The Stephen Vincent Benét House, commonly referred to as Benét House, is a historic house on the Summerville campus of

Augusta University Augusta University (AU) is a public research university and academic medical center in Augusta, Georgia, United States. It is part of the University System of Georgia and has satellite medical campuses in Savannah, Albany, Rome, and Athens, Geo ...

Augusta, Georgia Augusta is a city on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The city lies directly across the Savannah River from North Augusta, South Carolina at the head of its navigable portion. Augusta, the third mos ...

. The house was built 1827–29 as the Commandant's House of the

Augusta Arsenal The Augusta Arsenal was a 19th-century fortification in Augusta, Georgia. Established in 1816 and initially completed on the Georgia bank of the Savannah River in 1819, it was moved to the former Belle Vue estate in the Summerville (Augusta, Georgi ...

, and is a much-altered example of Federal period architecture. The house was designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

in 1971 for its association with the

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

-winning writer

Stephen Vincent Benét Stephen Vincent Benét ( ; July 22, 1898 – March 13, 1943) was an American poet, short story writer, and novelist. He wrote a book-length narrative poem of the American Civil War, '' John Brown's Body'', published in 1928, for which he receive ...

(1898–1943), who lived here in the 1910s. and The house, which housed the official residence of the

Augusta State University Augusta State University was a public university in Augusta, Georgia. It merged with Georgia Health Sciences University in 2012 to form Georgia Regents University, later known as Augusta University. History Augusta State University was founded ...

for a time, presently houses the Summerville campus's office of admissions.

Description and history

The Benét House is centrally located on the Summerville campus of Augusta University, and is one of a cluster of buildings that formerly made up part of the

. It is a two-story brick structure, built on a side hall plan, with a two-story porch wrapping across the front and around one side. The building's interior includes finishes from all periods of its occupation, and its exterior has also been added to and altered several times. The house was built in 1827–29, after the federal government decided to move the

to this location. The arsenal played a key role in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, when it was used by the

Confederate Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fi ...

, and again in the

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

. In 1911 Colonel J. Walker Benét was appointed its commandant, bringing with him his son

Stephen Stephen or Steven is an English given name, first name. It is particularly significant to Christianity, Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; he is w ...

. Stephen Benét lived here until 1915, and it is where he began his writing career, as well as being the only major surviving structure known to be associated with his life. Benét is best known for the 1928 poem ''

John Brown's Body "John Brown's Body" ( Roud 771), originally known as "John Brown's Song", is a United States marching song about the abolitionist John Brown. The song was popular in the Union during the American Civil War. The song arose out of the folk hymn ...

'', for which he was awarded the 1929

, and the class 1937 short story "

The Devil and Daniel Webster "The Devil and Daniel Webster" (1936) is a short story by American writer Stephen Vincent Benét. He tells of a New Hampshire farmer who sells his soul to the devil and is later defended by a fictionalized Daniel Webster, a noted 19th-century A ...

References

External links

* (includes photos of barracks and assistant commander's house that are of similar style to commandant's house, not pictured)
Augusta, Georgia, a National Park Service ''Discover Our Shared Heritage'' Travel Itinerary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stephen Vincent Benet House National Historic Landmarks in Augusta, Georgia Houses in Augusta, Georgia Houses completed in 1829 Augusta State University Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Georgia (U.S. state) National Register of Historic Places in Augusta, Georgia

Description and history

See also

References

External links