The James C. Little House was built between 1867 and 1876 at the end of the Reconstruction Era. The original owner, James Cain Little, was born on February 7, 1846, in Jefferson County, Georgia. He was one of eight children born to Robert Patterson Little and Elizabeth Cain Little. The Little family had been around Louisville and Queensborough since the early 1700s. They were Ulster-Scots originally from the Borders of Scotland and came to Georgia to raise cattle and farm. When James was 17, he joined the Confederacy. He served as a private in Company F, 8th Georgia Cavalry. James enlisted on March 30, 1864. On returning home, he joined a mercantile company in Louisville. He swore an oath of allegiance to the United States following the Reconstruction Acts of 1867. He qualified to register to vote on July 18, 1867. In February 1904, James founded Little & Clark Company, a mercantile concern, in Louisville with his long-time friend Samuel Clark. This grew to be the largest mercantile house in Jefferson County. He also maintained a large farm and was the founder and first President of the Louisville & Wadley Railroad.
James Little was married twice. First to Mary Virginia “Jennie” Fleming from Columbus, Ga on May 9, 1872. Together they had eight children, but Jennie died young in 1886. He then married Eleanor “Nellie” Little Patterson (her full name was Eleanor Little Patterson Little). They were actually second cousins. Together they had six more children. James Cain Little died at the age of 71 on November 5, 1917. Nellie Little died in 1948, 31 years after James.
William A. Wilkens, an early large property owner in Louisville, sold James Little approximately one-half of a city block in 1875. The purchase price was $2,000. The following year, Mr. Little contracted with L.J. Guilmartin & Co. to build his large residence. He paid them $4,000 to build his 5,000-square-foot home on one of the corner lots. The elegant home features a dramatic central staircase, 15-foot ceilings, a wrap-around front porch, and etched transom windows, among other ornate details. James Little sold the home to his wife, Nellie Patterson Little, for $5,300 in 1911. It is believed that the transfer to his wife was a sale and not a gift. This transaction must have been business or legal-related.
The boll weevil devastated the Georgia cotton industry throughout the 1920s. The bad economic times got even worse when the stock market crashed in 1929, which brought about the Great Depression that lasted until the end of World War II. Many farmers, merchants, banks, and businesses failed during this period. Nellie Little never remarried after her husband’s death. She sold the residence to C.W. Powers in 1924 for $6,500.
In 1937, in the depths of the Great Depression, the Home Owners’ Loan Corporation (HOLC) foreclosed on the property. HOLC later sold the home at auction for $4,900. In 1948, the heirs of Minnie W. McDaniel sold the property to Mrs. Winnie W. McDaniel for $7,500. During the 1950s, the downstairs rooms were used as a boarding house. The home was shared by 3 aunts. One had a home beauty salon on the right side downstairs, which was her main source of income. In 1987, Winnie McDaniel’s children sold the property to Eve Maria Griffin for $30,000.
Eve Griffin owned the property until 2015. She was a well-known lounge singer in the area during the 1960s and 1970s. She bought the house in 1987 but lived there years earlier with her mom, Hattie Mae Willie (Minnie McDaniels’ niece), and her 4 siblings. Eve’s younger brother, Ennis Willie, is somewhat famous for his graphic novels. He wrote his first book titled Vice Town at the house in 1962. Ennis wrote his novel drafts on a Royal typewriter he kept in the downstairs front bedroom. In 1965, after 21 crime novels and several short stories under his belt, Ennis Willie decided to quit writing. He moved to Atlanta to open a printing business and start a family. To his credit, one of his novels became the influence for an Academy-Award winning movie.
Although the area is in a historic district, there were no plans to add this house to the National Register of Historic Places. In 2017, the Louisville Downtown Development Authority gained control of the property. They aimed to stabilize and save the house. The authority made an effort to stabilize the roof. They also cleared away the underbrush. Eventually, they listed the property for sale for $15,000. In 2020, the James C. Little House was purchased and efforts to restore the old home immediately began. Within three months the house had a new roof, a secure foundation, and functioning windows for the first time in decades. Sadly, on July 20, 2020, the historic home caught fire. Lightning struck a nearby tree and quickly engulfed the entire house. The result was a total loss.
