Lapham-Patterson House - Thomasville History Center

The Lapham-Patterson House

The whimsical 6,000 square-foot house is a showcase for the progressive eccentricities of the Laphams, their architect Tudor Rommerdall, and the late Victorian era in general.

Take A Tour

Guests will receive a guided tour of all three floors (mobility permitting) of the Lapham-Patterson House (LPH) and learn about the residents, architecture, and technology of the 1885 Resort Era “cottage.”

Tours are typically about 45 minutes in length.

Thomasville History Center (THC) members receive free admission to the Lapham-Patterson House for themselves and their guests.

LPH Hours of Operation:
Thursdays & Fridays, 1pm, 2pm, & 3pm
Saturdays, 10am, 11am, 1pm, 2pm, & 3pm

General Adult

$15

Student (6-17)

$10

Children (5 and under)

FREE

Journey Pass, Adult (includes admission to Thomasville History Center)

$20

Journey Pass, Student (6-17) (includes admission to Thomasville History Center)

$10

Purchasing Tickets

Tickets to tour the Lapham-Patterson House may be purchased in-person at the Thomasville History Center (THC) or online at the link below.

THC Hours of Operation:
Monday thru Saturday, 10am – 4pm

Purchase Tickets

Stay The Night

Experience the charm of the historic Lapham-Patterson House with an overnight stay in this truly one-of-a-kind National Historic Landmark. Our private suite, located in a quiet wing of the house, features two comfortable rooms connected by a Jack-and-Jill bathroom. The primary bedroom offers a king bed, while the adjoining sitting room includes a queen sleeper sofa and cozy reading chairs. The suite opens directly onto a charming backyard patio — perfect for morning coffee or an evening unwind.

Ideally situated in the heart of the Dawson Street National Register District, the house is just a short walk from Thomasville’s vibrant and historic downtown.

Learn More

Use AirBnB to book!

“Thank you so much for arranging for us to come and decorate. My students had a wonderful time! The gentleman who showed us around was fantastic, and we had a blast exploring while we decorated.”

— Museum Volunteer

House & Family Histories

House History

History of the Lapham-Patterson House

Danish immigrant Jens Peter Theodore “Tudor” Rommerdall was the architect and builder of the Lapham-Patterson House. Rommerdall came to Thomasville from Chicago around 1884, and within a few short years was regarded as a prominent contractor. He built public buildings as well as private homes before his premature death in a construction accident in 1887, while building a brick water tower on the grounds of the Thomas County Courthouse.

The House cost $4,500.00 to build and took eleven months to complete. The bright yellow exterior paint with its burgundy and cream trim was the Laphams’ selection and a popular choice for 1880s homes. The Pattersons painted the home white, but the State re-painted it in the original colors in the early years of the museum’s operations.

The House’s architecture best matches the Spindlework subtype of the Queen Anne style (c.1880-1910) with its asymmetrical plan, variety of colors and textures, windows of every kind, shape, and size, multiple roof levels, porches that wrap around the front and side, decorative gables, frequent use of bay windows, and decorative brick chimneys. The structure has been nicknamed “Mr. Lapham’s Whimsy” for its oddities.

There are no two rooms alike; in fact, little in the cottage is symmetrical or centered. This oddity may be due to the prevailing Queen Anne style of architecture in which variety and freedom of expression were encouraged. Builders of Spindlework Queen Anne homes took advantage of the emergence of mass-produced building materials, the ease of transporting those goods by railroad, and popular pattern books for inspiration. As a result, the style is known for elaborate ornamentation inside and outside. The use of balloon framing instead of large timber framing in construction allowed for this asymmetrical floor plan.

As a survivor of the Chicago Fire, Charles Lapham wanted to make the winter cottage as safe as possible. His pyrophobia may explain why amongst the 19 rooms totaling approximately 6,000 square feet, 24 of the 45 doors lead to the exterior. This means that every room has at least one exit. Most of the 53 windows’ top and bottom sashes open, and several rooms have direct access to a porch or balcony.

