Preserving history: Grant helps pay for repairs at Cannonball House

A much-needed repair is being made at the historic Cannonball House in Macon.

Construction started Wednesday on a failing column that would have put the house in jeopardy if it collapsed. The $10,000 repair project was quickly started with the help of a $4,977 grant from the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution that was announced Wednesday.

The repair is on the column that supports the left side of the home (viewed from the street) and stabilizes the front porch of the Mulberry Street museum.

Eventually the roof would have collapsed and perhaps worse had the repairs not begun, said Nicole Thurston, executive director of Friends of the Cannonball House.

“We don’t know what would have happened or when it would’ve, but in time it would’ve caused that portion (of the column’s base) to completely deteriorate,” she said. “It could’ve been a very detrimental thing but we caught it early enough, kept our eye on it and started seeking funds.”

Each year, local chapters of the DAR provide matching grants to nonprofits in areas of education, historic preservation and patriotism. Teresa Floyd, DAR’s Southeast District director for Georgia, suggested applying for the grant to one of the board members who works closely with the Cannonball House.

The remaining costs were covered by the Friends of the Cannonball House, a group with about 200 members.

Restoring the column is a risky venture so it required a construction company that specializes in these types of projects, Thurston said.

The repairs should be finished by early next week.

Jim Bass, president of the Friends of the Cannonball House, said the group is grateful for the grant that was sponsored by the Warner Robins-based Sukey Hart Chapter of DAR.

“We have many construction projects coming up and this is the start,” he said. “We want to keep historical preservation happening in Macon.”

The Cannonball House was built in 1853 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The antebellum Cannonball House received its name after a cannonball struck the front porch during the Civil War. The museum opened to the public in 1964.

To contact writer Stanley Dunlap, call 744-4623.

This story was originally published July 1, 2015 at 5:47 PM with the headline "Preserving history: Grant helps pay for repairs at Cannonball House ."