Old homes, really old homes like nearly 190 years old, hold a special attraction for a modest group of homeowners. For them an old, possibly dilapidated house restored and reborn through hard work backed up with research, provides unique joys. A home that is historic because of its era and architecture puts such people in contact with the ages and can offer a unique lifestyle.
Such is the situation of Jared and Brandy Kirschner, owners of the historic Hembree Farm in Roswell. In the early 1830s, Amariah Hembree (1781-1855) purchased 640 acres formerly occupied by Cherokee Indians. He and his son Elihu Minton Hembree (1812-1873) and his carpenter brother, James Hembree Jr. (1790-1867), built the house somewhere between 1833 and 1835. It was continuously occupied by eight generations of Hembrees. The land was subdivided over time until 2007 when the final acre and the farmhouse and associated out buildings were donated by Hembree family heir Carmen Ford to the Roswell Historical Society, which made the property available for sale through a partnership with the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation. A rehabilitation agreement and a conservation easement keep the Georgia Trust involved with the property in perpetuity.
The Kirschners are not strangers to home improvement, having renovated several homes previously. In addition, Brandy is an independent TV producer who identifies and qualifies historic homes throughout the country for TV shows such as HGTV’s “Home Town Takeover” and “We Bought a Dump,” and Magnolia Network’s “In With the Old.” However, this is their first historic home restoration and preservation. They purchased the property in 2022. Their goal is to bring back as much of the original state of the home as they can. The rebirth of a historic home presents many unique challenges not associated with modern…
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