The Lapham-Patterson House presents a unique picture to its many visitors, but it is the accumulation of details together which make this building one of a kind. When the Lapham-Patterson House was designated a National Historic Landmark it was said:

The House speaks for itself as an unusually individualistic and vivid record of an era when people attempted to outdo one another in the creativity brought to the eclectic, picturesque, and romantic Resort cottage…

Innovative in form and construction, it is in every detail an architectural tour-de-force and one of the most exuberant houses in Thomasville. The story of the house, its preservation, and its value within the study of Thomasville’s Resort Era sets it apart from other homes in the community and across the state.

The Lapham Family History

Charles Willard Lapham was born July 21, 1852, in the small village of Danby, Vermont to Joseph and Lydia Lapham. The family was part of the Society of Friends Church, better known as Quakers. Shortly after Charles was born, the family moved to Kalamazoo, Michigan. While there his mother gave birth to his only sibling, a brother named Chester.

In 1870, when Charles was nineteen, the family moved to Chicago, Illinois. His father Joseph, a tanner and cobbler by trade, set up his shoe-and-leather business on Erie Street in the heart of downtown Chicago. Charles did not work for his father’s business but is listed as a clerk for George Congdon, also a shoemaker and competition for Joseph.

On October 8, 1871, Charles got caught in “The Great Chicago Fire” which consumed much of Chicago over a three-day period. He suffered extensive lung damage from smoke inhalation and experienced psychological trauma.

Nonetheless, Charles proved himself to be an ambitious businessman. By April 1873, Charles used capital obtained from his father and opened his own shoe store in downtown Chicago. His business did well, and within a few years he had expanded to three stores and enlisted the help of his brother Chester. Although the brothers dissolved their partnership after only a couple years, Charles continued to excel in the shoe business.

Charles married Emma Mary Conger in October of 1880, the daughter of a prominent family from Collins Center, New York. As Charles had been living with his parents until his marriage, the newlyweds moved into a hotel, before renting a series of apartments. Meanwhile, Charles continued in the shoe business, expanding to four stores by 1881.
The Laphams lived comfortably, partially due to Charles’ business success but also due to Emma’s inheritance from her father, who had passed away shortly before her marriage. Her sister Ella socialized amongst the prominent families of Buffalo, New York, and married Charles Waterhouse Goodyear. The Goodyears were and remain one of the most powerful and wealthy families in the United States.

Charles first vacationed in Thomasville in 1882. He came alone, as Emma was caring for their one-year-old son Anson Joseph and was pregnant with their second child, Lydia Portia. By 1884, Charles and a friend, Ephraim Hackett of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, purchased neighboring lots on the 600 north block of Dawson Street. Both the Laphams’ and Ephraim Hackett’s houses were completed by early 1885.

Charles displayed considerable interest in cultural improvement during his time in Thomasville, particularly during his first few years as a property owner. In 1886, he campaigned for Thomasville to build an opera house, which opened in 1888. In 1887, he campaigned for a “Pleasure Park” in Thomasville of considerably larger size than Paradise Park. The park opened in 1888, with a wide variety of flora and fauna. In 1895, the park was transformed into Glen Arven Country Club, complete with one of Georgia’s earliest eighteen-hole golf courses.

Tragedy seemed to follow the Laphams. In 1886 their daughter Lydia Portia died only a few days before the family’s planned return to Chicago. At the time, Emma was pregnant with the couple’s third child, a daughter who was born a few months later and was named Portia Rogers in memory of her late sister. Both Portia Rogers and eldest child Anson Joseph suffered from some degree of intellectual disability or illness, and both spent time in mental health facilities. By 1894, Charles’ shoe business had collapsed, he changed his profession to real estate agent and “pleasure seeker,” and the family never returned to Thomasville.

Emma Lapham’s mother died in 1905, leaving her and sister Ella the remainder of her family’s considerable fortune. Emma filed for a legal separation from Charles less than a year later, an extraordinary move at the time by itself. Emma agreed to pay for their children’s education and pay Charles thirty-five dollars a month alimony. Charles moved to San Diego, California while Emma moved to Arizona with the couple’s two younger sons, Charles Jr. and Frank.

