History

Cobbham Photo Gallery and General History

Cobbham Timeline

1834: Col. John Addison Cobb subdivides his farm and advertises 80 lots for sale as “Cobbham, a village in the woods.” It is Athens’ first suburb. Cobbham is old English for “Cobb’s home.” Athenians from the outset pronounce Cobbham with equal stress on “Cobb” and “ham.” 

1840s-50s: Fine Greek Revival-style homes are built in Cobbham, including the Howell Cobb residence on Hill St., the Cobb-Thomas-Abney house off Prince, the John Cobb home on Harris (now demolished), the Taylor-Grady house and White-Bradshaw house (now home of the UGA President). Pre-Civil War Victorian-style architecture includes the Sledge-Cobb house, the Phinizy-Hunnicutt house, and the Lucy Cobb Institute. 

1880s-90s: Late Victorian homes are built in the district – the Vincent house and Deloney-Hull house on Hill St., the O’Callaghan house on Prince Ave., and the Cheney house on Milledge. 

1900s: Cobbham is considered the place to live in Athens. Firehall No. 2 is located at the Prince and Hill intersection with shops and stables behind it. 

1930s-40s: Large homes in the district are in decline. Some are “saved” when UGA Greek organizations move in. 

1950s: Once considered the South’s most handsome residential boulevard, Prince Avenue falls to strip development. 

1960s: The district is threatened by aggressive expansions of Athens Regional Medical Center (ARMC) on one end and Prince Avenue Baptist Church on the other. The University of Georgia has neglected the Lucy Cobb Institute in the middle of the district. 

1971: Historic preservation advocates Phinizy and Margie Spalding move to Hill St. and launch a campaign to get young people to move into the area and restore old homes. 

1973: The first Cobbham neighborhood Christmas party is held. 

1974: Residents in the Cobb-Hill community form an association to protest a rezoning request to allow an old home to be converted into one-bedroom apartments. The city denies the rezoning request. 

1977: The Historic Cobbham Foundation (HCF) is incorporated with a charter, bylaws, and board of trustees. Phinizy Spalding is the first chair of the board. He also edits and distributes a neighborhood newsletter, “The Cobbham Courier.” The historic Firehall becomes the HCF logo. A grant from the National Trust for Historic Preservation funds a study on the district’s future. The HCF revolving fund is established from membership dues and a masked-ball benefit. Other balls are held in 1978 and 1979. 

1978: Cobbham joins the National Register of Historic Places on August 24. Friends of Lucy Cobb and Seney-Stovall becomes a standing committee of HCF. 

1980s-90s: Activities of HCF increase and the visibility of the neighborhood rises. House markers are designed and installed throughout the district. Semi-occasional festivals are held. The annual Christmas party continues. HCF sponsors a float in the Athens Christmas Parade. Neighborhood clean-up days are conducted. The revolving fund buys endangered properties and resells them to new residents. 1988: The Cobbham Local Historic District is created by Athens-Clarke County. 

1994: ARMC deeds the Old Clarke County Jail building at Pope and Meigs to HCF. Tom Reynolds restores the building and it’s dubbed the Phinizy Spalding Building. 

1996: ARMC honors Spalding with a plaque in the lobby of its new tower. 

1997: The Lucy Cobb Institute complex, renovated by UGA, is dedicated and the Seney-Stovall Chapel is named the Billups Phinizy Spalding Theatre. 

2004: The Cobbham listserv begins to circulate neighborhood news. 

2005: The T. R. R. Cobb House, which was originally located on Prince Ave., but was moved to Stone Mountain, returns to Hill St., sited across from the Firehall. 

2006: Piedmont College buys the Prince Avenue Baptist Church property for its Athens campus. 

2007: The Prince Avenue Baptist Church moves to its new Oconee County campus and Piedmont College opens. 

2010: Piedmont College and HCF jointly create a neighborhood park at Hill and Church St. 

2012: Cobbham successfully opposes construction of the Sigma Chi fraternity house on the vacant lot at 340 North Milledge Avenue, in the Cobbham Historic District. This is the original location of Saint Mary’s Hospital. Gastroenterology Associates of Athens locates their new medical offices on the site.

2014: The Tangible Past in Athens, Georgia is published, with a long chapter by Milton Leathers, “Twenty-five Cobb family houses in Athens.” 

2015: The Cobbham Tree Canopy Committee is formed to plant trees in the neighborhood to replace lost mature canopy trees. 

2016: A guided walking tour of the neighborhood is added to the HCF website. Piedmont Healthcare of Atlanta buys Athens Regional Medical Center, planning a major expansion of the Normaltown facilities. 

2016-2021: The Triangle Park (Prince Avenue at Cobb Street) on the campus of Piedmont College is developed by HCF, with support from the College, the Riverview Foundation, and Koons Environmental Design. Piedmont College donates the park to HCF. 

2021: Piedmont College sells the neighborhood park at Hill and Church Streets (“Cobbham Commons”) to an LLC formed by Cobbham residents. The Clarke County School District (CCSD) purchases the Piedmont College Athens campus for their district offices. Piedmont relocates to a new building in Normaltown. 

2022: The new Piedmont Athens Regional medical tower on Prince Avenue is completed. 

2023: CCSD sells two historic houses on their campus (585 Prince Avenue and 260 Hill Street) to families who will occupy them. HCF is awarded a grant from the Watson-Brown Foundation, the owner of the T. R. R. Cobb House, to evaluate repairs needed to preserve the Old Clarke County Jail. The Taylor-Grady House is rented from Athens-Clarke County by the nonprofit Landmark Commons, who will preserve it as a house museum and community center.