KEVEN GILBERT
AMERICUS — Americus’s Victorian-style homes are among the more memorable attributes of this small town. Their beauty is stunning, but it is seldom that a there is historical narrative to go along with the image, or better yet a present-day connection to one of the glories of the historic district.
Evelyn Tanner of Oglethorpe has such a connection and quite an interesting history with one of South Lee Street’s oldest homes. Tanner, born in 1931, celebrated her birthday this weekend by visiting the Pathway Inn. The Pathway Inn, now a bed and breakfast owned by Chuck and Angela Nolan, was originally built by Tanner’s grandmother, Edwin Bell in 1906. Tanner grew up in California and frequently visited her grandmother’s home in Americus. Sitting on the corner of Lee and College streets, the house is an ornate structure with handcrafted woodwork and stained glass windows. Tanner’s mother and father were married in the parlor downstairs, and she has a photograph that she cherishes from that occasion.
“My mother and I visited every summer until I graduated high school,” she recalls.
Tanner and her mother also lived at the Bell house for two years during World War II, when the California coast was being shelled by subs in the Pacific Ocean. Tanner then moved to Americus and lived with her grandmother in the house while attending college at Georgia Southwestern College. While her husband was away fighting in the Korean Conflict, Tanner gave birth to their first child at the Americus Hospital.
Much has changed since the house was built over 100 years ago, but it is still standing strong and remains as one of the most eye-catching houses in town. “It was getting old when I lived here in the ‘50s,” Tanner said, amazed at how a house containing so many memories and such a rich family history could have aged so well.
