Historic houses moved to Morrow to become shopping district

Local News

Photos: Historic houses are moved from elsewhere in Georgia to the city of Morrow to create a new shopping district near Southlake Mall and i-75.

Morrow city leaders are recycling whole houses in a bid to create some small-town shopping charm. Historic homes like this one are being relocated and renovated to create a retail district called Olde Morrow.

A 2001 survey showed that Morrow residents wanted an old-fashioned downtown. This 1850 house belonging to former Georgia Gov. John Gordon was relocated from Reynolds to the Morrow retail district being built near I-75 and Southlake Mall.

Morrow officials acquired the houses for free, saying they would have been torn down if the city hadn't agreed to move them. This house was built in 1842 by Leroy Napier as his country home. This is its second move: It was moved in 1924 to Macon and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places 1970.

A column at the Napier house. The house originally had 26 rooms but was later turned into four apartments.

The Palmetto House, from Palmetto in South Fulton County, was most recently owned by the McDonough Baptist Church. Cranes were used to dismantle the house, which was moved to Morrow in two sections.

LaWanda Calhoun, property manager for Morrow Development Authority, says: "We can put 10 independent businesses in one of these houses. We're looking at the small retail shops that couldn't exist inside a mall: tea rooms, boutiques, galleries."

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Morrow city leaders are recycling whole houses in a bid to create some small-town shopping charm. Historic homes like this one are being relocated and renovated to create a retail district called Olde Morrow.

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