Emma and the two children in Arizona worked in the cattle ranching business. Despite their success, drama followed the family again. Emma was forced to attend a sanity trial after her neighbors raised questions about her own eccentric behavior. In a sad and ironic twist, Emma died from a kerosene lamp exploding and setting her bed on fire in 1912. Charles Jr. and Frank tried to carry on the cattle business after their mother’s death but were met with financial troubles in settling the estate. Meanwhile, Anson accused his brothers of attempting to kidnap him in order to control his share of their mother’s estate. While these issues were eventually resolved, the Lapham children became estranged from one another.

Charles Lapham passed away in 1919. He is buried in an unmarked grave in the family’s plot in Chicago, alongside his daughter Lydia Portia. Although Charles Jr. and Anson later married, the two couples never had children and the family line ended with the death of Charles Jr. in 1971 at the age of 84.

The Larmon Family

James Larmon Jr. was born February 1, 1852, in Paducah, Kentucky to James Larmon Sr. and Maria Louise Smedley. While he was still a young child, the family moved to Chicago, Illinois where his father built a considerable fortune in real estate and construction. Much like Charles Lapham, James’s life was severely affected by the Great Chicago Fire of 1871; almost all his father’s buildings were destroyed, and his father passed away two years later without rebuilding his previously massive holdings.

In 1876, James married Harriet Esther Ann Mack, the daughter of English immigrants and adopted daughter of William Lill, the beer magnate of Chicago. Harriet studied art and was active in many women’s groups such as the Young Women’s Christian Association in Chicago, the oldest chapter of the YWCA in America. A few years later, the couple adopted their only child, a son named Arthur James Larmon. Maria remained close to her son and daughter-in-law, living with the couple and traveling with them to their favored vacation spots of Highlands, North Carolina, Palatka, Florida, and Charlevoix, Michigan.

By 1880 James served as head of the newly formed Cincinnati Barbed Wire Fence Company. Barbed wire had become remarkably lucrative during this time as ranchers out west were forced to fence in the cattle on their massive properties. James supported the Salvation Army and the Children’s Home of Cincinnati and later joined the exclusive Queen’s Club of Cincinnati.

The Larmons made their first visit to Thomasville for the winter season of 1892-1893 and stayed at the Piney Woods Hotel and came back the next year. While in Thomasville, the couple attended St. Thomas Episcopal Church and sent Arthur to school with the local children. Before returning home in late March 1894, Larmon purchased the house at 626 North Dawson Street from Charles Lapham. Before the Larmons arrived for their first season at their new house in October 1894, the house and many of the outbuildings received a fresh coat of white paint and updates such as a second-floor bathroom.

On December 1, 1894, James left Thomasville on a business trip that eventually brought him through New Orleans then back to Cincinnati. While he was home, James visited the Queen’s Club, where he died of a heart attack on December 11th. Harriet returned home to Cincinnati to prepare for the funeral and settle her husband’s large estate. James’s will provided well for his family, with Arthur receiving $20,000 when he turned 25, but only if he proved himself “sober and competent to manage it.”

Harriet returned to Thomasville the same winter in 1895 and attempted to sell the house. For reasons unknown, she took it off the market before returning home to Cincinnati in late April. Harriet returned to Thomasville the next winter with her son, mother-in-law, and her new female companion, Ardella Sloan. Ardella was originally from Missouri but attended the Art Academy of Cincinnati where she met Harriet. The two women shared a passion for art and were known in Thomasville for their work in ceramics, oils, poetry, and pastels. This new family configuration returned to Thomasville for the winter as long as the home on Dawson Street remained in the family.

Not to be outdone by the Laphams in their flare for the dramatic, Harriet’s homemade wine, stored in the basement, was stolen only the day before Georgia’s liquor prohibition law was to take effect on January 1, 1899. Shortly after the incident, the Larmons installed bars on the window openings to the basement.

