Plum Orchard

Jeff showed me that the person who repaired the columns before (left photo) had left his name and a date written inside the column!!  Part of the writing says, "Repaired, Don, Columbus, GA, 12-8-83".

The center photo shows part of the repairs that are being performed on the left column.  There was a log of dry-rot in the column.  Interestingly enough, if you look at the photo closely, you will see a steel rod running through the middle of the column.  It is this rod that is holding up the roof over the entrance!!

The man working on the columns is Jeff Knapp who has been doing finish carpentry, "all my life."  It seems that his grandfather owned a building supply store in Columbus, OH and Jeff started working with wood when he was 8 years old and has never stopped. 

A resident of Saint Marys, he said he got the job because of the work he had done on another project for the Park Service on Cumberland Island.  He really believes that mansions like this should be restored and kept solid so future generations can see what life was like.