the property to his daughter, Kate. She married Robert Livingston Ireland and turned Pebble Hill into a showplace. She worked with architect, Abram Garfield, son of President James A. Garfield, to create the showplace that is Pebble Hill today. An accidental fire in the winter of 1934 consumed all but the 1914 east wing addition to the Main House. Most of the furnishings were saved, and Garfield immediately designed plans for a new Pebble Hill, to include the surviving wing. Kate saw the new Main House completed in January of 1936 and she died some 5 months later. Following Kate’s death, the Pebble Hill property was inherited by her daughter, Elisabeth (Pansy) Ireland. Like her mother, Pansy was generous and hospitable. She preserved the plantation, and it became famous as a haven for guests and friends. House guests included many distinguished artists such as Ogden Pleissner and Richard Bishop; Gina Bachauer, international concert pianist; presidents Dwight Eisenhower and Jimmy Carter; ambassadors, and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor; 1930s writer, actress and dramatist, Cornelia Otis Skinner. The treasures of the Main House are the result of two generations of collecting. Kate and Pansy amassed collections of 19th century furniture, porcelain, silver, crystal, and glassware. Highlights in the collection include a plethora of sporting art and 33 Audubon lithographs. The overall impression one receives from this remarkable plantation is more felt than defined. Integrity, warmth, tradition, and beauty are here in equal measure to be savored by all. The Main House tour narrative is available in English, German, French, Japanese, and Spanish.