Owens-Thomas House

My wife loves to tour historic houses. We were able to tour the Owens-Thomas house during our Savannah visit. The House was designed by architect William Jay at the young age of 24. The stylish residence was built from 1816 to 1819 for cotton merchant Richard Richardson and his wife Francis Bolton, the sister-in-law of William Jay. Unfortunately the Richardsons soon lost heir house in the financial depression of 1820. During the next decade the House served as an elegant boarding house, and in 1825 the Revolutionary War hero, the Marquis de Layfayette, was a guest. According to Savannah's oral tradition, the celebrated Frenchman delivered his two Savannah addresses to thousands of adoring citizens from the ornate cast iron balcony on the south side of the house. In 1830, George Welchman Owens, congressman, lawyer and one-time mayor of Savannah, purchased the House from the Bank of the United States for $10,000. The property remained in the Owens family until 1951 when Owens' granddaughter Margaret Thomas bequeathed it to the Telfair Academy of Arts and Sciences, now the Telfair Museum of Art.

The interior is Jay's unique interpretation of the Regency style. Unusual features include a brass inlaid staircase, with a unique bridge spanning the central stairwell, a Greek-key patterned window of amber glass in the dining room, and the magical effect of the drawing room ceiling.

Jay combined imported materials and the latest London technology with indigenous construction techniques. The House is largely made of tabby, a concrete-like mixture of lime, oyster shells and sand. The exterior is English stucco and the front garden balustrade is coadestone, an artificial stone made in London. An elaborate plumbing system was installed in 1819 with rain-fed cisterns, flushing water closets, sinks, bathtubs and a shower.