Vernacular Construction

Madison first expanded northwest between the Madison Female Academy and the town spring, along one branch of Tanyard Branch, named for the tanning of animal hides on this site. The branch descends from the Main Street ridgeline and is paralleled by W. Washington St., previously Bridge Street, in an area formerly filled with small vernacular structures. The Richter House survives as one such modest building, a one-room structure from the 1820s thought to have served tannery operations but remodeled into a residence in 1842 when growth arrived with the Georgia Railroad. Similar buildings, once common throughout early Madison, disappeared, especially in the more fashionable upslope parts of town. By 1975, the Richter House's severe disrepair and threatened demolition inspired Dr. Josephine Brandon and a group of 7th grade students to begin a restoration program, and under the leadership of retired Georgia Archivist Carroll Hart, the Morgan County Landmarks Society completed the restoration and opened the house as a museum and center for local history education.

Madison, Georgia · United States