Save the Duke Farm

[RogerDuke]

We are in danger of losing a piece of Americana.

The original Duke farm is in jeopardy.

Most of you know that the greatest show in the history of our planet originally began in northern Georgia with the first 5 episodes. The farm is now owned by the grandfather of a HazzardNet member, Nash.

I don't know if there's anything we can do to save the farm from falling in but we can't just sit around and do nothing. Uncle Jesse would be so ashamed of us if we didn't put up a good old-fashioned fight.

I'd like to see this thread become the most active one on the HazzardNet because this is a campaign we MUST win. We need to figure out a way to keep the Duke farm standing.

There's more information on this under the title "Georgia Trip" at the top of the forum page but I thought this title would be more appropriate and I'd like to make it a starting point to begin our fight to preserve this irreplaceable historic landmark.

Maybe we could call poiliticans in the state of Georgia and the county where the farm is located. If it was declared a historical landmark that would help. I know other homes that have been declared that....and they're not nearly as historical. Hopefully we can get ahold of some of the actors to get advice. I'm sure Ben, Sonny and John would be very interested.

Hopefully we can convince Nash to log in a lot to give us more information.

I'm open to all ideas but we MUST act!!

Even if you do nothing else, read this thread often and let us know you care.

[Guest SleepysRose]

Roger like I said in the other post let me know and I will see about calling my dad and see if he can help us find out about some programs in GA since my dad lives in Hiram, Palding Co., GA NW of "Hotlanta" as we call it on the CB radio. I will be glad to see what I can get my dad to find out for us to help see about saving the Duke farm especially adding that fact that it is a Civil War Landmark as well. If my hunch is right we can also look into some Civil War Home preservation societies as well because of that. So you might want to look into that as well. Hope that idea helps and I will see about getting a hold of my dad and finding out what I can for you.

[RogerDuke]

Thanks SleepysRose.

I'd like to get the name of the county the farm's in and make some calls.

Maybe your dad could find that information since he's close by. If I knew which county it's in I could probably get on google and get a phone number.

I sure would like to give Nash's grandfather a call. I hope Nash logs on soon. We don't have a prayer if he doesn't help.

[RogerDuke]

Wouldn't it be nice if we could get ahold of some important people like Gy Waldron, executives at Warner Brothers and actors from the show and just ask them to make some calls for us. We could stress that we don't want them to make any financial donations, just make some calls.

Folks are more apt to help if it's just their time they're donating and not money.....LOL

Our next step should be to get a collection of phone numbers together!!!!

[Guest SleepysRose]

If I am right Covington is located in Newton Co., GA. Only reason I know this is from doing my family tree and having kind from that area of GA is why. So hope that Helps Roger.

Thanks SleepysRose.

I'd like to get the name of the county the farm's in and make some calls.

Maybe your dad could find that information since he's close by. If I knew which county it's in I could probably get on google and get a phone number.

I sure would like to give Nash's grandfather a call. I hope Nash logs on soon. We don't have a prayer if he doesn't help.

[Guest SleepysRose]

Well Corey Eubanks is on Facebook I know that. And I think he might be able to help us get in touch with Gy Waldron if someone would write him and ask about this. Would that idea work?

Wouldn't it be nice if we could get ahold of some important people like Gy Waldron, executives at Warner Brothers and actors from the show and just ask them to make some calls for us. We could stress that we don't want them to make any financial donations, just make some calls.

Folks are more apt to help if it's just their time they're donating and not money.....LOL

Our next step should be to get a collection of phone numbers together!!!!

[Brian Coltrane]

I'm all for saving the house, but sadly there ain't much left to save. The prior owner tore apart so much of the exterior that there's only sticks and rusty tin left.

I don't know everything about historic designations, but I do know that once a house has been modified - or ruined - past a certain level of it's original structue, it's not gonna qualify.

What are you wanting to do, exactly? Get the original log structure designated as a historical homestead, restoring it to the civil-war era condition? Or do you want to rebuild the place to look like the Duke farmhouse? (which would be neat, but not necessarily historically significant, as 5 eps of tv show do not a monument make. )

I'd suggest fleshing out a plan before going much further.

One idea I'd like to throw out there, is the notion of dismantling the place, piece by piece, restoring the timber, and then rebuilding the place somewhere else, that is suitable for like-minded tourism. ( such as Cooter's Place.) I know, it wouldn't be on the original spot anymore, but it may have a better chance of viability as "The Duke Farmhouse" this way.

