Pendleton-Graves House – Abandoned House

The Pendleton-Graves House in Sparta, Georgia was built circa 1815 by Thomas Whaley in the Federal style. It was purchased in 1853 by Dr. Edmund Monroe Pendleton, who added on to it to accommodate his 11 children. Pendleton was a graduate of the South Carolina Medical College and a local physician. He was also an entrepreneur and developed the Pendleton Formula, which made use of animal matter as fertilizer. He was one of the first to use cottonseed in the production of fertilizer, founding a company in 1867.

In 1880, the home was sold to entrepreneur and banker Richard Augustus Graves. He added the Victorian embellishments that give it its current appearance. A native of Burke County, Graves came to Sparta from Augusta and ran a successful mercantile business before becoming a banker and establishing the first commercial bank in Sparta in 1887. He was married to Anna Rebecca Culver, who he had 5 children with. He served as chairman of the county commission and vice president of the Georgia Bankers’ Association. Richard A. Graves died at his home on December 27, 1901. At the time of his death, he was considered one of the most prominent men in Hancock County. The Graves family owned the house and neighboring barn for more than 100 years before its sale in 1983.

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