The house was built circa 1868 in an area then known for its upper-class residents. Harris began renting the home in 1881 before buying it two years later thanks to earnings from his first book Uncle Remus: Songs and Sayings. He lived here until his death in 1908.[5] Harris had the home extended with six additional rooms and a new Queen Anne-style facade added in 1884. A furnace, indoor plumbing, and electricity were added circa 1900.[6]
In the late 1880s and early 1890s, Harris's goddaughter, Daisy Baker, who would become Margaret Dumont, lived at Snap Bean Farm.[7]
Harris originally referred to the home as Snap Bean Farm, as a reference to fellow author Eugene Field's home Sabine Farm. The name "Wren's Nest" came from his discovery of a family of wrens living in the mailbox in the spring of 1895.[5]
After several years of correspondence, Indiana poet James Whitcomb Riley visited Harris at Wren's Nest in 1900. Harris's children were especially interested in Riley and nicknamed him Uncle Jeems.[6]
Ultimately, Harris wrote more than twenty books while living in the home as well as several editorials for the Atlanta Constitution and various articles for magazines and newspapers — including his own, The Uncle Remus Home Magazine.[8]
Modern history
The Wren's Nest in 2009
After Harris's death, businessman Andrew Carnegie donated $5,000 toward establishing the home as a museum. He had met Harris there in 1900 during a 20-minute visit.[6] From 1913 to 1953, the home was managed by the Uncle Remus Memorial Association, a group of volunteers who operated the house as a museum. In 1983, the organization became known as the Joel Chandler Harris Association.[8]
The home still contains furnishings owned by Harris and utilizes the original paint colors. The house became known as Wren's Nest in 1900 after the Harris children found a wren had built a nest in the mail box; the family built a new mailbox in order to leave the nest undisturbed. The structure was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1962.[1][3][9] The original mailbox that housed the family of wrens and led to the home's name was recreated during a renovation in 1991.[6]
The organization that maintains the Wren's Nest offers tours and regular storytelling. The organization also has two writing programs for Atlanta area youth: KIPP Scribes, in partnership with APS charter school KIPP STRIVE Academy, and Wren's Nest Publishing Company, an entirely high school student run literary journal.[10]
^ abcd"Joel Chandler Harris House". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on January 31, 2009. Retrieved April 29, 2008.
^ abBurke, Michelle Prater. The Ideals Guide to Literary Places in the U.S. Nashville, TN: Ideals Publications Incorporated, 1998: 80. ISBN0-8249-4093-8
^ abcdBurke, Michelle Prater. The Ideals Guide to Literary Places in the U.S. Nashville, TN: Ideals Publications Incorporated, 1998: 81. ISBN0-8249-4093-8
^"Archived copy". Marget Dumont! You Know, From the Marx Brothers. Wren's Nest. Archived from the original on August 19, 2016. Retrieved June 6, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ abBurke, Michelle Prater. The Ideals Guide to Literary Places in the U.S. Nashville, TN: Ideals Publications Incorporated, 1998: 82. ISBN0-8249-4093-8
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