279 Henderson Ave.

House Instructions

The first floor will be open. One restroom is available.

About the House

The builder of 279 Henderson Avenue was James Audley Morton (b. 1875, d. 1940). His wedding to May Olmstead Walden in September 1909 was reported in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. James was the son of a Confederate colonel and May was the daughter of a Presbyterian clergyman.

In the April 1910 census, “Audley J.” and Mary Morton lived with his brother-in-law, Thomas Stanley, at 147 Milledge Avenue. There were then very few houses on Henderson Avenue and, presumably, what would become James Morton and May Walden’s home was in the process of being built. In his September 1918 draft registration, James is shown as living at 279 Henderson Avenue.

At that time, he was a collector for the National Bank of Athens on Broad Street. In the 1920 census, he was listed as homeowner J. Audley Morton, secretary-treasurer of a cotton manufacturing company, with his wife Mary Walden Morton.

There were two renters: widow Mary Lyle, age 44, and her “spinster” sister Annie Lyle, age 52, who was assistant postmaster for Athens. According to the AJC, Annie died in June 1920 at the home of her cousin Audley Morton.