Timmerman House, East side of Withers Road, south of U.S. Highway 84, Stockton

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS GA,87-STOCK,4-. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

This is probably the oldest structure in Stockton and certainly the largest historic domestic building in the community. It is significant in local history as one of the first residences in Stockton, dating from the late nineteenth century. Description: This is a two-story, L-shaped, frame dwelling clad with drop or novelty siding. The house is set on brick piers and has a composition shingle, cross gable roof. A shed roof porch supported by chamfered posts extends around three sides of the structure. The porch fa;ade is sheathed with narrow flushboards with a narrow beaded board ceiling. The south and rear (west) elevations of the porch are screened. The first floor of the house consists of three rooms along the main fa;ade and a rear ell.

The two northern front rooms feature narrow beaded board walls and ceilings typical of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. These two rooms share a central interior brick chimney and are connected via closets in the chimney space. Windows in these rooms are tall, narrow two-over-two sash and each room has an exterior door to the front porch. The mantelpieces have been removed. The third room along the main fa~ade has been altered (probably in the with the addition of gypsum board walls, a lowered acoustical tile ceiling, a simple Colonial Revival mantel, and an inset bookcase. There is a set of triple two-over-two sash windows along the porch wall. Although similar in style to those in the north rooms, they are considerably shorter.

Ghostmarks of the original openings remain, however, suggesting that the windows were altered when the interior ceiling was lowered. This room is accessed from the porch through doors on both the west and south elevations. Directly behind this room is the ell which includes a kitchen, a bathroom, and two additional rooms. The walls in this section of the house are sheathed with flushboards laid vertically. None of the windows in the ell remain. Doors throughout the entire house are four-paneled. The second floor is reached by a straight staircase in the altered front room. The staircase is enclosed with gypsum board. The second floor is a single room with an open fireplace in the center. Windows on this floor are six-over-six sash.

The interior is sheathed with vertical flushboards like those on the first floor. Major alterations include the lowering of the triple window on the first floor; the addition of the gypsum board walls, inset bookcase and mantel in the front south room; the addition of the bathroom in the rear ell; and the enclosure of a small room on the rear porch. TIMMERMAN HOUSE HABS No. GA - (Page 2) History: It is difficult to ascertain the building's construction history. The wraparound porch with its flushboard walls, chamfered posts, and beaded board ceiling suggest that the house was constructed all at one time in the late nineteenth century. The lack of beaded board woodwork in the rear ell and slightly lower windows, however, may imply a later addition.

It is also possible that the second floor was added later. The walls are finished in the same materials as the rear ell and the windows here are six-over-six sash rather than the two-over-two on the first floor. The roof is also not as steep as the cross gable on the north elevation giving the house an unusual roofline for a building of this period. Whatever the case, the original house was probably constructed around Local residents believe the house was constructed by a Mr. Timmerman who died in The house was then occupied by his descendants, but it has been vacant since the early Stockton is located in Lanier County, Georgia which was carved from parts of Lowndes, Berrien, and Clinch Counties in This small, rural community was entirely within Clinch County prior to this.

Although the Savannah, Albany & Gulf Railroad opened in this area in Johnson's Map of Georgia and Alabama and Butts' map of Georgia show no town at this site. Gray's New Map of Georgia published in however, does include Stockton along the railroad line dating the town's formation to sometime between 1871and1877. Nearly all of the remaining historic buildings in the town date from the early to mid-twentieth century and face U.S. Highway 84 and not the railroad suggesting that the automobile was a fundamental source of development for this community. The highway was probably cut through the area in the early twentieth century and more or less parallels the railroad across the state.

The road is not evident on late nineteenth century maps, but is clearly visible on highway maps by The Auto Trails Map of Georgia lists it as state road 38 and approximates Stockton's population to be

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS GA,87-STOCK,4-. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

Butts, A.G. Butts County Map of the State of Georgia. Macon, Cram, George T. Cram's Road and County Map of Georgia. Daughters of the American Revolution History of Lowndes County, Georgia, Macon, Gibson, Jim Old Times There are Not Forgotten: A Story in Picture and Words of the People of Lanier County, no date. TIMMERMAN HOUSE HABS No. GA - (Page 3) Goodrich Co. Goodrich Road Map of Georgia and Alabama. Gray, Frank A. Gray's New Map of Georgia, Rand McNally & Co. Auto Trails Map of Georgia. Chicago,

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS GA,87-STOCK,4-. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

Jennifer Langdale New South Associates, Inc. East Ponce de Leon Avenue Stone Mountain, Georgia January TIMMERMAN HOUSE HABS No. GA-2334 (Page 4) U.S. Highway 84 Timmerman House (Not to Scale) TIMMERMAN HOUSE HABS No. GA - (Page 5) 2 3 ' U.S. Highway 84 (Not to Scale) First Floor Plan 1~