Historic Deeds
Record Loss
1878. The courthouse at Abbeville burned the night of 30-31 March 1878. Many of the county records were lost. However, the variety of starting dates for various courthouse records make the 1878 fire an unlikely explanation for all the losses.
Oldest known Deed
Oldest Deed located so far.... Sheriff sale, July 6, 1894 Ocmulgee Brick Company to R.A. Wilson for $73.
1894
December 13, 1894 R.A. Wilson to Mrs. J. T. Floyd for $1,000 (nice flip from $73 purchase price) No reference to the home but does reference the Baily and Baily livery stable.
Interesting that it references the deed of Feb. 6 1894 which may be a mistake since previous deed is dated July 6 of that year...
1894
2 days later on December 15, 1894, 4 town lots on the property including what is now called the Floyd's old Livery Stable are sold to Lasseter and Fussell. The Deed was recorded January 13, 1920. Mrs. J.T. Floyd is now Mrs. Sarah Dyches
1905
February 28, 1905 the 4 town lots owned by Lasseter and Fussell were sold to The Abbeville Trading Co. for the price of $500. Floyd's old Livery Stable is still used as a reference.
1906
On November 20, 1906 the 4 town lots where Floyd's old Livery Stable now stands were sold from The Abbeville Trading Co. to Hal Lawson.
1919
July 31, 1919, Oscar Cannon sold the 6 lots that Mrs. Sarah Dyches (formerly Mrs. J.T. Floyd) had purchased in 1894 to Hal Lawson for $150. Hal Lawson's combined property is what Wayside Retreat now comprises.
We are hoping to find the "paper" or "inheritance" trail explaining how the property went from Dyches to Cannon.
1920
6 months later, January 12, 1920 Hal Lawson for consideration of the natural love and affection he had for his wife Rabun B Lawson gave, granted and conveyed all 10 town lots. There is no mention of the stable or the house.
1943
September 22, 1943 Miss. Julia L Bass (the sister of Mrs. Rabun B Lawson) sold the property to Mrs. Chester M. Smith for $1,000. This is the first time that "a certain dwelling house" on the lots is mentioned, and the livery stable is not.
1946
From speaking with the previous owners Julia Bass and Frances Smith were friends. The final deed was recorded (note paid off) in August 1946
1999
On December 2, 1999 the property had a WarrantyDeed recorded as a way to transfer the house and 10 town lots within the family of Chester and Frances Smith.
From 1943 until June 2015, Wayside Retreat was known as the Smith House. Holding very special memories for at least 4 generations of this family and community. The Baily & Baily Livery and old Floyd Livery Stables, were important landmarks.
Built along the railroad line and at the end of Abbeville's old main street the livery stable was an important part of the town. The original layout suggests the "dwelling" was a boarding-house (6 bedrooms upstairs with no designated master). The kitchen would have been a separate building in 1850/1860 and it appears that about 1890 an addition was built to combine the two buildings.
Chester Smith then added more square-footage to the dwelling by squaring the back of the house, in removing the paneling we have located original exterior walls and window openings that are now part of the interior and a blue painted ceiling that looks to be the original porch. Bathrooms and the kitchen were modernized mid-century (1950).
Research is still ongoing to locate some reference to the construction on the original structure, that is notated in "The Passing of the Pines, A History of Wilcox County, Georgia" Compiled by Mary Lou L. McDonald and Samuel Jordan Lawson, the third, as the oldest structure in the community with the original logs in the foundation.
Family lore and stories that have been shared give clues on what may be further discovered including a water-pump that may still be operational.
This was never a grand home, we are making every effort to maintain, restore and renovate to make it comfortable for guests, to make everyone feel like family all without compromising the historic value of this pre-war 2 story wooden structure.