327 Hill Street

Historical Research and Compilation by Sarah Brown

Photos by Matt Brewster, Marigold Solutions

House Instructions:

Keep food out of living rooms, upstairs will not be viewable, and restroom available.

House History:

Rose Hugenin Delony, widow of Captain William Gaston Delony, Commander of Calvary in Cobb’s Legion of Lee’s Army, bought a lot in Cobbham and had the elegant home at 327 Hill Street built in 1894 as a gift for her daughter, Rosa. The high-style Victorian house boasts two stories, a complex roof plan, intricate hand-carved walnut newel posts on the central staircase, 12 ½-foot ceilings, elegant cast iron mantels, large windows that allow abundant natural light, and heart pine floors. The veranda is a melange of details with chamfered posts, scrollwork, brackets, turned balusters, a pediment above the entrance with an applied “sunburst” design, and iron casting. There is a fireplace off the back patio.

Rosa Delony later married John Hope Hull, the grandson of one of the founders of the University of Georgia. Together, they had a daughter, Leila May Hull, who became a teacher of Domestic Science at Athens High School and married Major Hunter Harris, a military instructor at the same school. Between 1909 and 1931, the Athens City Directory lists several residents of the home who were not family members. These inhabitants include Geo (Ibbie) Jernigen; Mariah Jackson, a nurse for E. J. Bondurant; University of Georgia students William Meadow, Edwin Nott, William Winburn, and Frances Engle; Miss Lillian Middlemas and Miss Elizabeth, who taught at Baxter Street School and a public school, respectively; domestic workers Edna Jackson, Patsie Robinson, and Jane Tentlin; and Rosa D. Carson, a student

In 1945, the Hull family sold the property to W.H. Benson, who operated it as a boarding house and he sold it to Louella Massey, who was a nurse at 448 N Milledge Avenue, in 1946. Between 1947 and 1958, the Athens City Directories list several residents who were not family members living at the home. These inhabitants include: Garnett L. and Lillian M. Ivester; Elmer L. Jackson; Mrs. Annie B. Kidd and her family; Francisco C. Lopez; Sara F. Lamar; Ina W. Watkins; Herold M. and Julia S. Kelley; Jacie P. and Chas W. McElroy; Marvin and Mollie Sexton; Emily P. Smith; Lloyd Fitzpatrick, Jas Hefner, and William H. Sanders were in apartments at 327 Hill; Mrs. Lois Arnold; Mary L. Sanders, a nurse’s aide at St. Mary’s Hospital of Athens; T. H. Raines and Virginia S. Chapman, both employees of the University of Georgia; Patrick Harrison and Bobby McGahee, both students, all lived there.

Louella Massey sold the home in 1981 to Prince Avenue Baptist Church, which used the house for storage until 1988. The property was then sold to Milton Leathers, who aimed to find a family willing to restore it for residential use. In 1989, Chris and Katja Wilson purchased the home and began its renovation, followed by Karen Gurr in 1991, who continued the remodeling while using the house as her residence and a personal care home. The current owner, the DeMarcos, purchased the home in 1999. 

In late 2021, the DeMarcos purchased the adjacent cottage and parcel behind the house, which had once been part of the original lot. This acquisition allowed them to restore the property’s original depth, expanding the lot size to match the surrounding historic homes on the block. The house is decorated with an eclectic mix of antiques and a large collection of artwork, primarily created by local artists.

Renovations:

Previous owners had converted the original back porch area into bathrooms and closets. In 1999, Tony and Elizabeth Patel DeMarco acquired the property and began an extensive restoration. In 2000, D.O.C. Unlimited was hired to restore this area to its original porch-like appearance, ensuring the renovation was in harmony with the home’s original craftsmanship and grandeur. In 2020, Michael Songster Construction, Inc. began building a brick outbuilding designed by D.O.C. Unlimited to complement the historic home, providing utility space and a screened porch.