It took nearly five years, but Roopville’s most lasting landmark has been brought to its former glory by city leaders and members of the community.

The Roop House was built by J.K. Roop in the early 1880s and the town of Roopville was incorporated in 1885 with the original city limits stretching 500 yards in every direction from the house. It has had various owners over the years, but the town purchased the home from Dr. Evelyn Fulbright in September 2004 after more than a year of negotiations.

An agreement was signed between the Town of Roopville and the Roopville Historical Society in March 2005 which stated the Society would take the responsibility of refurbishing and renovating the house. Soon thereafter Society members and community volunteers started the renovation with funding from the town, grants and donations.

“It was in pretty bad condition,” said Bobby Holcombe, who helped with much of the early work on the house. “She had left a ton of antiques, furniture and personal items in the house. Every room was filled with stuff and people had broken in and stolen tons of it and ransacked the place.”

Structurally, Holcombe said their were a lot of foundation issues that needed to be corrected. Much of the infrastructure was taken out from under the house and it was built back up. The electrical wiring also had to be replaced.

“The infrastructure was a real challenge, getting it back stabilized where you could really work on it,” Holcombe said.

“We had to put a lot of support back under the house. The bottom part of the porch out in front of the house, we had to tear it off and build it back. Jesse (Bell) and I spent a lot of hours underneath this house.”

The pair also spent a lot of hours behind the house where there is now a playground, picnic benches and a walking trail that was financed with SPLOST funds. When Roopville purchased the house, Holcombe described the area as a jungle with brush so thick that Jesse Bell remembers getting a tractor stuck there.

“It was a tag team effort,” Holcombe said. “We got it stabilized earlier on and got it through the early stages, then a lot of other people came in and put the other things together. While we were doing the mechanical-type work, the ladies were painting and sanding and sprucing it up.”

Many of the Roopville Historical Society members give Becky Fordyce, who was serving as director of the Roopville Archives at the time, credit for having the original vision for the Roop House that has now become reality.

“We got there a lot faster than I thought we would,” Society Member Nancy Bell said. “There were times I didn’t think we’d ever get to this point.”

Roopville Historical Society President Barry Huff said a lot of the school children look at The Roop House as a mansion and they come to tour it several times a year. By restoring the house and its grounds, the Historical Society has preserved it for future generations.

“This is one of the last remnants of a lot of the old buildings that existed when we were in school,” Society Member Kirby Hamil said. “A lot of the others have been torn down over the years.”

The Roop House is now available for special events, such as reunions, receptions, anniversary parties and showers that can accommodate about 100 people. Anyone interested in booking The Roop House can contact Jane Pennington at 678-523-6161 or Barry Huff at 404-210-7062. Huff can also be reached by e-mail at jgr1236224@bellsouth.net.