Category: House Biographies

Honeymoon House (c. 1907)

(Jill & Duncan Dunlop)

The Awtreys, one of Acworth’s earliest families, were well known for social gatherings and merrymaking. [1]  

This large Craftsman bungalow was built on the corner of Dallas Street and Seminole Drive by Lemon Awtrey in 1907 for his bride, Varah Hill. The home contains 13 rooms and 5 bathrooms and features stained glass, decorative shingles and a door with a transom and sidelights.  Lemon was a president of the S. Lemon Banking Company, Mayor of Acworth in 1918-19 and served as a long-time Alderman. [2]

In the late 1930s under the financial pressures of the Great Depression, the Awtrey family was forced to develop their pastureland, and Seminole Drive became Acworth’s first in-town subdivision.  Prior to the sale of the land, by lottery, the Awtreys had a grand barbecue on the property. This barbecue tradition continued during the wartime years when families would spontaneously gather on an empty Seminole lot for impromptu picnics and cookouts. [3]

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  1. Acworth Society for Historic Preservation, Inc.  Acworth.  Charleston SC, Chicago, Portsmouth NH, San Franscisco: Arcadia, 2003.
  2. Ibid.
  3. Ibid.

Sprayberry House (c. 1937)

(Mindy & Raoul Newman)

Built in 1937, this Neo-colonial 2 story house has a front portico that has Doric columns and a pediment. The windows are 6/6 double-hung sash. [1]  The house was built by Mr. W. Paul Sprayberry who was elected Superintendent of Cobb County Schools in 1943, and served for 17 years.

Sprayberry was previously principal of Powder Springs and Acworth Schools. [2] Sprayberry High School is named after him, opening its doors in the fall of 1952 then moving to its present location in 1973. It was the only public high school in East Cobb for over a decade, when the area began its transformation from rural to suburban. [3]

While Serving as Superintendent, he was also the chairman of the building committee for Acworth Methodist Church, which oversaw the construction of the new Church on “The Hill of the Lord”. [4]

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SOURCES

  1. City of Acworth Property Records
  2. Charlotte McClure et al, “Acworth, Georgia: from Cherokee County to Suburbia. Acworth. Carrie Dyer Woman’s Club, 1976.
  3. Wendy Parker, “Sprayberry to Celebrate 65th Anniversary, Hold Gala Fundraiser Saturday.” East Cobb News, April 13, 2018. Accessed May 15, 2020.
  4. Thomas Allan Scott. Cobb County, Georgia and the Origins of the Suburban South: A Twentieth-Century History. Marietta GA: Cobb Landmarks and Historical Society, Inc, 2003.