Godfrey Barnsley, the man who built Woodlands
Godfrey Barnsley wanted to build an elegant mansion for his family. He had the resources to do it. He was the wealthiest man in the South. Through the years, he and his family suffered many calamities. They endured illness, death, and a war that ravaged the mansion. In later years, one of Barnsley’s great-grandsons murdered another great-grandson. Although it all sounds like a compelling novel, it is the true story of Godfrey Barnsley, his family, and their dream home in Northwest Georgia.
The road to Adairsville
Born Aug. 26, 1805, in Derbyshire, England, Godfrey Barnsley came to America from Liverpool in 1824. He was 18 years old and arrived in Savannah with no money, and no notable education. Nevertheless, he soon established himself as a cotton broker and merchant. Family connections and business affiliations played major roles in Barnsley’s financial success. He became one of the wealthiest men in the South.
That was just about the time he met Julia Henrietta Scarborough, a prominent Savannah socialite. She was the daughter of William Scarborough II and Julia Bernard Scarborough, both of whom were from noteworthy, wealthy Southern families. Julia’s father was a merchant and financier. The Savannah, built in 1819, was the first steamship to cross the Atlantic. Scarborough financed the venture and it cost him his fortune.
On Dec. 24, 1828, Barnsley married Julia in Savannah. From 1829 through 1843, they had eight children: Anna Godwin, Reginald, Harold, Adelaide, Julia, George Scarborough, Lucien, and Godfrey, Jr.
The family lived on the Georgia coast where they endured the heat and threat of yellow fever and malaria. Barnsley wanted to move the family away from that. So he came to the sleepy Northwest Georgia town of Adairsville in 1838. He bought 10,000 acres and designed a mansion he named Woodlands, now known as Barnsley Resort. Then he built a small cabin on the land and moved Julia and their family to this retreat 1841.
The legend of the curse
Barnsley met a Cherokee man whom he immediately befriended and hired to work for him. There was a particular hill on which Barnsley planned to build Woodlands. The Cherokee man told him the spirits would be angered if he built his mansion on that hill. There are those who say the Cherokee man actually invoked the curse. Prince Fugger, the new owner of Barnsley Resort, invited a Native American elder named Richard Bird to the property to remove the curse before construction of Barnsley Resort began, around 1988.
Plans for Woodlands
The mansion, built in the style of an Italian villa, was designed by Andrew Jackson Downing. A flamboyant architect, he was considered the founder of American landscape architecture. He designed the impressive English gardens at Woodlands as well as the mansion.
The walls of the mansion were brick. The drawing room, library, vestibule, dining room, breakfast room, pantry and bathrooms, a large closet, and safe were on the first floor. English cabinetmakers designed the doors and paneling. The magnificent 24-room mansion had a wine cellar, which was well stocked with imported wines.
Modern conveniences
Woodlands had conveniences unheard of in 19th century Georgia. The mansion featured hot and cold running water. The kitchen had a spring-wound cooking spit that automatically turned cuts of meat over roasting coals, which was quite an innovation. A copper tank to the right of the chimney supplied hot water to bathrooms, and a similar tank in the bell tower supplied cold water to the house and gardens. The house would be lit by means of a gas made from resinous pine.
Decorating and furnishing
Barnsley was a zealous collector of curios, gorgeous furniture, and expensive ornaments. The gold clock in the library belonged to Marie Antoinette. The mansion had several rare paintings. A built in vault contained family silver. Woodlands was filled with European furniture. In one of the bedrooms there was a large mahogany bed with yellow satin damask curtains. The house had high ceilings but the four hand carved, wooden eagles designed for each of the bedposts were enormous and, instead, stood in a corner of the room across from the wardrobe and dresser, which matched the bed. The mahogany dining room table was large enough to seat 40 people and there was an elegant sideboard to go with it.
This fascinating story continues next week with more on the family and Woodlands during the War Between the States. I’ll tell you the true story about Mary Quin, the Barnsleys’ Irish housekeeper.