Tucked away in the lush woodlands of historic Roswell, lies an elegant home with a rich history, built by the Smiths, one of Roswell’s founding families. In 1838, the Smith family, along with 30 of their enslaved individuals, left behind two struggling plantations on the Georgia coast to start anew with 300 acres of cotton farmland north of the Roswell Square. Their home, crafted by the hands of enslaved labor in 1845, has been preserved through three generations of the Smith family and now stands as a museum open to the public.
Over the span of 160 years, the Archibald Smith Plantation weathered the passage of time, remaining steadfast as the once-small mill village of Roswell transformed into a thriving metropolitan suburb. The Smiths’ two-story farmhouse, meticulously preserved, stands alongside various outbuildings, including servants’ quarters, a cookhouse, a smokehouse, a corn crib, a barn, a carriage house, a well and a spring house.
Since August 14, 2001, the Archibald Smith Plantation Home has been an official demonstration project of the North Fulton Master Gardeners and UGA Extension Fulton County. Located in the heart of Roswell at 935 Alpharetta Street, this 8-acre former terraced cotton plantation, with the Smith Home and its surrounding grounds, stands as an exceptional example of architectural, cultural and historical interpretation in the region. The primary focus of the Master Gardener project has been the restoration and maintenance of approximately two acres of native woodland adjacent to the main house. This area encompasses a spring, the original stone Spring House, and two streams. NFMG volunteers have been dedicated to replanting and preserving this woodland.
Over time, non-native trees, shrubs, bulbs and flowering plants had either invaded or been intentionally introduced to the woodland. Consequently, the…
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