Tour the abandoned Oscar Wilde house – now rescued from ruin

Discover the fascinating tale behind this architectural gem

An exquisite example of Victorian aesthetic architecture, the Foster-Thomason-Miller House in Madison, Georgia was inspired by Oscar Wilde and was once considered the state's most elegant country home.

In a tragic turn of events, the property was abandoned in 2001 following a devastating fire, however, this beloved local landmark has now risen from the ashes.

Read on to tour the beautiful estate and uncover its secrets...

A homage to aestheticism

Photographer Leland Kent of Abandoned Southeast captured the home's fire-damaged exterior and interiors in 2016 before renovations began three years later. Even in its forlorn state, the house's beautiful architecture shines through.

The five-bedroom property was built in 1883 for Legare H. Foster, an ambitious young man who inherited a fortune. Captivated by aestheticism – a European art movement that prized beauty above all else – Foster snapped up a plot of land on Madison's Main Street in 1882 and set about creating the ultimate home based on this philosophy.

Inspired by Oscar Wilde

Foster drew much of his inspiration from a lecture on 'The House Beautiful' that was delivered by Irish literary great Oscar Wilde in Atlanta earlier in 1882. One of the movement's leading lights, Wilde was an advocate of art for art's sake, the idea that art shouldn't be judged on anything other than its aesthetic qualities.

Foster hired master craftsman Daniel Townes to design the house, which was erected on the foundations of the Georgia Female College – a pioneering institution destroyed by fire in 1880. The young visionary spared no expense on the property's numerous decorative features and upon completion, the house was regarded as one of the most elegant in Georgia.

Attention to detail

Measuring nearly 6,000 square feet (557sqm), architect Townes' design blends Victorian aestheticism with Queen Anne, Gothic Revival and Italianate styles.

From the entrance hall (pictured) to the bedrooms, the home's original design incorporated many of the tenets espoused by Wilde, traces of which were still visible following the fire. Think delicate floral motifs stencilled on the ceilings, ornately carved cabinets, dazzling etched glass, gold-plated details and the finest ceramic tiling imaginable.

Faded grandeur

As you can see from this slightly different angle of the entrance hall, the house had seen much better days when Leland Kent photographed it. Still, many of its fine design features remained, albeit not in the best of shape.

Decking out the sumptuous interiors certainly didn't come cheap. Having ploughed his entire fortune into the property, Foster ended up going bankrupt and was forced to sell the stunning house in 1889.

Incredible period features

Back in 2016, debris scattered the floors and the walls were peeling, but the original staircase in fine walnut was intact and is now a prized centrepiece of the home following its renovation. Note the ornate baluster at the bottom of the staircase and the fancy gilded frame on the wall.

Foster's beloved trophy home passed to Robert Usher Thomason, who altered the colour scheme of the interiors and had the exterior repainted. Indoor plumbing and electricity were installed in 1916, the year of Thomason's death, and the house remained in his family's possession until the late 1970s.

Imperfect parlour

When Leland Kent captured the parlour, the imposing fireplace with its beautifully carved wooden surround and Victorian tiles still stood pride of place. The beautiful floor-to-ceiling sash windows were remarkably intact too. It's not hard to imagine the afternoon sunlight bathing this reception space in a golden glow back in the home's heyday.

In need of care

However, the crumbling ceiling no doubt required quite a bit of hard work to make right. The dainty floral and leaf motifs that decorated the ceiling had vanished and a gaping hole had opened up, which had caused the design to peel.

Meanwhile, the room's sumptuous yellow colour scheme had turned to a smokey brown and the parquet flooring was positively crying out for a good sanding and polishing.

A diamond in the rough

In the once-grand dining room, the hardwood flooring was dusty and worn but looked like it wouldn't take too much effort to revitalise. Remarkably, the room's light fitting remained intact unlike its counterpart in the parlour, and the fireplace, which incidentally is one of eight in the house, was in surprisingly good order, too.

