Sweetwater (Weeden Home) Sold

 

The Weeden Home, aka Sweetwater Mansion, has a long and checkered local history. From a blog seeking a buyer:

John Brahan, who served as a major general in the War of 1812, owned the land the Indians had called Sweetwater and began construction of the two story, eight room house in 1828. When Brahan died of pneumonia six years later, the house had risen only to the sills of the first floor windows.

Despite a historical marker adjacent to Florence Boulevard, and despite what publicists for the current owner Susan Leigh Smithson have reported, John Brahan never lived in the home before his death. Brahan willed the property to his son Maj. Robert Brahan. The younger Brahan chose not to reside on the plantation and traded the estate to his sister's husband, Robert Miller Patton. Robert and Jane Patton finished the home in 1835 and became the first family to reside there.

Gov. Robert Miller Patton and his wife Jane Locke Brahan Patton lived in the plantation house at Sweetwater for many years. After their deaths, the mansion passed to their daughter Martha Hayes Patton and her husband Col. John David Weeden.

John David Weeden and Martha Patton Weeden resided in the home until their demise, at which time their son John Dowling Weeden and his wife Jessie Ora Earthman Weeden took possession of the mansion, now almost universally known as the Weeden Home. John, who died in 1960, and Jessie, who followed in 1972, had one child. Their daughter Elizabeth married James Minton and chose not to live on the family plantation.

By the autumn of 2009, the building had been abandoned for some time. There were ghost stories and tours. There were reports of an asking price of six to eight million and an onsite werewolf (that was not said in jest).

Is Sweetwater a Crime?

Approximately three weeks ago, rumors began to circulate on Facebook that the old home had sold. One such post was from a real estate agent; however, we were unable to ascertain any other facts.

At this point, we do have confirmation that a sale has taken place. Unconfirmed reports indicate the buyer was an out of town company. If we are able to verify any additional aspects, we will publish them here.