Heck, I'd stop by and tour it if you could go inside, and have your picture taken on the porch, wouldn't you? Wouldn't you love to park your car out in front of it and pretend you were home?

In my own home state, a lot of historic buildings were saved by this dismantle-restore-rebuild process. ( Such as eminent domain issues where a 4 lane highway was being built and the original location could not be supported anymore.)

Anyhow - given the condition, this is a tough sell, no matter what. Don't throw tomatoes here, but it might be more feasible to build a new replica of the Duke farmhouse than it is to save what is sadly left of the original.

It'd be kinda neat to keep the place in the Covington vicintiy, but you'd have to get the Boar's Nest lined up too. Don't even get me started on that place. Seriously, I looked at buying it 12 years ago with another Dukes fan who must have been on crack. What began as a fairly viable tourism prospect became Mission Impossible because the sellers were impossible and the county had more code violations on that dump than even Boss Hogg could have come up with. I'm not surprised it ended up being a church for awhile, because frankly, buying that place had to have taken an act of God.

[Guest SleepysRose]

Brian you have alot of very good points. To answer your question the house would have to be restored as close and possible from the ground up to what it was during the Civil War era in order to qualify for the Historic House rebuilding grants or programs that are available in that area.

Also second when the house is rebuilt you have to and must stay as close as possible to the original things used for that time period. Only reason I know this is because of some of my cousins living in the historic houses in Batesville, AR today as well as the fact two of the houses that are still in my family were built by my family and are historic because of right after Civil War and another being built in the 20-30s time frame. So say Asphestis was used for the shingle on the roof you would have to use what they would allow you to use that is safest and closest to that according to todays building codes depending on the state you are in.

Now your idea is not a bad one if I say so myself about having a replica of the Uncle Jesse's farm built somewhere else in GA. From what I have heard which is just "here say" Byron Cherry is supposed to be opening a Boar's Nest 2 somewhere in GA in the future. So if we can all write him and see about him adding a replica of the Uncle Jesse's house somewhere close to the Boar's Nest that wouldn't be a bad idea to be honest because it's still in GA where the show was filmed. Just not sure if it will be anywhere in Covington though. So that's not a bad idea. Because then we can help get that other house restored to Civil War standards be helping Nash's family look into some Restoration assistance and grants to get that house rebuilt and declared a Civil War Landmark and put on the Tourist list with all the other Civil War tourist spots and battlefield having it rebuilt like it was as close as possible and also have a copy of the Farm house built somewhere in the area as well. Good suggestion.

Plus in the Civil War restoration they can also put photos and Dukes Stuff and things explainng that before this house was also used to film the show at later on in it's life after it had been rebuilt through time in the years after the Civil War and have some Dukes STuff and photos on display there as well along with the Civil War Era stuff and info on who lived there during that time as well. So if anybody has some input to that idea please speak. I honestly think Bryan had a good idea since I heard "hear say" that Byron was wanting to open a Boars Nest 2 in that area anyway. Not sure if that is true or not though. So please speak and throw the ideas out there because everyone's support and opinion helps.

I'm all for saving the house, but sadly there ain't much left to save. The prior owner tore apart so much of the exterior that there's only sticks and rusty tin left.

I don't know everything about historic designations, but I do know that once a house has been modified - or ruined - past a certain level of it's original structue, it's not gonna qualify.

What are you wanting to do, exactly? Get the original log structure designated as a historical homestead, restoring it to the civil-war era condition? Or do you want to rebuild the place to look like the Duke farmhouse? (which would be neat, but not necessarily historically significant, as 5 eps of tv show do not a monument make. )

I'd suggest fleshing out a plan before going much further.

One idea I'd like to throw out there, is the notion of dismantling the place, piece by piece, restoring the timber, and then rebuilding the place somewhere else, that is suitable for like-minded tourism. ( such as Cooter's Place.) I know, it wouldn't be on the original spot anymore, but it may have a better chance of viability as "The Duke Farmhouse" this way.

Heck, I'd stop by and tour it if you could go inside, and have your picture taken on the porch, wouldn't you? Wouldn't you love to park your car out in front of it and pretend you were home?

In my own home state, a lot of historic buildings were saved by this dismantle-restore-rebuild process. ( Such as eminent domain issues where a 4 lane highway was being built and the original location could not be supported anymore.)

