Gainesville in Hall County, Georgia — The American South (South Atlantic)
The Historic Piedmont Hotel
Photographed By David Seibert, October 22, 2005
1. The Historic Piedmont Hotel Marker
Inscription.
The Historic Piedmont Hotel. . The Piedmont Hotel was constructed here just prior to the opening of the nearby railroad in 1873. Primarily a summer resort, the three-story hotel was a rambling, U-shaped structure with 30 rooms. A large dinning room and kitchen adjoined the building. Confederate James Longstreet (1821-1904) owned and operated the hotel for almost 20 years following the Civil War. During that time, as Georgia’s most influential Republican Party leader, Longstreet hosted a number of notable 19th century Americans at the hotel, including Union General and New York Congressman Daniel Sickles, Confederate General Joseph Johnston, newspaperman Henry Grady and writer Joel Chandler Harris. The hotel’s most famous guests were the young Woodrow and Ellen Axson Wilson. Their second daughter Jessie Woodrow was born here on August 28, 1887, in a still-existing room. The need to supply the hotel’s demand for its famous fried chicken and other savory chicken dishes is recognized as the motivation for the genesis of the poultry industry in Northeast Georgia. The majority of the hotel building was demolished c. 1918, but in 1993, a run-down duplex apartment building was discovered to be the Piedmont Hotel’s lower-level west-wing, which contained the room where Jessie Wilson was born.
The Piedmont Hotel was constructed here just prior to the opening of the nearby railroad in 1873. Primarily a summer resort, the three-story hotel was a rambling, U-shaped structure with 30 rooms. A large dinning room and kitchen adjoined the building. Confederate James Longstreet (1821-1904) owned and operated the hotel for almost 20 years following the Civil War. During that time, as Georgia’s most influential Republican Party leader, Longstreet hosted a number of notable 19th century Americans at the hotel, including Union General and New York Congressman Daniel Sickles, Confederate General Joseph Johnston, newspaperman Henry Grady and writer Joel Chandler Harris. The hotel’s most famous guests were the young Woodrow and Ellen Axson Wilson. Their second daughter Jessie Woodrow was born here on August 28, 1887, in a still-existing room. The need to supply the hotel’s demand for its famous fried chicken and other savory chicken dishes is recognized as the motivation for the genesis of the poultry industry in Northeast Georgia. The majority of the hotel building was demolished c. 1918, but in 1993, a run-down duplex apartment building was discovered to be the Piedmont Hotel’s lower-level west-wing, which contained the room where Jessie Wilson was born.
Erected 1998 by The Longstreet Society/
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Georgia Department of Natural Resources. (Marker Number 069-7.)
Location. 34° 17.432′ N, 83° 49.318′ W. Marker is in Gainesville, Georgia, in Hall County. Marker is on Maple Street, 0 miles north of Martin Luther King Boulevard, on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Gainesville GA 30501, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Photographed By Richard Pilcher, circa April 1, 2009
3. The Historic Piedmont Hotel
Photographed By David Seibert, November 28, 2009
4. The Historic Piedmont Hotel
Photographed By David Seibert, November 28, 2009
5. Sign at The Historic Piedmont Hotel
The painting on the sign shows the hotel as it stood, with the surviving wing in the foreground
Photographed By David Seibert, November 28, 2009
6. Lt. Gen. James Longstreet's Grave
Longstreet is buried in Alta Vista Cemetery, in Gainesville
Credits. This page was last revised on October 13, 2020. It was originally submitted on October 19, 2009, by David Seibert of Sandy Springs, Georgia. This page has been viewed 2,119 times since then and 118 times this year. Last updated on October 20, 2009, by Richard Pilcher of Gainesville, Ga, Usa. Photos:1. submitted on October 19, 2009, by David Seibert of Sandy Springs, Georgia. 2. submitted on December 8, 2009, by David Seibert of Sandy Springs, Georgia. 3. submitted on October 20, 2009, by Richard Pilcher of Gainesville, Ga, Usa. 4, 5, 6. submitted on December 8, 2009, by David Seibert of Sandy Springs, Georgia. • Craig Swain was the editor who published this page.
