Click on a time period below to move through the timeline or select earlier or later years. Select a photo to learn more about that specific time period.
Mickelberry and Nancy C. Ferrell acquired the land and built their home in LaGrange. Nancy started what developed into Ferrell Gardens.
1835
Sarah C. Ferrell, daughter of Mickleberry and Nancy Ferrell, married her double first cousin Blount C. Ferrell.
1841
Sarah and Blount Ferrell returned to LaGrange from Marianna, Florida, and Sarah started expanding her mother’s garden.
1865
Union troops marched through LaGrange but Ferrell Gardens was spared.
1872
“The Terraces,” also known as Ferrell Gardens, received wide acclaim for their beauty. Visitors praised the Gardens as the “finest in 30 states.”
1882
Blount Ferrell home described as having "elegant parlors" "thronged with the beauty and fashion of LaGrange, tables filled with every delicacy…"
1890
Ferrells offered to sell their home and grounds to LaGrange for use as a city park and cemetery but the council refused to ratify Mayor E. D. Pitman’s offer.
1894
The novel Vesta written by Sarah’s sister, Florida P. Reed, used Ferrell Gardens as the setting and Ferrell family members inspired the characters.
1903
Sarah Ferrell died after tending to Ferrell Gardens for over 60 years.
1908
Judge Blount Ferrell died and Ferrell Gardens were left untended until 1911.
1911
Fuller E. Callaway, who had great success in the textile business, purchased the 90 acre Ferrell place for $8,000.
1913
Hentz and Reid architects were commissioned by the Callaways to design their new home.
1916
Callaways renamed the property Hills and Dales and their home was completed. The official opening was a celebration of Fuller and Ida Cason Callaway’s 25th wedding anniversary.
1919
International Cotton Exposition was held at Hills and Dales en route between Atlanta and New Orleans. Journalist Ida Tarbell and statesman William Jennings Bryan visited the home.
1919
Country Life Magazine featured a story on Hills and Dales. The house and garden was featured in House and Garden Magazine, House Beautiful Magazine, and a book "Beautiful Gardens of America" by Louise Shelton.
1920
Fuller and Ida held a large wedding reception at Hills and Dales for their son, Cason, and his bride Virginia Hand.
1928
Fuller died at Hills & Dales. Employees of his numerous enterprises contributed to build a memorial tower in his honor. The tower was erected in 1929.
1932
100th anniversary of Ferrell Gardens was celebrated by Mrs. Fuller E. Callaway, Sr. who hosted a large luncheon for the Garden Club of America.
1936
Ida Cason Callaway died at Hills and Dales.
1936
Fuller E. Callaway, Jr., with his wife Alice Hand and their two children, moved into Hills and Dales.
1937
The gardens at Hills and Dales were open to visitors as part of the first Georgia Garden Pilgrimage.
1948
The interior was partially redecorated with designs by Philip Trammel Shutze and interior decorator Sarah King Small of Atlanta.
1950
Fuller E. Callaway, Jr. held his first Hereford cattle sale at Hills and Dales, the first of many "Hills and Dales Dispersions".
1984
Alice Hand Callaway and Ferrell Gardens were featured in The American Woman’s Garden by Rosemary Verey and Ellen Samuels.
1985
On January 21st, LaGrange temperatures dipped to -5 degrees Fahrenheit, a 100 year low.The cold killed many camellias, sentinel boxwood, and other ornamental plants at Ferrell Gardens.
1992
Fuller E. Callaway, Jr. died.
1995
The video, “Ferrell Gardens: A Growing History” featuring Alice Hand Callaway and Ida Callaway Hudson, was produced by the Troup County Historical Society.
1998
Alice Hand Callaway died at Hills and Dales. The property was bequeathed to Fuller E. Callaway Foundation with request that it be used for the enjoyment and instruction of the public. Alice had cultivated the gardens at for 62 years.