Anyhow - given the condition, this is a tough sell, no matter what. Don't throw tomatoes here, but it might be more feasible to build a new replica of the Duke farmhouse than it is to save what is sadly left of the original.

It'd be kinda neat to keep the place in the Covington vicintiy, but you'd have to get the Boar's Nest lined up too. Don't even get me started on that place. Seriously, I looked at buying it 12 years ago with another Dukes fan who must have been on crack. What began as a fairly viable tourism prospect became Mission Impossible because the sellers were impossible and the county had more code violations on that dump than even Boss Hogg could have come up with. I'm not surprised it ended up being a church for awhile, because frankly, buying that place had to have taken an act of God.

[RogerDuke]

Thanks for all your help and concern SleepysRose.

Thanks for your input Brian. I'm sure you wish you had better news. I appreciate your thoughtful words and ideas.

So much of this depends on Nash logging in and helping inform us a little better. We need as much information as we can get. I sure would like to get in the chat room with him one of these days.

The big issue here is how bad the farmhouse is physically. If it falls down it would be tragic. I know there was only 5 episodes filmed there but it's still where it all started. Some presidents didn't live in their birthplaces for long but the house of their birth is still a celebrated and historic building.

If the Dukes farmhouse is beyond repair then my next question would be about the barn. Saving it would be a consolation.

Losing everthing on the original farm wouldn't be as tragic as when we lost some of the stars but I for one, will shed a tear if I knew the Duke farm was no more. Part of me would die too, just like it did when we lost Jesse, Boss and Waylon.

[Guest SleepysRose]

Your welcome Roger. I didn't mean to disapoint you but from what I have learned from my dad as well as cousins it all depends on the rules and regulations of the state it is in and where it is and so forth. We all would love to see the house restored, but if the rule require you to go by "Civil War" time era than that means it can't be like what it was on the show because of that. So it all depends on the area. Yes if we could save anything I agree it would be great. So you will need to look into the county I mentioned and call and ask them about it. So hope that helps Roger. I am behind you in this because that place is just as special to me as the rest of us from watching the TV show. I have also been trying to pass the word to some of my friends as well by phone to get them in on this and they are behind us 100% as well.

Thanks for all your help and concern SleepysRose.

Thanks for your input Brian. I'm sure you wish you had better news. I appreciate your thoughtful words and ideas.

So much of this depends on Nash logging in and helping inform us a little better. We need as much information as we can get. I sure would like to get in the chat room with him one of these days.

The big issue here is how bad the farmhouse is physically. If it falls down it would be tragic. I know there was only 5 episodes filmed there but it's still where it all started. Some presidents didn't live in their birthplaces for long but the house of their birth is still a celebrated and historic building.

If the Dukes farmhouse is beyond repair then my next question would be about the barn. Saving it would be a consolation.

Losing everthing on the original farm wouldn't be as tragic as when we lost some of the stars but I for one, will shed a tear if I knew the Duke farm was no more. Part of me would die too, just like it did when we lost Jesse, Boss and Waylon.

[RogerDuke]

Well, I guess we really can't do anything unless Nash logs in again.

This thing will go about as far as a Hazzard Country patrol car with four flat tires and no carbeurator unless Nash's grandfather wants to get involved.

We've done everything we can do until we hear from him.

Thanks again SleepysRose. You're a fighter who's not afraid to put an effort into a good cause

Uncle Jesse would be proud.

I suppose it might be time for us to consider we might be fighting a losing battle. I'm only considering it though. I'm still a long ways from giving up.

[texasdaisy09]

I'm with Roger, we cannot let this happen! I want to visit there someday and my kids would love it. We have got to do something. I'll be praying....

[Brian Coltrane]

Heck, if Nash's grandpa would allow the place to be torn down (gently as possible) so that the remaining, original timber could be refurbished and saved, rebuilding the joint to the TV specs wouldn't be so bad. It would still exist. And Hazzard County, after all, is everywhere and anywhere that a rural lifestyle is celebrated.

Restoring it where it's at, when somebody else is right behind the house... I don't see the neighbors digging a full-scale tourist attraction.

Does anybody have the actual address of this place? I'm no slouch on some aspects of real estate and I'm willing to do some research. Can't promise a miracle here, but now I'm curious on a few points.

[RogerDuke]

I sure wish Nash would log in. We used to be able to count on him to pop by once a week but things haven't been looking so good lately.

I suppose if we don't hear from him and if his grandfather isn't interested in getting involved, this might not be one of those happy Hazzard County endings.

