"The house located at 404 Telfair street is situated on a lot that originally included the entire 400 block of Telfair, which was surrounded by Telfair Street on the North, 4th Street on the east, Walker Street on the South, and 5th Street on the West....
In 1820, the land was sold... to Samuel Hale, the first of a long succession of private owners of the property... In the late 1840's Green Hill Jordan, a wealthy planter... purchased the block to provide a residence for his daughter Martha, who had married James Gardner, Jr. an attorney and editor of the Augusta Constitutionalist newspaper.
Mr. Jordan began selling off lots around the Old Government House, and on October 18, 1854, sold the eastern end of the block to Mr. Jesse Osmond of Richmond County. Osmond was a master builder and contractor... Osmond apparently constructed the house at the southwest corner of Telfair and 4th Street shortly after purchasing the lot for $2,500.By 1858 the Osmonds had moved to Savannah, when on February 2 of that year he sold the property to George M. Newton, who was the Executor of the estate of Thomas Hopkins, late of Richmond County, deceased. Augusta city directories list Mrs. R Hopkins (Rebecca) as the home owner at that location from 1859 until 1867. Living with her children, including Thomas N. Hopkins, a clerk, and Isaac S. Hopkins, who was with the firm of Day and Hopkins.
On October 24, 1868 Isaac S. Hopkins, the lawful successor of George M. Newton, former executor of the estate of Thomas Hopkins, sold the property to Samuel B. Ham in trust for Abbey A Emery, wife of Caleb Emery and her children. Caleb Emery was an ice and oyster dealer with a business located on Reynolds Street. Caled died between 1872 and 1874, and his family continued to reside in the house on Telfair...
By March 11, 1880, Mrs Emery had apparently moved to Fulton County... and... sold the property to Albert Howell, also of Fulton County. Mr. Howell moved to Augusta about that time, and operated an ice factory and later a grist mill, which was located on Greene Street at 13th Street, along the Augusta Canal.
Howell sold the property less than five years after he bought it on December 22, 1884 to Loui A Gardelle of Richmond County. Gardelle was a druggist with Beall and Company at 612 Broad Street, and later at 744 Broad he operated his own drug store. Louis A Gardelle and his family resided in the house for over eighty years, the last member of the family to reside there being Annie D. Gardelle. In the 1970's the property first became a restaurant known as Asher's Corner."
complied by Eric D. Montgomery
Executive Director
Historic Augusta, Inc
P.O. Box 37
Augusta, GA 30903
June 3, 1992
