Wynn’s Hill – Overlook

The Wynn House

The Wynn House Description from National Register Application 1971

" Constructed during the late 1830's, the Wynn House features the Greek Revival type architecture so popular in the ante-bellum South. The large white house has tall Doric columns on three sides, a widow's walk over the front door, and a cupola. The side porches or "piazzas" are flat-roofed, and are located on either side of a "pedimented portico." At the time the estate was sold by its original owner, Col. William L. Wynn, it covered over 100 acres. The house was located at some distance from Wynnton Road, with servant’s quarters in the rear.
Henry Hurt, the house's second owner, added the marble mantels. When the house passed from the hands of its third owner, Hines Holt, to Tom Cooper (1906) it was moved some 300 feet to its present site at the front of the lot overlooking Wynn's Hill. The Wynn House was later bought by Mr. and Mrs. S.C. Butler, who completely restored the house. The Christian Fellowship Association, now headquartered in the historic house, has recently restored the downstairs front rooms which were almost completely destroyed by fire in 1968. Master craftsmen were employed to restore to their original beauty the fine wide plank floors, lovely woodwork of the window casings, plaster moldings including ceiling medallions and door casing capitals.

The pair of crystal and bronze chandeliers, each measuring 42 inches in diameter, was made in Vienna for the C.F.A. The gilded Victorian over-mantel mirror in the music room was the gift of the late Mrs. S.C. Butler. Furnishings are of Victorian, Empire, and traditional 18th century periods.

There are beveled and leaded glass transoms over the main entrance: doors that are 10' 1/4" in height and 7' 2 and 1/4" in width. The side lights are of the same glass, and are 8 inches wide."

Statement of Significance from National Register Application 1971
" The Wynn House was built by Colonel William E. Wynn, one of Columbus' earliest and most prominent residents. Located in the Wynnton section (named for Colonel Wynn), the large estate was situated east of the original city. Colonel Wynn was active in government, educational, social and religious affairs in Columbus. He served as a representative to the State Legislature in 1832, was a co-founder of the Wynnton Academies, and was a Methodist minister. His home was often the scene of large social gatherings.

The second owner of the estate, Henry Hurt, was a bachelor who never lived there. Tradition has it that he was engaged to be married, but that the marriage never took place. In 1855, the house and grounds were sold to Colonel Hines Holt for $14,000. Colonel Holt was a distinguished attorney and statesman. He served as City Attorney in 1843, and as a delegate to the Milledgeville Convention in 1861, where the decision to secede from the Union was made (Colonel Hines Holt voted against secession.) He also served as a representative to the Confederate Congress. After the War-Between-the-States, he was elected as a delegate from Columbus to serve Georgia during the Reconstruction Period.

Colonel Holt was well remembered by Columbus citizens for his rousing oratory on the occasion of Henry Clay's visit to Columbus during his presidential campaign. Holt delivered the welcoming address, "a long speech, to which he (Mr. Clay) eloquently replied." The Holt family retained the home until Tom Cooper bought it early in the 20th century. During the time Mr. Cooper owned the house, it was moved 300 feet by mule-power. Mr. and Mrs. S.C. Butler bought it in the late 1920s, and lived there until the late 1950s when the Christian Fellowship Association purchased it for their headquarters following a short period of ownership by James Waldo Woodruff, Jr.

As the Christian Fellowship Association, it serves the community as a non-profit institution offering educational and recreational facilities for all ages."