The
menu and the
recipes that are created at The Sycamore Grill are influenced by
generations of cooking from the heart of the old plantation belt which
stretches from Georgia to Alabama, Mississippi and Arkansas, to the
pine woods of the gulf coastal plains, to the hardwood hills of North
Carolina, to the rich flood plains of the Mississippi River.
The 150-year-old sycamore tree that blanks the veranda has seen this
building and Stone Mountain through many changes, including the Civil
War. The restaurant is graciously named after this old tree.
The hotel, circa 1836, is the oldest structure in the city of Stone
Mountain, and is located in its heart (quite literally). A stone stake
in the front yard marks the spot from which Andrew Johnson, the first
mayor of Stone Mountain (then New Gibraltar), marked the town out 33
yards to each side of the building. Later it was expanded about 1000
yards in all directions, that boundary still stands. The style is a
basic Charleston Townhouse. The clap board two story building attached
to the rear of the original structure was added back in July, 1840 by
the Georgia Railroad and Banking Company.
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The building also housed
the first Post Office of Stone Mountain with the left side front door
as the entrance. During the Civil War, with the building serving as a
hospital, 26 men slept in what is now referred to as Hotel Room #2.
Hotel Room #5 has been referred to as the "Most Spirited Room" in the
hotel. Fortunately they are "Friendly Spirits", and welcome the
activity in the old hotel. The hotel extended out almost to the
railroad tracks, but had to be cut off when the railroad came through.
You will notice the supports at the east end of the building. Cut outs
were left in the wall so you can see the makeup of the wall
construction. It is brick made of clay, mud, animal hair, granite and
rock; about anything to help support a 2-foot thick wall.
In 1864, the building was spared during General Sherman's "March to
the Sea", because it was being used as one of the only three
Confederate hospitals in the area. The 10 room house has seen many
changes in it's 160-year test against time. The list of names for
which the property has been known: The Andrew Johnson House, Johnson
Hotel, New Gibraltar Hotel, Stone Mountain Hotel, Dr. Hamilton
Hospital, Malibut House, Old Alexander Hotel (for Alexander Stephens,
Vice President of the Confederacy) and
the Ashe House. |
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History