The Marietta Pilgrimage
A Christmas Home Tour through Marietta, Georgia

Mockingbird Hill, c. 1888

134 McDonald Street

 

This beautiful restored Queen Anne Victorian was designed by Godfrey L. Norman for Ervin Maxwell in 1888. The house was built on the site of the antebellum Edmonston home site, which was used as a hospital during the Civil War and was destroyed by fire. All that remained of the original structure was the kitchen, which was incorporated into the rear portion of Maxwell's new home. Shortly after the completion of the house, Dr. Sam Rambo purchased it and his family lived there for over 40 years. His daughter, the notable Regina Rambo Benson, grew up here. In 1937, the house was sold to the Ralph Fowler family, who did extensive renovation during their thirty years residence in the house. Dr. and Mrs. Prentiss Parker owned the house from 1967 to 1981, when Sterling and Nancy Wharton purchased it. The Whartons have retained its interior and exterior integrity, making Mockingbird Hill one of the finest examples of Queen Anne still in Marietta.

 

The house is a great example of mid-Victorian architecture and fine workmanship. A few interior features particularly noteworthy are the elaborately designed stairway, the fine paneling made of English walnut, Indiana butternut, curly pine and oak and the original mantles are made of Georgia marble. Beautiful grounds that feature fifty foot magnolia trees compliment this Victorian lady.

 

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