The Landers-Cain House

A place in History

The historic Landers-Cain house is a plantation-plain structure with Greek Revival architectural elements, a typical house style used by farming families throughout the Piedmont and elsewhere in the early 1800's.

Built by the Landers family between 1823-1840, it was continuously used as a farm house until the mid-1950's, and has had remarkably few alterations since it was constructed.

The two-story structure contains two upstairs bedrooms over two downstairs rooms divided by a central hall. The kitchen, or cook house, was originally separated from the main house by an open breezeway.

The house was rescued from destruction and moved to its present site behind Sweetwater Chapel and Cemetery in May, 1996 by the Eli P. Landers Camp No. 1724 of the Sons of Confederate Veterans.

One simple yet important exterior feature of the house is the Greek Revival style transom and sidelights around the front door. The 6-paneled entrance door is in a "cross and open Bible" configuration.

The original interior floor plan consists of two downstairs rooms, each measuring approximately 15 x 17 feet and separated by a central hallway measuring 9 x 17 feet. The second floor plan duplicates the first, with the exception of a low ceiling.

The second floor sleeping area is divided into two rooms with a central hall. Old newspapers dated 1894 were used to cover the wide board walls upstairs. Several layers of old wallpaper were removed downstairs revealing the original walls.

The staircase leading from the first to the second floor was originally accessed from the back porch of the house.

Like most features of the house, the only remaining fireplace mantel, located in the west room downstairs, is very simple. At one time, there was a freestanding wood burning stove in the cook house.

The original stone chimneys and porch piers were saved and will be reconstructed as restoration nears completion.

All of the windows in the house, both original and replacement, are 6 pane over 6 pane double hung windows.  Originally there were only four windows in front, two upstairs, and two downstairs.  There is a window on each side of the chimneys, both up and downstairs.

The original doors on the first floor are 6 panel cross and open Bible types.  The rim lock on the door to the east downstairs room is original.

The Original Site

The house was originally located on the southwest corner of Pleasant Hill Road and Cruse Road/Bob Hannah Circle.  Faced with destruction due to road construction, the historic structure was moved in May 1996 to its current site by the Eli P. Landers Camp No. 1724, Sons of the Confederate Veterans with the aid of the local community.  An archaeological survey and Historic American Building Survey (No. GA-2304) were conducted before the house was moved across the road to a site behind Sweetwater Memorial Chapel and Cemetery.

Fittingly, the two-acre cemetery and church property were originally donated in 1824 by the person who built the house, Humphrey Davis Landers.

The old Atlanta-Athens road passed between the house and the barn, a short distance from where it intersected with the old Duluth-Stone Mountain road (now Pleasant Hill Road).  Traces of the barn can still be seen by motorists crossing Sweetwater Creek.