Hyde Farm Update

Located in East Cobb off Roswell Road, Hyde Farm has been a CLHS Preservation Priority since 2011. It was farmed using 19th-century techniques until the death of the last living Hyde brother, JC, in 2004, and it is truly a last vestige of a bygone way of life in Cobb County. It was saved from development by the concerted efforts of many people: JC and his brother, Buck, who specified in their wills that the property would be preserved; the Friends of Hyde Farm, who raised money to assist The Trust for Public Land in buying and paying the taxes on the land; TPL, interim steward of the property; Cobb County and the National Park Service (NPS), current owners and stewards; and Cobb Landmarks, which has been the custodian of a fund for the rehabilitation of the buildings at Hyde Farm. Since the signing of an agreement between Cobb County and NPS, work has been underway to repair and restore the dilapidated buildings, and real changes can be seen.

Mandy Elliott, Preservation Planner for Cobb County, gave the following summary of the current state of the work at Hyde Farm:

"The rehabilitation work on the Hyde Farm house and outbuildings is well underway. All of the outbuildings, including the barn, are complete. The barn rehabilitation included installing new sills [the bottoms of the walls] and rebuilding the two wings, using as much of the original fabric as possible. The work on the house is in process and involves replacement of some sills, injecting liquid epoxy into termite-affected logs, and installing new structural footings. The wheelchair lift will be installed on the rear entrance to the house to accommodate ADA requirements. The wheelchair ramp which the Hydes had installed will be returned to that entrance.

An archaeologist has been retained for the site and has completed a survey of the area behind the house, where a detached kitchen once stood. Unfortunately, the installation of a septic tank removed all remnants of that kitchen.  

Cobb Parks, Recreation & Cultural Affairs staff will next be working with the landscape and fields in order to prepare for planting next year."

Curt Soper, Georgia/Alabama State Director for TPL, states, “The Trust for Public Land is delighted with the work that is underway to restore the barn and other structures at Hyde Farm.  The work that Cobb Landmarks and the County are doing now is exactly what was envisioned when we were all working so hard to acquire the property.” Bill Cox with the National Park Service, Superintendent of the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, added “I think Hyde Farm is a great example of an effective partnership between Cobb County and the National Park Service that furthers our mutual goal of protecting and enjoying the historic resources we all value.”

All at Cobb Landmarks are excited and encouraged at the progress and look forward to the day when Hyde Farm will be available to the public on a regular basis. Meanwhile, a special event is planned for the fall to take place at Hyde Farm and CLHS’s Power Cabin property. Details will be announced soon.