Oak Hill & The Martha Berry Museum facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Oak Hill-Berry Museum
Oak Hill
Gate Entrance to Berry Museum.
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Established	1884 (original farmhouse in 1847)
Location	24 Veterans Memorial Hwy Rome, Georgia, United States

Oak Hill & The Martha Berry Museum is a special place in Rome, Georgia, United States. It is the former home of Martha Berry, who started Berry College. Today, it is a museum where you can learn all about her life and the history of the college.

This beautiful estate is also a recognized garden, called an All-America Selections Display Garden. It is part of the historic Berry Schools property, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It's also a popular spot for visitors, earning a AAA Star Attraction rating.

Oak Hill: A Historic Home

Oak Hill is a large estate, about 170 acres (0.69 km2) in size. The main house is a grand Greek Revival style mansion. It started as a Victorian-style farmhouse built in 1847.

Early History of the Estate

During the American Civil War, Union soldiers used the estate as a place to stay. This happened when Rome was captured during the Atlanta Campaign.

Later, a writer named Charles H. Smith owned the estate. He sold it to his friend, Andrew M. Sloan. In 1868, Thomas Berry and his family moved to Rome, Georgia, from Alabama. Thomas became a partner in a business that sold groceries and cotton.

Around 1871, Thomas Berry's business did very well. He decided to buy a better home. He bought the estate from Sloan for $9,000. Thomas, his wife Frances, their eight children, and three orphaned children of his late brother moved into the farmhouse.

Rebuilding and Renaming Oak Hill

In 1884, the farmhouse caught fire and burned down. Thomas Berry rebuilt and restored it. He changed it into the Greek Revival style home we see today. He named it Oak Hill.

Thomas's will said that his home and 160-acre (0.65 km2) estate should be sold after he and his wife passed away. The money was to be divided equally among his eight children. However, Martha Berry really wanted to keep the house. She saw it as her home, a place for her schools, and a symbol of her life's work.

In October 1927, her family sold their shares of the Oak Hill estate to Martha. She then gave the estate to The Berry Schools for just five dollars. This made sure the property would always be part of her educational vision.

Oak Hill, Martha Berry's historic home.

Martha Berry's Renovations

Once Oak Hill belonged to The Berry Schools, Martha decided to make some improvements. She hired a famous architectural firm from Boston, Coolidge & Carlson. This firm had also designed other buildings on the Berry College campus.

Between 1927 and 1928, the house was completely renovated inside. The old walls were removed and replaced with new plaster. New features were added, like electricity and indoor plumbing. Six and a half bathrooms were installed, replacing the old outhouse. A steam heating system was also put in, as the house was hard to heat with just fireplaces.

The renovations included a "new" parlor, kitchen, pantry, and library. An elevator was added in the 1930s. Two bedrooms and a portico (a covered porch) were also added to the back of the house.

Changes to the Dining Room and Kitchen

One big change was combining the dining room and parlor into one large room. This new space became a social center. The dining room was moved down the hall to where the master bedroom used to be. The wallpaper in the dining room is a special wood-block print called Isola Bella. This print was very popular in the 1920s.

Berry students made the colonial-style furniture in the dining room. They worked under the direction of the same teacher who made a tall clock for the hallway. The kitchen and pantry areas were designed for students and maids to easily serve guests in the dining room. The kitchen had modern features for the 1920s, like a refrigerator, food storage, a bell system, and cabinets.

The Library and Elevator

The library, with its beautiful pecan wood paneling, was added in 1928. It was one of Martha's favorite rooms. The fancy woodwork in the library was done by the same company that worked on the Ford buildings at the college.

The elevator was installed in the 1930s. The Berry Alumni Association donated it for Martha. She had a heart condition that made it hard for her to climb stairs. The elevator went from the first floor, near the kitchen, up to Martha's dressing room on the second floor. Her new bedroom and dressing room were built with the elevator area. They included a private bathroom and simple wicker furniture made by Berry students. The changes to Oak Hill allowed Martha to show her ideas about education and life to her guests.

Original Rooms

Some areas of the house were not renovated. These original rooms were used by the Berry family and students. They belonged to Martha's mother, Frances Rhea Berry; her niece, Virginia Campbell Courts; and her sister, Bessie Wright, and Bessie's husband, Judge Moses Wright. They all lived with Martha until they passed away. Another room was used by female Berry students who worked for Martha to gain skills.

Oak Hill Today

In October 1972, the estate opened as a museum to the public. This celebrated Martha's 106th birthday. The opening included Oak Hill's other buildings, the Berry Gardens, the bridal walk, the original cabin, and the Martha Berry Museum. The Oak Hill Gift Shop opened 24 years later.

The estate has also been used as a filming location for movies. Some films shot here include Sweet Home Alabama, Perfect Harmony, and Remember the Titans.

Martha Freeman's Cottage

Aunt Martha's cottage.

This small cottage was once a schoolhouse. It belonged to Martha Freeman, who was a servant and a very important family friend to Martha Berry. Martha Freeman was formerly enslaved. She was married to Enoch Freeman, who drove the Berry family's carriage.

Martha Freeman helped raise the Berry children. After her husband died in the 1890s, she moved to this cottage. She continued to help Martha Berry, the Berry students, and the growing Berry Schools. After Martha Berry died in 1942, Martha Freeman stayed on as the caretaker of the estate until she passed away in 1951. She was buried next to Martha Berry. Today, the cottage shows visitors the rooms where Martha Freeman lived.

