You could walk right past 5757 Riverside Drive and never realize that the Tudor-style brick ranch is one of the city’s most unusual structures. Its story starts about 120 years ago, when the now-1.4-acre lot was used as a horse-trading site for people crossing the Chattahoochee at the Powers Ferry Crossing—roughly three miles to the west.
In 1895 a one-room schoolhouse was erected here; and, in the 1930s, the building was converted into a scouting lodge. By 1960—nine years before Interstate 285 was opened nearby—the leafy area that would eventually become part of Sandy Springs was becoming more residential. A home was built on the lot, but rather than demolishing the 65-year-old log cabin, builders incorporated the 19th-century schoolhouse into the design of the new house.
According to the current owner, the original structure’s roofline and windows can be seen from the attic above the entrance hall. Listing agent Sister Hood of Harry Norman Realtors elaborates, “The floors in that area aren’t original to the schoolhouse, but they are very old, beautiful heart-pine floors.”
When the home was expanded in the 1970s, the owners took its pastoral character to the next level by incorporating a hunting lodge from South Carolina. The lodge was deconstructed, moved, then reassembled on site to become a great room. The master bedroom was also updated with antique railroad ties and cross-cut cedar planks sourced from a tobacco smoke house in Kentucky. The cherry wood in the kitchen cabinets and bricks on the front patio were once part of a local seminary.
Most of the house looks like it came straight off of a Pinterest board with a name like “Rustic Living” or “Log Cabin Fever,” so the structure requires a certain level of dedication to theme when it comes to furnishings. The bright, high-ceilinged kitchen and dining area, however, are comparatively modern with skylights, stainless steel appliances, and updated lighting fixtures. The airy room opens onto a landscaped backyard and pool.
For more information on this unique home, currently listed for $679,000, contact Sister Hood at 404-233-4142 or sister.hood@harrynorman.com.