[Brian Coltrane]

Awright, after getting good info from MaryAnne and Daney - and knowing what I know about this kinda stuff - it's my personal opinion that the original Dukes farmhouse cannot be saved where it's at.

I do believe it's feasible to purchase the cabin itself , dismantle it and move it, IF the wood isn't so rotted as to make it impossible.

The cabin is worthless, as-is, where-is. But I'm sure the neighbors with their newer houses and nice subdivisions would appreciate the thing being removed. I hate to say it, but sooner or later somebody's just gonna tear it down or burn it up anyway.

I know it'd be a shame if the thing couldn't be kept in GA, but hell, it's been kept in GA this long and look what happened to it. I say we pack the thing up and move it. It's a matter if the current owner is willing to let the thing go and if somebody can financially take on the project.

And where to put it? Part of the cost evaluation involves how far this pile of kindling has to travel. I keep thinking Cooter's Place would be a natural home, if he had the room for it. Otherwise, it wouldn't be impossible to plunk the thing in Tom Wopat's hometown, which could use some tourism anyway. But trucking this pile of wood and tin several states over is daunting.

Keeping it in GA, if there was a movie/tv preservationist who cared enough to sponsor it there, would be the cheapest option. But I don't know that GA is swimming in Dukes toursim anyway. Diehard fans make the pilgrimage to Convington once in awhile, but again I don't think the locals care that much. ( my own impressions, having visited GA vs. having been to Dukes shindigs in TN, VA, and elsewhere.)

Anyhow, it boils down to this. Is the current owner of this mistreated cabin willing to let someone take it away, for a nominal price?

I'm kinda surprised Travis Bell hasn't already done this and then auctioned it on Ebay for $60,000 or somesuch. Ahhh, don't get me started.

Check out this link, to see some picks of how the place looked in 2006, inside and out. Lotsa GA locations here, scroll down to the Duke house.

http://users.telenet.be/roadmaster/dukesofhazzard_locations.htm

[texasdaisy09]

It's so sad that it's all falling apart. I almost started crying. Lol yeah that'd be me Emotional! Lately the slightest thing makes me cry. I hate it... but anyways. I really hope we can do something to save this place.....

[RogerDuke]

Brian, I can't thank you enough for posting that.....a million thanks buddy!!

I just skimmed over the pictures for now but when I get more time I want to look them over better. It's very emotional to see them since I just love the Dukes so much.

I really hate to travel but I am going to go down there sometime. Somehow I'll overcome my dislike of traveling and make the journey.

When I was a kid, we never really went anywhere. Before I went to Marine Corps boot camp in 1978 I'd never been further from home than Pittsburgh (100 miles away) so I never really developed a taste for traveling. Occasionally (like the last 3 days) I go to my daughters 300 miles away for a 3 day weekend but that's it.

Northern Georgia has been calling my name for a long time now. Seeing those pictures makes me want to stand in those places so bad. Someday......

[Nash]

So i am online now and sorry i aint been on in a while cause of school and all.

The county is Gwinnett county, GA

I have read all of what yal have said and talking about asbestos all of that has been removed now atleast we think cause all thats left is the wooden structure, metal roof, and the stone work.

When he first moved there a lot of people were showing up and visiting it but over the year less and less are coming to see it and its cleaned up more than it was before. Someone did want to by it and take it to akansas one time but nothing came from that.

The house has been around since before the civil war i am for sure of that it was owned by i cant remember there last names when i see my grandfather ill ask him.

Just because it is historical doesn't mean it cant be torn down. My grandfathers mom's house was torn down and it was bought from him to be put in the historical building thing they fixed up the post office right up the road from it. then one day my grandfather was told they were gonna tear it down and he offered to buy it. They tore it down anyways and it had been there just as long or longer than the duke house. It was even in that bad of shape and this was back when the economy is good.

now im not saying it cant be done but gwinnett is cutting back a lot of things and i dont know if they will want to save it. I would like my kids to see it(when i have them). I will try and get on more but this week may not be the week i get on the most probably next week.

i will take a picture of the house the next time i go over to his house now that i can download the pictures off my phone.

i am going to post some of my prom picture that have the house in them to help yal. may not be the best but thats what i got right now.

you can see it in the second picture in the left sort of top between the trees.

i may go by tomorow if i have time too

[dukefan]

If I could be in Georgia, I would volunteer to reinforce the structure of the duke farm. I have carpentry skills, but I have no way of going there...,makes me sad, I would spend as many days as it would take to either fix or rebuild the duke farm to it's original state.