Thank you for reading. Please share the blog with your friends. I appreciate the support. You can find me on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. The James C. Little House and many more amazing, abandoned places from Georgia are available in my book, Abandoned Georgia: Exploring the Peach State.
Discover more from Abandoned Southeast
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Wow! So eerie and sad. And yet, so beautiful.
LikeLiked by 1 person
really good write-up on this house, in the end what it all amounts too.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love this damn blog. Come to Statesville, NC. All kinds of abandoned places in my hometown including an old hospital.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Fascinating. I love how you breathe life back into the structure that died a long time ago.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Very cool!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Excellent job on this. The pictures are stunning and the research you’ve done is impressive. This is the heart of what our hobby is….to gain a glimpse into the past and try to feel the lives that were once there. Thank you for taking us with you!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Amazing. Beautifully shot. And above all, I just love that kitchen sink!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Heartbreaking that this splendid home is not restored. It is a work of art. Thank you for a wonderfuland informative post.
LikeLiked by 2 people
It is great that the vandals and souvenir hunters have somehow missed this place. Great blog!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Haunting photos that leave us with a greater understanding and at the same time…confusion. What could have have been an amazing home…left untouched. I saw this article on the Daily Mail UK online newspaper. It listed the home as being in Utica, MS – is there any way to verify that? I’m originally from that area and would love to know where it is located. Some friends in the area have ties to the Historical Society and have some interest in the house if it is in the area. Fascinating photography!
LikeLiked by 1 person
It is in Louisville, Jefferson County, Georgia – google James C Little,, Louisville, Georgia for all information.
LikeLike
I’d love to buy some of the artifacts from there! like to contact the owners!
LikeLike
I would love the plans for this beautiful home
LikeLike
Very interesting and once a beautiful home.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m sorry, Mr. Kent, but I think you have your location wrong. The Proper People on YouTube did a real-time, recorded tour of his home and they said it’s in Mississippi. Since they were actually walking through the house at that very moment while they were filming, I’m sure they would have known if they *weren’t* in MS. I know you were there in person, also; I’m just saying that maybe between your shoot and the time you actually looked through the camera roll, you forgot where these were taken? Because in fact, your pictures were featured on another blog where the house is also claimed to be located in MS. I think perhaps when you went to write this post and looked through your camera roll, you misremembered the location of the shoot, simply because there was a large amount of time between the actual shoot and the creation of the blog post. Just saying.
LikeLike
LOL. Well, originally I told the Daily Mail the house was in Utica, MS to detour any vandalism. I was there before those guys and they maintained the anonymity of the location with their video. Now that the house has been cleared and sold the real location can be said. Have a good day.
LikeLike
Any plans to go back to some of these locations that have been updated and show a before and after? Very interesting house! Thanks
LikeLiked by 1 person
If this house ever gets restored, I will update the blog. I heard it recently sold which is good news. The Willie House is across the street from this one and owned by the same family. It’s currently being restored and I plan to go back when it’s done and get some shots. Same for the Rockwell House.
LikeLike
There is currently a new owner that is working on restoration. They have an Instagram page called savingbiglittlehouse. She is currently getting a new roof 😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
I can’t find a Mulberry Street in Utica, MS.
LikeLike
The house is in Louisville, Georgia. Locations were changed to protect the property before it was cleaned out.
LikeLike
I finally figured that out, but this lie has spread to other parts of this internet and hurts your credibility. You should either be vague or not provide a location at all.
LikeLike
The lie kept the house from being looted on more than one occasion so the relatives could salvage what few family possessions were left before the city took it over.
LikeLike
I have great admiration for you and your work and appreciate that you don’t disclose the locations. People should just enjoy and let it be. It is private property and AS is respecting the rule of “take only photos”.
LikeLike
What part of Georgia is this?
LikeLike
Louisville
LikeLike
Reblogged this on Genealogy for Children.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you!
LikeLike
I have lived in an old house before and loved every minute of it. I really wish we had not moved. This one was known as Cedar Hill and was built in 1843 . It was located on twenty five acres and and had been restored .It was located in Alabama and was a beautiful place.
LikeLike
I wanted to add that I love these old houses to the point that my house now is full of antique furniture.
LikeLike
It’s so sad that a beautiful old house like that burned after lightning strikes it.
LikeLike