Q: Was the “Front Porch House” at 70 Jackson St. in Newnan ever a funeral home?
SUSIE BRANCHEAU
A: The home, which is listed as a rental as the "Front Porch House," is locally known as the "Farmer Home." It was built in 1885 in the Southern Vernacular style by Millard Courtney Farmer Sr., according to the Newnan-Coweta Historical Society.
Farmer, who was a prominent businessman in Newnan, died in 1911, and the home went to his daughter, Sarah Farmer, who married Albert Sydney Camp, a World War I veteran and U.S. Representative from Georgia for many years, Jessie Merrell, the society’s curator, told Q&A on the News in an email.
The home has always been a private residence, Merrell said. But she said she believes the home across the street was used as a stopping place during funerals that led into the Presbyterian section of what is now Oak Hill Cemetery. The back of the home faces Jefferson Street, and the cemetery is on the other side of Jefferson Street.
Historically, funerals often took place in the home of the deceased, usually in the front parlor, so it is likely that Millard Farmer laid in state in the front room of his home, Merrell said. He was buried in the main section of Oak Hill Cemetery, just a few yards from his home.
Q&A on the News runs Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Fast Copy News Service wrote this column. Do you have a question? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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