Wetter House

The house was at 425 West Oglethorpe Avenue, at its junction with Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard;Lost Savannah: Photographs from the Collection of the Georgia Historical Society, Luciana M. Spracher (2003), pp. 32–34 {{isbn|9780738514871}}Savannah, 1733 to 2000: Photographs from the Collection of the Georgia Historical Society – Susan E. Dick, Mandi D. Johnson, Georgia Historical Society (2001), p. 50 {{isbn|9780738506883}} its original address was 215 South Broad Street. It was originally built as a three-storey stucco building for Anthony Barclay, next door to a mansion owned by Mary Magdalene Marshall. Marshall's adopted daughter, Margaret, married Anthony's son, Adalbert in 1855.{{Cite journal |last=Slotin |first=Nancy |date=1974 |title=Mary Marshall: A Biography |url=https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/sav-bios-lane/209 |journal=Savannah Biographies}} From 1837, the property was owned by Margaret Telfair. Augustus Wetter, who acquired it in 1857 on his marriage to Alberta Telfair, had it remodeled and added cast iron balconies by Wood & Perot of Philadelphia, which included 50 medallions portraying poets, artists, and statesmen. The ironwork cost $100,000 and had been created for the Georgia state capitol at Milledgeville, but was reportedly rejected as too expensive.Building Savannah, David E. Kelley (2000), p. 22 {{isbn|9780738505732}} In 1862, during the Civil War, the house was briefly the headquarters of Confederate Army general Robert E. Lee, and Confederate President Jefferson Davis was a friend of Wetter's and a frequent visitor.

The final use of the building was by the Savannah Female Asylum and Orphanage. In 1950, a Chevrolet dealership built a new showroom across the street from the house, bought it, and demolished it to make use of the site. Some interior decoration, such as mantlepieces, was sold, and the decorative ironwork was donated to the orphanage to sell for fundraising.

Only a section of wall survives from the Wetter House.[https://issuu.com/christophersweat/docs/storiessetinstone Stories Set in Stone: Savannah and Her Unique Architecture] – Savannah Morning News special publication Its demolition, along with that of the City Market, sparked the formation of the Historic Savannah Foundation in 1955.[https://www.savannahchamber.com/membership/member-directory/family-community-and-civic-organizations/non-profit/historic-savannah-foundation-5271/ Historic Savannah Foundation] – Savannah Chamber of Commerce The site is now within the Savannah Historic District, which was declared a National Historic Landmark District in 1966.James Dillon (1977) {{NHLS url|id=66000277|title=National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: The Savannah Georgia NHL Historic District}}, National Park Service[http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=172&ResourceType=District Savannah Historic District], National Historic Landmark summary listing, National Park Service

Augustus Peter Wetter was born in Mentz, Germany, in 1829.[https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1114&context=sav-bios-lane "Augustus Peter Wetter "] – Patrick Walsh, Georgia Southern University, Fall 1990 He emigrated to the United States, arriving in Savannah before the Civil War. He worked as a civil engineer under General Jeremy Francis Gilmer and was also a captain of the DeKalb Riflemen,[http://ghs.galileo.usg.edu/ghs/view?docId=ead/MS%202049-ead.xml Augustus P. Wetter financial record] – Georgia Historical Society part of the Chatham Artillery.

On April 21, 1857, Wetter married Sarah Alberta Cobb Telfair (April 5, 1834[https://cite.case.law/ga/75/540/ Wetter v. United Hydraulic Cotton Press Co., 75 Ga. 540 (1886), Feb. 19, 1886 · Supreme Court of Georgia 75 Ga. 540] – Caseless Access Project, Harvard Law School – 1866),''Mary Telfair to Mary Few:Selected Letters, 1802–1844, Mary Telfair (2011) {{isbn|9780820342979}} daughter of Pierce Cobb and Mary Eliza Telfair.[https://thegeorgeanne.com/25733/inkwell/mary-telfairs-madness-leaves-positive-mark-on-savannah-history/ "Mary Telfair's 'madness' leaves positive mark on Savannah history"] – The George-Anne Media Group She had previously, while a minor, married Charles S. Arnold, and the couple had divorced after a few years.

In 1859, Wetter purchased the {{convert|200|acre}} Sharon Plantation, just outside Savannah on land bounded by Louisville Road and the Ogeechee Canal. In November 1870, with Eugene Kelly and six others, he was a founding member of the Southern Bank of the State of Georgia.

Augustus and Alberta Wetter had four children, sons Edward and Conrad and daughters Mary ("Meta") Martha and Louisa Alberta. Alberta Wetter died on July 28, 1866, aged around 32. Her great-aunt Mary Telfair died in 1875, bequeathing $21,000 to the Wetters' daughters via a trust.[https://www.telfair.org/article/mary-telfairs-will/ "Mary Telfair's Will"] – Telfair Museums, July 27, 2018 Wetter challenged the will in court, claiming that she was "mentally incompetent" and suffering from monomania to the detriment of others, and demanding $10 million for his children from the estate. His case reached the Supreme Court but failed.

In the mid-to-late 1870s, Wetter's financial situation declined; his mortgage was foreclosed in December 1877. On September 30, 1878, his daughter Meta died at the age of 17. He died on September 8, 1882, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, at the home of one of his children. He was aged around 53. His funeral took place on September 12 at Savannah's Independent Presbyterian Church, and he was interred at the Sharon Plantation.

Historic American Buildings Survey Branan Sanders, Photographer March 1934 NORTHWEST VIEW - Wetter House, 425 Oglethorpe Street, Savannah, Chatham County, GA HABS GA,26-SAV,44-2.tif

Wetter House, 425 Oglethorpe Avenue, West, Savannah, Chatham County, Georgia.jpg

Historic American Buildings Survey Branan Sanders, Photographer March 1934 SOUTHWEST VIEW - Wetter House, 425 Oglethorpe Street, Savannah, Chatham County, GA HABS GA,26-SAV,44-1.tif

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Category:1822 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)

Category:1950 disestablishments in Georgia (U.S. state)

Category:Houses in Savannah, Georgia

Category:Houses completed in 1822

Category:Former houses in the United States

Category:Demolished buildings and structures in Georgia (U.S. state)