Carriage House

The estate's rebuilt carriage house displays old vehicles that Martha Berry used. She rode in these carriages and cars until she died in 1942. She never drove them herself. Male student drivers and Geddins Cannon, the grounds director, drove her everywhere.

Inside the carriage house, you can see a Berry buggy, a 1914 Ford touring car, a 1917 Ford Model-T, a 1940 Mercury, and a Fordson tractor. The 1940 Mercury was the last car Martha rode in before she passed away.

Oak Hill Gardens

Goldfish Garden.

On the right side of Oak Hill, you'll find several beautiful gardens. These include the Formal Garden, Goldfish Garden, Sundial Garden, and Sunken Garden. A landscape artist from Philadelphia, Robert Cridland, designed them. He created these formal gardens around Oak Hill during the 1927 renovation. His designs showed the popular landscaping styles of the early 1900s.

The Formal Garden

The Formal Garden used to be Frances Rhea Berry's garden. It has boxwood plants arranged in patterns with stone borders and fountains. It's not clear if this garden was there before Martha Berry's renovation, but some parts might have been. This garden changes with the seasons. It features summer flowers in spring, Crepe Myrtles and Rose of Sharon in summer, chrysanthemums in fall, and violas, kale, and ornamental cabbage in winter.

Goldfish Garden

Across from the Formal Garden is the Goldfish Garden. This was Martha's favorite spot. She would write letters under the arbor (a shaded walkway) at the north end. Aunt Martha Freeman also used to feed her goldfish in the pond here until she died in 1951. This garden was built at the same time as the Formal Garden. Now, it showcases herbs with a knot garden design around the pond, using small barberry and boxwood plants.

Sunken Garden.

Sundial Garden

Next to the Goldfish Garden is the Sundial Garden. It has a real sundial in its center. People believe it was used for tea parties and growing floribunda roses. Like the other gardens, the Sundial Garden also changes with the seasons. It features summer sunflowers, fall mums, and winter cabbage and kale.

Sunken Garden

The last garden in the row is the Sunken Garden. It was built between 1934 and 1936. It was designed as an amphitheater for small concerts and events, but now it is a garden. You can find Kwansan cherry trees here, which were given by the Emperor of Japan in the 1930s. There's also a collection of day lilies given by the Georgia Day Lily Society in the 1980s. This garden also changes with the seasons, featuring annual flowers and ornamental grasses in summer, mums in fall, and pansies, violas, cabbage, and kale in winter.

Bridal Walk

Near the carriage house, you'll find the Bridal Walk. There's also a small "chapel" building nearby. This walk was created in the early 1900s for newlyweds from Berry College. Martha Berry would invite them to walk down to the summerhouse at the end of the path after their wedding. There, they would make their first wish as a married couple.

Weddings were not usually held at Oak Hill because it was a private home. However, Martha encouraged Berry alumni and students to use the chapels on the Berry College campus for their ceremonies. The Bridal Walk features boxwood plants at each trellis and roses growing over the trellises. Mondo grass grows along the outside edges. On the east side of the walk, there's a border of perennial plants. These include peonies given by Clara Ford, ornamental grasses, eucalyptus, and many other flowering shrubs and perennials.

Original Cabin: Birthplace of Berry College

"Birthplace of Berry College" first original Berry School (Sunday School) taught by Martha Berry.

The original cabin was built shortly after the American Civil War. It was first used as a playhouse for Martha Berry and her siblings and cousins when they were children.

In the late 1890s, three young boys from Lavender Mountain came to this cabin. Martha taught them Sunday School lessons here. These boys were poor and had not been to school. They had never even heard the Bible. As word spread about Martha's teaching and kindness, more people came to her for lessons.

When the cabin became too full, the Possum Trot day school was started on the Berry campus. This allowed more students to continue their education. The Possum Trot day school eventually grew into the Berry Schools, which is now Berry College. The cabin was also Martha's office before her new office was built on the Berry campus. Today, the cabin is a preserved site near the Martha Berry Museum. It is known as The Birthplace of Berry College.

Martha Berry Museum and Oak Hill Gift Shop

Martha Berry Museum.

The Martha Berry Museum was built as a small part of the Oak Hill estate in 1972. It opened in October of that year. An architect from Atlanta, Samuel Inman Cooper, designed it.

The museum's lobby displays paintings of famous people, including Henry Ford and Theodore Roosevelt. There's a permanent exhibit on the first floor that tells the story of the Berry Family. It also shows how the Berry Schools grew into Berry College. Temporary exhibits are also displayed in the back of the first floor.

The second floor features the art collection of Martha Berry's sister, Eugenia, and her husband, Prince Enrico of Italy. This collection includes paintings by both Italian and American artists. The art spans nearly 1000 years of history. The museum directors' offices are located at each front end, near the main entrance.

Oak Hill Gift Shop

The small gray cottage was built in 1846. The Berry family bought it in 1928. It first served as the gate house for Oak Hill, marking the original main entrance. It was also the home of Martha's brother, Isaac "Ike." In 1995, it was moved to its current spot behind the Martha Berry Museum.

The cottage has been restored, renovated, and made new again. It opened in 1996 and now serves as the Oak Hill Gift Shop. An arbor entry, a garden, and a picket fence were added to the cottage. The garden is used to teach landscaping techniques. It also displays new plant varieties from All America Selections. It is one of only three such display gardens in Georgia.