Century old house turned bed and breakfast
MOULTRIE, GA -- The Pecan Hill Inn is the only three story house in Colquitt County. It was originally built in 1893 by a determined James W. Coleman.
"And I don't know if there are too many 23 year olds today that would do what he did."
Leaving his childhood sweetheart in Savannah, Coleman purchased 483 acres of land and used the pine from the trees on his property to build the one story farmhouse. He then got married and became a successful farmer in Moultrie.
Coleman went on to be one of the wealthiest and most respected men in South Georgia. He received seven patents including one for the long staple cotton gin which, was used well into the 20th century.
1903 marked major renovations for the Coleman House. Part of the roof and front were removed to make way for a second story and several other rooms.
The Coleman’s eventually moved into the city to give their daughter better educational opportunities and so Mr. Coleman could look after his business.
The Coleman House has been restored by Jim Tuten and now is a bed and breakfast nestled among century old pecan trees.
Without pictures of the inside , only of the outside of the house, Tuten fully restored this Victorian home to how it looked more than a hundred years ago when the Coleman Family lived there.
"The colors, not in the wallpaper, but in the paint inside the house are original. We scraped every wall in here down to the bare plaster."
It’s had 17 owners over the years, even once serving as a jail. The Georgia State Patrol used it as one of three District Offices and a barracks for their troopers.
The house has never been leveled. Besides electrical and plumbing updates, the house has stood the test of time and is sitting exactly the way Mr. Coleman originally built it.
"You can put a marble on here and it won't roll, most old houses you put a marble down and it will roll one way or another."
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