West Cloverhurst/Springdale Historic District
405 W. Cloverhurst Avenue, unusual Tudor Revival style house built c.1936 by Dr. J. Weyman Davis, Athens physician and surgeon.
with Buck and Diane Adams
Saturday, November 13 at 10 am
The West Cloverhurst/Springdale Historic District occupies land that belonged to an experimental farm developed by New Jersey native John Meeker in the late 19th century. In 1885 Henry Hull Carlton bought Meeker’s property and built a large Second Empire style dwelling, the axial driveway of which would later become West Cloverhurst Avenue. Carlton was a doctor, lawyer, Congressman, and the owner of the Athens Banner newspaper. After his death in 1901, the land was sold to Judge Hamilton McWhorter, who lived in the Cloverhurst mansion but also began to sell off parcels for development. Land on the north side of Springdale was not part of the Cloverhurst estate, belonging instead to Robert Bloomfield, industrialist and founder of Athens Manufacturing Company. House styles in this historic district include vernacular c. 1900 cottages on Springdale and Arts and Crafts influenced designs on Cloverhurst including Colonial Revival, Tudor Revival, and bungalow. Just around the corner from Springdale Street is a row of six shotgun houses dating from 1926. The shotgun house is a form peculiar to the Deep South, and the houses were originally rental units that accommodated African-American service workers, some of whom may have been servants of the nearby neighborhoods. This tour will last approximately 1½ to 2 hours.
Your tour guides:
Diane Albert Adams has been a Realtor in the Athens area for 28 years. Having received a degree in history from UGA, she has always had a strong interest in local history and historic preservation. A native of Athens, her family came to the area from Virginia in the 1700s. For ten years, she served the Athens-Clarke Heritage Foundation as trustee and held two terms as president. Adams served as co-chair of the Athens-Clarke County Bicentennial celebration in 2001. With over 35 years of community service, she has been involved in many organizations.
Cuyler (Buck) Adams owns Adams Allied Moving and Storage, one of Athens’ oldest businesses, established by his grandfather in 1903. A native of Athens, his family came to the area before the 1776 Revolution. He grew up in Cobbham, where his family resided for 50 years, and attended Athens schools and the University of Georgia. From 1962–1964, Buck served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Brazil; then returned to Brazil in 1966 to serve as a Peace Corp administrator for five years. He has been an active board member of Athens Community Council on Aging for many years. The Adams reside in the Cloverhurst-Springdale Historic District.