The Bennett House: It calls us to restore Macon’s downtown neighborhoods
By Elliot James
Darin McClure raises the worn metal scraping tool to his waist. He explains his process of restoring the historic parquet floors at the Bennett House in Macon.
McClure purchased the house, now disheveled and in disrepair, over 18 months ago and has been eagerly restoring it.
The floors on the main level were covered with a charcoal-colored linoleum tile. Once en vogue.
Piece-by-piece McClure removes the tile.
He scrapes the tarpaper off with the metal tool and sands the wood beneath it by hand.
“It’s very labor intensive,” McClure said. “But it’s rewarding to take something back to the way it used to be,” he said.
McClure now has a small patch of the original floor completed near the front door.
It is fresh and newly polished with linseed oil.
“I’m looking forward to wiring,” McClure said.
The home was fully electrified when it was erected in 1902. And, it is now in need of a rewiring job.
The Bennett House was built by Mary Ayers Harris after purchasing a lot of land from the original William Butler Johnston property near Coleman Hill.
Harris was the heiress to a prominent socialite family in Macon.
The Johnstons are known for building the Italianate-style mansion on the hill, now known as the Hay House.
According to McClure, the Harris home was to rival the Hay House — the only other home on the block at that time.
The grand foyer features large archways that have been electrified like a turn-of -the-century opera house.
McClure believes they were left on at all hours of the day. The circuit breaker is the only switch for them.
Three large stained glass window reside above the staircase, welcoming in morning light.
“These houses are more of a lifestyle, rather than a project,” McClure said citing that work in a historic homes is never done.
There is always something that needs to be repaired or maintained, even after the initial restoration project has been completed.
“A lot of times people incorrectly think that if they buy a new home that it will be… maintenance free,” said Ethiel Garlington, executive director of Historic Macon Foundation.
Garlington said that no matter what kind of home you buy — “new or old” — it will require maintenance.
According to Garlington, historic homes were built to last with quality products and are a good investment.
“I’m fighting a battle with (carpenter bees). I can hear them nibbling from inside the house,” McClure said as he hung out the window, two to three stories from the ground.
This is the lifestyle McClure has been living for the last 25 years.
McClure and his family previously restored an early 20th century home before purchasing the Bennett House.
He said historic preservation work is important for the community and feels he is restoring the Bennett House for others to come.
McClure is very sincere in making sure that this labor of love is not about him. It is about the house and community that surrounds it.
“These are the places that people loved,” McClure said.
As he stands on the recently recovered floors, McClure explains that there is a certain human element to protecting old homes.
Real people lived in places like the Bennett House and raised their family in them — celebrated holidays and overcame hardships.
“They’re not just old buildings. They are part of the fabric of the community. Whether they are simple or ornate,” McClure said. “If you lose one you will never get that one back.”
The Bennett House gets its name from the last family who owned the home before McClure bought it.
Gilbert and Suzy Bennett were good friends of McClure.
He used to work at the Hay House museum as a volunteer just down the hill during his younger days. McClure is now 51.
He met Mrs. Bennett when she walked her dog in the Hay House garden.
“I fell in love with the house then. They would invite people up to see the spring,” McClure said.
Beneath the basement of the house resides the 19th century spring and whisper room, original to the Johnston property.
The Bennett’s would often welcome guests to their house for various occasions. McClure remembers their Christmas tree decorating party.
“That’s the way they were,” he said referring to the Bennett’s hospitality.
People were always welcome and they did not take themselves too seriously.
“Suzy loved the house. I absorbed my love of the house through her,” McClure said.
Now that the Bennetts have both passed, McClure said he feels he can honor them by restoring their home.
McClure wants to fix the house back to its prime, the way “Suzy” envisioned it.
“I’m not a doctor. I don’t have a lot of money,” McClure said. “But it is also my hobby. I’m getting to do what I love,” he said.
McClure advocates for others in Macon to restore historic properties.
He said that at times it can be intimidating and overwhelming, but the key is to not focus on when the project will get done.
Instead, think smaller and enjoy the process.
“You are never going to get your money out of it. You get other things in exchange,” McClure said.
There is a unique quality of life received by living in these historic homes he explains.
Each one is custom build and provides a very different experience than living in a modern home in a secluded subdivision.
McClure said that there is a sense of community and neighborliness that still exists in the in-town neighborhoods of Macon.
Garlington agrees.
“When people are out on their porch, or out in their yard, or working on their house they’re interacting with their neighbors,” Garlington said.
He said people become more engaged with their community, which leads to a better quality of life.
Now, down in the old spring house at the very bottom of the home, McClure showcases one of the most unique elements of the structure.
The spring is one of his favorite parts of his home.
“Very peaceful. It’s just a very pleasant, calming, safe place,” he said.
He said his sentiments come from the sound of the water and the quietness of the space.
“Maybe even because of how the sound echos, kinda like a church,” McClure said.
There is a constant temperature in the room.
The spring at McClure’s feet flows in at approximately 30 gallons per minute. The water is a steady 69 degrees fahrenheit.
On the way back upstairs, McClure stops in the lower-level ballroom.
He said that he purchased the home fearing that it would catch fire. An unattended home risks a more rapid rate of deterioration than a lived-in one.
Garlington, said that he did not know what was going to happen the Bennet House. He is happy that McClure has taken on the restoration project, because he knows the historical significance of the home.
“They loved their home. They loved being in their home,” McClure said referring to the Bennetts.
McClure plans on restoring the house to be lived in.
“That’s how I like a house to be. As it was intended when people were living in it,” he said.