Intricate ceramics

This close-up of the mantel shows the tiles in all their splendour. The ceramic beauties were produced by famed English pottery factory Minton and illustrate the four 'Seasons' poems by Scottish author James Thomson. Interestingly, Oscar Wilde included the poems in a list of 'books not to read at all', albeit with a heavy dose of sarcasm.

Sensitive renovation

In 1978, the house was sold to Richard and Marcia Miller (hence the property's triple-barrelled name), who embarked on an extensive renovation. The Millers spent several years restoring the property to its former glory, carefully filling their home with antique furniture and fittings from the aesthetic movement.

The Millers' sensitive restoration was lauded by experts and in 1986 the couple was presented with a prestigious award from the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation for their meticulous project.

Tragedy strikes

Tragedy struck in 2001 when the aforementioned fire gutted the kitchen and inflicted severe smoke and water damage on the rest of the property.

While the blaze undid a lot of the Millers' handiwork, traces of the renovation could still be gleaned back in 2016. The library was in remarkably decent shape considering the circumstances, including its grand, green-tiled fireplace. The ceiling was in even better condition, featuring a stunning painted fresco. The smoke and water damage seemed markedly less severe in this room.

A changing of hands

In fact, the room's green colour scheme was still evident and its built-in cabinets, made from the highest quality walnut like the other wooden fittings in the house, looked to be undamaged and ready to be packed with books again.

Not long after the blaze, the Millers, who must have been distraught, sold the property to prominent Kansas businessman Von Friesen and his wife Christy.

Frozen in time

The Friesens tried and failed to turn the house into a bed and breakfast and entered into a protracted battle with the local mayor, City Council and community over plans for a large housing development on the grounds of the heritage property. All the while, the house remained empty and in a sorry state of disrepair.

In its original configuration, the house had two bathrooms, the first of which didn't look very inviting when Leland Kent toured the property. Nevertheless, the toilet, sinks, window frames and quaint shutters were in relatively good shape, having escaped the worst of the flames.

Blackened bathroom

Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said for the smaller second bathroom. The fire looked to have taken hold in a big way in this room, which would have needed a comprehensive overhaul to get it back to a habitable state. The wood panelling and shelving unit had been charred and completely blackened by the flames.

Charred kitchen

There's no mistaking where the fire broke out. A breathtakingly dramatic scene, the kitchen was still standing despite its extreme charring, though the cabinetry and other wooden elements would likely have had to be replaced in their entirety. If you look closely, you can make out the island and the intricate support arches.

A property in peril

The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation put the property on its 2018 'Places in Peril' list, which raised the profile of the home and attracted the attention of conservationists. The Friesens also offered to sell the house to the non-profit Madison-Morgan Conservancy, a proposition that the Georgia organisation duly accepted.

Conservation challenge

Following this, the Madison-Morgan Conservancy carried out work to stabilise the home's structure to get it ready to sell to a private buyer.

The house was put up for sale in 2018 with Lewis & Redwine for £337,000 ($440k) and after eight months on the market, the fixer-upper was purchased and a new chapter began. The property was sold on the condition that the new owner restored the exterior and interiors to an exacting standard.

Buyers found

The buyers were David and Elizabeth Minnix, a conservation-minded couple from Atlanta. David Minnix's great-great-grandmother was a student at Georgia Female College, the foundations of which remain beneath the house.

The Minnixes had experience restoring heritage projects and were the perfect buyers to bring the home back to life, alongside an army of tradespeople, architects, designers and preservationists. Thankfully, the house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is eligible for generous tax reliefs and other financial incentives, which would have helped to drive down the duo's costs significantly.

Rising from the ashes

While the road to renovation was no doubt long and arduous, this beloved local landmark has now been restored to its former glory and preserved for generations to come. The vibrant colours across its exterior have been reinstated and it's once more a bustling household.

Not all abandoned homes get a happy ending, but we're relieved that this architectural gem was resurrected from the ashes.