Saving The Cedars

My son came in a couple of days ago with a beautiful watercolor print of The Cedars, one of Fulton's oldest surviving homes. I had ordered the print about a week earlier and was surprised when it was personally delivered. Chip was asked to deliver the print to me when he and Jada attended the recent Heritage Day, a fund-raising event held this past Sunday at The Cedars.

Teb Thornton is the very talented Fulton artist (and my Aunt Coleen's grandson-in-law!) who created the limited edition print, which is signed and numbered. The print is a bargain at just $100. In addition to the good feeling you get from contributing to such a worthy cause, your $100 is also tax deductible. Because there are only 100 of these beautiful prints, you will need to place your order now to be assured of getting one.

The Cedars was originally a dog-trot house built by Pleasant Cates around 1860. W. L. Gaither bought the house in 1901 from the Cates family, and more recently its owner was the Fulton United Methodist Church who gifted the house to a nonprofit group organized to save the house from demolition. A special website, Itawamba Heritage, has been created by Terry Thornton to publicize and document the group's effort to move and restore The Cedars, and you can read about the house and the group's activities thus far by clicking here.

For more information about the Cates-Gaither house, please read Bob Franks' post at Itawamba History Review.

I can't wait to get my print framed and hung on the wall. With Christmas approaching, I think the prints will make wonderful gifts so keep them in mind.