Welcome to Hardman Farm

Welcome to Hardman Farm Historic Site. Below is a site map showing the location of the farm's 17 buildings, one ruin, and the gazebo. All except the gazebo are located on this property and can be reached by one of our many paths. The gazebo is located across Highway 17 and is not open to visitors. An interpretive panel about the Nacoochee Mounds and its gazebo is located a the front of the house., The Nichols-Hunnicutt-Hardman Farm, also known as West End and Elizabeth on the Chattahoochee is a unique collection of structures built over a time span of only 50 years and owned exclusively by three men. The farm's earliest structures represent the period directly after America's Civil War. Built by a Confederate States army officer who had recently inherited great wealth from one of his Yankee relations, West End became a place of elegance where its owner enjoyed the good things in life. Calvin Welborn Hunnicutt, an Atlanta business with a large extended family became the home's next owner. Finally, doctor, businessman, farmer, and future governor, Lamartine Griffin Hardman purchased the property in 1903., Come experience the Nacoochee Valley and learn a bit of Georgia history. We hope you enjoy your visit., Bob C. Minish Caretaker's House, When Dr. Hardman established the Nacoochee Dairy, he needed a full-time dairy manager at the farm, especially since he lived most of the year at his Commerce home or the Governor's Mansion. Therefore, he built this small farmhouse to provide for his dairy manager's family. Several dairymen worked at the farm including Mr. Westmoreland, Mr. Cannon, and Mr. Devidson before Mr. Bob Minish arrived in the early 1920s. Bob worked the farm for 20 years. After his father died in late 1945, Bob's fifth child, Opal, and his wife Trecie stayed on at the farm for over 40 years as its caretakers. They continued to care for the property long after the Nacoochee Dairy closed. The Minish family lived comfortably here even during the Great Depression. They remember this period being the only time they locked the smokehouse as most in the valley didn't have the same access to food., A third generation of the Minish family took over from Opal. Born on the property, Bruce Minish lived in the Game Room with his parents until he married. Bruce and his wife Ethelene live nearby on land they were given and continue to be active in the preservation of the farm where he once served as caretaker., Many of the Hardman descendants refer to the Minish family as the fourth family associated with the farm. Josephine Hardman remembered the Minish family as friends, not as tenants or employees. The Hardman family paid for the Minish children's education., The dairy manager's house was completed about 1908. It was L-shaped and had indoor plumbing, wood floors, and two porches. Beginning about 1921, this small home housed the Bob Minish family including six children., (caption) Bob C. Minish and Minnie Maude Clisler Minish at the Farm. Above right dated 1934, middle dated 1939, and right dated 1941. All three photographs are courtesy of the Bob C. Minish Estate.