Can you imagine paying $161 for a lot in Covington, Georgia? On the 30th of May in 1822, Dr. William D. Conyers paid just that for Lot 8 in Square C in Covington, which was then called Newtonsboro. After serving as a soldier in the War of 1812, Dr. Conyers settled in Newton County as one of its first pioneer residents.
Now a funeral home, one of the oldest homes in historic downtown Covington, Ga built by Dr. Conyers is the Conyers-Brown-Anderson House. This beautiful antebellum mansion (c. 1868) had humble beginnings as a log cabin in 1822.
By 1827, a new owner, Lambeth Hopkins, enlarged the cabin and added the first frame siding to the original rooms. The third owner of the block was William H.C. Pace. At that time, the property was valued at around $1000 and sold in 1854 for $1300.
Fast forward to the beginning of the Civil War, where the one-time log cabin was now home to the family of Coleman G. and Fannie Brown. It is sad to note that within the short span of seven years, Fannie lost not only her husband as a casualty of the Civil War, but her three children, all while cloistered in the Conyers-Brown-Anderson House.
Perhaps one of the more happy memories of the house occurred when Mr. W.H. Pickett purchased the house and then deeded it to his daughter Sallie Mae for “$5 and love and affection.” Mrs. Sallie Mae Cook lived in the house with her husband, William S. Cook and their children Sarah, Carter and William Jr. until it sold in September of 1949 for the sum of $15,000.
The home hosted the Allen family until 1976, when Lester Lackey, a well-known black undertaker purchased the house to use as a mortuary. Mr. Lackey, a native of Covington and WWII Veteran, converted the house and altered the exterior of the first floor front windows to give them the appearance of a Gothic chapel.
If you have an opportunity to take the self-guided historic home tour in Covington Ga or drive past the Conyers-Brown-Anderson House, we hope you will remember that this stunning example of “progress” had its start in the city’s earliest days when a pioneer settler built and lived in the simple log cabin now incorporated into the commanding structure.
Additional information about the history of the Conyers-Brown-Anderson House can be found in the book, “The Glory of Covington” by William Bailey Williford. Available for purchase at the Covington – Newton County Visitors Center.