[Guest SleepysRose]

Nash,

It's worth a try to look into to see about getting the assistance to get it restored. Worth a shot at trying at the least. Thanks for letting us know what county it was in. I will email my dad and see if he can find out something to help you since he lives in Hiram, Palding Co., GA just NW of you. So cross your fingers and you might want to look into it as well. Thanks for sharing those photos Nash. Hope you enjoyed your prom. That brings back memories for me of when I was in school.

[dukefan1]

we got to do something

[Nash]

I am not saying that it isn't worth looking into.

I would love for this to be around for a long time, i actually want to by the land from my grandfather so that i can live there as he has.

A couple days ago he had some visitors come by from Canada. They seemed disappointed in how it looked and didn't stay long. I hate to say it doesn't look like in most of the picture everyone has its just the wooden structure now

I can't help but stress that we are trying to keep the structure up not tear it down as it means a lot to all of yal and us. We have cleaned all the shrubs away from the building and have got more metal roofing to patch where someone had torn off a section of the building and left a hole in the roof. We may not be rebuilding it but we are not just letting it fall down we are trying to keep it up.

[Nash]

Also i have just read some of the comments saying we may have mistreated the cabin. If i didn't give a care i wouldn't get on here my grandfather, the owner, would have just torn it down and burned it heck we have a huge burn pile anyways and it make a great bonfire.

I may not get on here every day but atleast i try to every now and then.

And were not going to burn down it i was just saying it cause some may see it as an eye sore but to us we like it.

If you wish to blame someone for the shape it is in blame the guy who owned it since the 80s. Who knows if we would have owned it the whole time we would have kept it up, and before you talk about moving it the people even though they are quite old still live right down the road. One day they even came to visit it.

Im getting tired of reading lets just move it somewhere else. The road it is on is still dirt!! The only neighborhood around mostly has foreclosed homes and empty lots. I may not know as much as yal do but something just doesn't add up here.

Tearing it down and rebuilding it somewhere else wont bring it back atleast to me it wouldn't. Its called history because of where it is and what it was and is today. You don't go to a tourist attraction to view history. Just look around heck in Monroe, Ga not 20 minutes down the road they are filming a new tv show(Vampire Diaries) just like the dukes of hazard was.

As history leaves the earth new history is put in place just because it may not stand doesn't mean it is forgotten. Maybe it can't be seen but what are pictures and stories for.

Half the stuff my grandfather tells me about i would love to see but he can show me pictures and tell me stories about it and it feels even better then me being there seeing it.

Im not saying don't try but if it falls don't think because i say this. That I don't want to try and save the house because i would like to

[RogerDuke]

I have to admit I've been taking a break from this thread because it breaks my heart. I love the Dukes of Hazzard so much I can't bear to think the Duke farm is in danger. It was in danger on the show a lot but it always had a happy ending. This danger is more serious and can't be fixed by the Duke boys jumping over a creek and getting the mortgage money to Boss on time.

I'm glad Nash cares about the problem and cares about the historical Dukes value that the building has. It's where it all began.

Nash, I can see why folks would be disappointed when they see it. Even though they don't expect it to look like it did during the 5 Georgia episodes, something deep inside them WANTS it to look that way and expects it to. Emotions can often confuse intelligence. If anybody stops by and seems disappointed just tell them that they should be thankful that it's still standing at all and it wouldn't be if you and your grandfather didn't care.

Nash, I'm sending you a private message. Please make sure to read it.

[dukefan1]

I dont think they meant your family has mistreted the building nash I think they meant overall it has been mistreated everyone is greatful for what your grandfather is doing to preserve it, but you have to understand the frustration that we have especially the older people on here that were around when the show first aired I was raised on reruns but it means as much to me as it does anyone. The duke farm and covington and conyers and all the places where dukes was filmed is like our graceland how would people feel if whoever owned graceland just let it go and fall apart over the years.However I do agree with you on the whole moving thing if it gets moved it is not the same Me my wife and my kids went by on our way back from florida and it is still an amazing site to see and for how old it is and what it has been through I am happy that it is still standing at all.And we do plan on seeing it again here in just a couple months so do you think it would be ok if we got out and took a pic beside the building and another question is that bridge still closed off just down the road and if so why and can you walk it?