The Marion Floyd Pacetti House was built in 1898 on Cherry Point in Camden County, Georgia. Click on the image above for a larger view (90K).

Marion Floyd Pacetti and his wife, Florence "Florrie" Eugenia Pacetti, lived here for many years. Their original house was destroyed in the tidal wave (hurricane) of 1898. The present house was built that same year by Marion Pacetti and his cousins, Bailey Pacetti (head carpenter), Dave Pacetti, Johnnie Pacetti, and others.

At the original Cherry Point location, the two-story house, built of hard pine, faced south overlooking Big Creek, or what many termed as The River (a creek off the Marianna,) and the marshes. To the east were marshes, Kings Bay, and the pie-shaped piece of land called The Point. To the north and west, high grounds.

Upper and lower railed (occasionally missing) porches graced the entire front. Off of the first floor entry: Living room with a fireplace, front bedroom which used to be called the library, dining room with built-in glass-front cabinets, kitchen with fireplace, back porch which had a hand pump for water (part of this porch has been turned into a modern bathroom.) Second floor: Master bedroom with fireplace, guest bedroom - both in front; in back, very large bedroom which was called The Boy's Bedroom. The second floor hallway door led out to the upper porch - from this vantage point one had an excellent view of the marshes and Kings Bay

Grape harbors were near the front of the house; gardens, fields of corn, sugar can - toward the west side and rear; oranges and fig trees in back. Cattle, pigs, chickens were kept fenced. The outside, out from the east side; the barn, smoke house and syrup pot - in the rear.

The L-shaped dock on Big Creek was a few yards from the front of the house. everyone fished with cane poles or crabbed using weighted and bated string, ever so slowly netting them. Under the trees near the dock, there was a workbench and a large cauldron for boiling crabs.

The walk toward The Point was shaded by moss-covered live oaks. Oyster beds crowded the banks of Big Creeks; an orchard of cherry trees grew nearby. Along the way, a pipe emerged from the ground gushing icy cold artesian well water. It poured into a wooden trough, overflowing down the bank into Big Creek. A huge oak tree with a substantial rope tied to one of its branches stood at the end of The Point. The boys used it to swing out over the water drop.

Unpaved County Road led across Sandy Run and then out toward the road to St. Marys.

All of Marion and Florrie Pacetti's children were raised here. Florrie Pacetti died in 1948. Marion and two of his sons, Elmer and Harry Lee, continued to live here until the mid-1950s.

In 1955, the Army procured the Kings Bay land for an ammunition facility (in 1978 it was transferred to the Navy for a Sub Base.) Marion Pacetti received $12, 515.00 from the US Government for his 43.0 acres on Cherry Point (CCG Deed Records 51 p263.) At his own expense, he moved his two-story house to its present location on GA Spur 40. Fortunately, he owned a few acres of property diagonal across the road from the Crooked River State Park, where the old house sits today. Marion Pacetti died in 1957; his two younger sons lived in the house until they died.

Since 1971, the Marion Floyd Pacetti House has changed hands many times and for a while, it sat in a sad state of disrepair. Between 1983-1998, on visits to Camden County, I took many photos, noting the progress of the house. It appears that the present owners have taken an interest in preserving this house, for it has been given a much needed "face lift!"

In 1995, my son, Robert T. Mathews of Raleigh, NC, drew a pen & ink sketch of the house using the photographs taken up to that date. He honored my request and left out the trees and shrubs - I wanted a full, unobstructed picture. He signed the sketch under his art logo, Logic.

Marguerite M. Mathews

Page created and copyrighted by Tara D. Fields 2000. Sketch created and copyrighted by Robert T. Mathews 1995-2000. Text created and copyrighted by Marguerite M. Mathews 1999-2000.