East of the town limit of Washington, Georgia, Joel Abbot, a physician from Ridgefield, Connecticut, was constructing a home in 1797. According to his deed to twelve acres purchased from Micajah and Mary Williamson for sixty dollars, Dr. Abbot was "abuilding" (Thomas 1974:45, 56). Reportedly, the house was two stories over a raised basement (Writers' Program of the W.P.A. 1941:109; Thomas 1974:100). After Abbot's death in 1826, the house was home for a number of residents and underwent another ownership before Robert Toombs, a noted Georgia statesman, bought it from William L. Harris in 1837 (Thomas 1974:12-21). Toombs died in 1885 with the house remaining in the ownership of his relatives until State acquisition in 1973 (Thomas 1974:62-4). The Georgia Department of Natural Resources acquired the home of Robert Toombs as a component of its program to preserve and interpret the history of the state (see Figures 1 and 2). With State acquisition of the house came two major tasks: preserving and interpreting the site. Historical research was initiated to document the house and its residents, providing an inventory of information for undertaking interpretation. Architectural research was begun for two reasons. One was to assess the preservation needs of the house, recommending appropriate measures for stabilizing and restoring the nearly 200-year-old structure. The other was to analyze the architectural history of the house. The goal of these tasks was to provide direction for preservation and interpretation.
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