NEWTON COUNTY, Ga. — A huge antebellum mansion on the market in Newton County, may be one you've seen before if you're a fan of the film "Gone with the Wind."
The movie wasn't shot there but the house has a strong connection to the film.
"I don't remember the first time I ever saw it, but I know it was always my favorite house in the area," said homeowner Nicole Munn.
The 10,000-square foot mansion was built in 1836. About 100 years later, it became the inspiration for a home out of the pages of Margaret Mitchell's iconic novel.
"It's amazing. We didn't know that when we bought the house," Munn said.
The famed author saw a photo of the house in the 1939 Atlanta Journal. She sent it to the producers of the film and it became the inspiration for the home of Ashley Wilkes, Twelve Oaks, which is what the Munns call it today.
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The mansion on Monticello Street in Covington can take one's breath away. The home that Munn and her husband, John, saw wasn't quite so pleasant.
"There were boarded-up windows. There were at least 30 busted windows we replaced. There was water damage on every floor. One of the porches was being held up by one last nail that hadn't rusted away. It was in really bad shape," Nicole Munn said.
But it was worth saving. A few million dollars later, the Munns made it into an award-winning bed-and-breakfast.
"It's beautiful, of course. But the feeling you get when you walk in the door, that's what we'll miss. Hopefully, it'll treat the next person the same way," John Munn said.
Yes, the Munns are selling.
But are they through with restoring historic mansions? Fiddle dee dee.
"We might have some other business ideas in our future. But we're ready to move on to the next chapter and let someone else love this house," Nicole Munn said.
Cox Media Group