In 1905, Harriet was diagnosed with breast and ovarian cancer. In September of that year, she sold the house to James Gould Patterson. The Larmons returned to Ohio to the Cincinnati suburb of College Hill where Harriet built a large mansion for Ardella and herself, son Arthur, and his wife and children. With Ardella at her side, Harriet passed away in 1913. Arthur’s family continued to live on College Hill until 1929 when he passed away. His widow, who inherited the Larmon fortune, soon remarried, moved to Florida, and sold the property to subdivision developers, who named their housing tract “Larmon Court.”

The Patterson Family

James Gould Patterson Jr. was born October 27, 1851 in Horry County, South Carolina, to James Sr. and Martha Marlow Patterson. The senior Pattersons had thirteen children and with James Sr. supporting his family by working as an overseer of enslaved workers on a plantation. During the Civil War, James’s two older brothers fought for the Confederacy. After the War, the family had to start over in the turpentine business. As the Carolinas were stripped of their longleaf pine forests, James Jr. looked to Southwest Georgia as a new place to grow his business.

By the mid-1870s, James Jr. moved to Whiteville, North Carolina and opened a general store. There he met his future wife, Mary Becoat Smith, a young widow of a Presbyterian preacher, whom he married in 1879. The couple moved to Loris, South Carolina where James Sr. was operating a turpentine still. Rather than enter business with his father, James opened a store in Loris’s newly built downtown and opened a still with partner A.F. Toon. He remained connected to Loris through 1894, acting as the town’s postmaster for a seven-year period. The Patterson family cemetery in the small South Carolina town became the city’s public burial grounds.

Meanwhile, James’ brother Angus operated a turpentine still in Telfair County, Georgia, since the early 1880s. In 1896, James purchased Angus’ still. Two years later, all four living Patterson brothers were turpentining in Telfair County, though not together. James and his two eldest sons moved to Telfair while Mary and the other six children remained in North Carolina.

In 1900 James sold his Telfair still and purchased his first still in Thomas County. By 1905, James wanted the entire family to move to Thomas County, preferably near Ochlocknee where the Patterson Still was. Mary refused to move her young family to the turpentine camp in Ochlocknee. James purchased the house on Dawson Street in the summer of 1905, and the family moved in a few months later.

The Patterson family gave researchers extensive notes on how the family used the house. The dining room in the center of the house was used for family meals and celebrations, including the weddings of two of the Patterson’s daughters. The formal living room contained the Patterson’s nicest furniture and was used for formal events. The living room, now the Ladies Parlor, was used for informal family gatherings.

From the formal living room down the south wing was James’ and Mary’s bedroom. The small hallway that connected to the back room was used as a dressing room, which during the time of the Patterson’s residency had an entrance to the bathroom. The back room of the south wing was first used as the bedroom of the younger sons, Tom and Bruce. After the children moved out and James suffered a stroke, it was used as Mary’s bedroom.

James used the room behind the kitchen as his business office and built a large organizer along one of the walls with mail slots and storage cabinets. The two small rooms behind the kitchen were originally a wood storage room and the laundry room, which the Pattersons converted into a single, large screened-in porch. The two rooms were restored to their original form when the State of Georgia restored the Lapham-Patterson House in the early 1970s.

James Lloyd Patterson, the oldest son, occupied the smaller, second-floor bedroom from the time the Pattersons moved in, through the first year of his marriage in 1913. The large bedroom was used by James Jr. and Mary’s respective mothers while the open, matching sitting rooms that occupy the center of the second floor served as bedrooms for the children.

The third floor was used by the Pattersons as a storage room. Because of the steep stairs, it was off-limits to the Patterson children and later their grandchildren. After the death of James Jr. in 1927 and Mary in 1929, some of the grown children returned to live in the house with their spouses and children.

Daughter Alice Patterson Scarborough bought her siblings out of their shares in the property during the 1930s. Through World War II she rented out rooms to help with the housing crisis. After the death of her first husband, Alice married John Stevens when she was seventy-five in 1965, and moved to live with him in Florida. The house sat empty until it was acquired by the State of Georgia in 1970.

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