The story of the Magnolia began in 1912 with an ad in a Sears and Roebuck Catalog. For the grand total of $5000, a "top of the line magnolia-style home" could be purchased, complete with everything needed for construction. All that was necessary for delivery was a nearby railroad. The goods would be delivered by boxcar. Robert Authur Gay and wife Addie Lee Thompson Gay decided to make the purchase that would change the course of their lives.
No doubt, this purchase and subsequent construction created no small stir in Ashland. Local residents were employed in the construction. Certainly, the interest in the new home was high and served as the conversation during evening meals within many homes. The Gays moved into the home in 1913 before construction was completed. Unfortunately, after contracting and succumbing to Typhoid fever, Mr. Gay never lived to see the home completed. Mrs. Gay was required to oversee the project alone with her two children. However, in 1922, Mrs. Gay remarried to Judge E.J. Garrison; he and his only daughter shared the Magnolia with Mrs. Gay (the new Mrs. Garrison) and her daughters, Sara and Mary Moore Gay.
To the locals, this home was no doubt considered a "showplace." The master bedroom was located on the second floor, along with a library, reception room, and a parlor. An indoor bath would be added later. A large porch, spanning the rear of the house, accompanied this floor.
The third story contained more bedrooms and a sleeping porch. The second porch, spanning the front of house, accompanied this floor. Heated by coal-burning fireplaces which emptied into the ash floor in the basement below for eventually removal was certainly considered state-of-the-art.
Stories are told of Mrs. (Gay) Garrison and her daughters hosting large dinner parties followed by dancing on the only terrazzo floors in town. If Ashland had a "high life," this home would be where it happened.
However, death struck again with the shocking murder of Judge Garrison's 43-year-old daughter Mary Webster Garrison. After discovering her body hidden behind the stove in the basement, two gardeners, Doe Powell and Babe Craig, were convicted and sentenced. Doe Powell was executed by electric chair, and Babe Craig served a life sentence. The home was shrouded with tragedy.
The year of 1954 brought a more positive note. Clarence M. Pruet, Jr. purchased the home for $10,000. The Pruet family resided there for years, but in 1990, the home was sold to Jo Ann Patterson who operated a prosperous Bed and Breakfast Inn, The Magnolia Inn. John Burgette purchased the home in 1995 who sold it within two months to Richard Rochester. In 1996, Dr. Oscar Ed and Judy Pruet purchased the Magnolia and began and completed a major restoration and continue to maintain a residence in this true southern landmark. Like something from a Tennessee Williams novel, she stands in her magnolia-shaded elegance, forever reminding us that even in splendor, there is a remnant of tragedy.
No doubt, this purchase and subsequent construction created no small stir in Ashland. Local residents were employed in the construction. Certainly, the interest in the new home was high and served as the conversation during evening meals within many homes. The Gays moved into the home in 1913 before construction was completed. Unfortunately, after contracting and succumbing to Typhoid fever, Mr. Gay never lived to see the home completed. Mrs. Gay was required to oversee the project alone with her two children. However, in 1922, Mrs. Gay remarried to Judge E.J. Garrison; he and his only daughter shared the Magnolia with Mrs. Gay (the new Mrs. Garrison) and her daughters, Sara and Mary Moore Gay.
To the locals, this home was no doubt considered a "showplace." The master bedroom was located on the second floor, along with a library, reception room, and a parlor. An indoor bath would be added later. A large porch, spanning the rear of the house, accompanied this floor.
The third story contained more bedrooms and a sleeping porch. The second porch, spanning the front of house, accompanied this floor. Heated by coal-burning fireplaces which emptied into the ash floor in the basement below for eventually removal was certainly considered state-of-the-art.
Stories are told of Mrs. (Gay) Garrison and her daughters hosting large dinner parties followed by dancing on the only terrazzo floors in town. If Ashland had a "high life," this home would be where it happened.
However, death struck again with the shocking murder of Judge Garrison's 43-year-old daughter Mary Webster Garrison. After discovering her body hidden behind the stove in the basement, two gardeners, Doe Powell and Babe Craig, were convicted and sentenced. Doe Powell was executed by electric chair, and Babe Craig served a life sentence. The home was shrouded with tragedy.
The year of 1954 brought a more positive note. Clarence M. Pruet, Jr. purchased the home for $10,000. The Pruet family resided there for years, but in 1990, the home was sold to Jo Ann Patterson who operated a prosperous Bed and Breakfast Inn, The Magnolia Inn. John Burgette purchased the home in 1995 who sold it within two months to Richard Rochester. In 1996, Dr. Oscar Ed and Judy Pruet purchased the Magnolia and began and completed a major restoration and continue to maintain a residence in this true southern landmark. Like something from a Tennessee Williams novel, she stands in her magnolia-shaded elegance, forever reminding us that even in splendor, there is a remnant of tragedy.
Such a tragic story in a place of beauty.
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