A Southern Legacy: The Thomas-Treadwell Home 1976-2025

439 East Cusseta Street

On July 4, 1976—America’s Bicentennial and their Golden Wedding Anniversary—Joe and Winnie Thomas broke ground on their beloved Georgian-style home in the heart of Dadeville, Alabama. Inscribed on the brass lock of the front door are the initials W&J, a quiet emblem of a couple deeply devoted to preservation, heritage, and horticulture.

While living in Macon, Georgia, the Thomases made the bold decision to demolish their original home on this site to recreate the house they had cherished in Georgia. For Winnie Willoughby Thomas, it was a symbolic return to her hometown. Architectural plans were drafted by Delmar A. Warren of Macon and brought to life by Joe Bernard East of East Brothers Construction in Dadeville.

Every detail of the home was chosen with care and reverence for Southern tradition. Antique 6-inch heart pine floors, wainscoting, dental and crown molding, oak doors, brass fixtures, and ornate fireplace mantels were either salvaged or sourced to create a timeless interior. Many rooms were painted in Williamsburg Blue, a nod to enduring Southern charm.

Both avid horticulturists and members of the American and Alabama Camellia Societies, Joe and Winnie cultivated a botanical masterpiece around their home. They filled the property with a wide variety of beautiful camellias and sasanquas, boxwoods, azaleas, tea olive, cherry, cedar and dogwood trees, quince, figs, and irises—carefully curating blooms for every season.

In 1997, the home found new stewards in Mark Allen Treadwell III, a Dadeville native and attorney with Oliver & Sims, and his wife, Karen. When they heard that Mrs. Winnie, widowed just two years after completing the house, was planning to sell it, they were immediately drawn to its history and heart. At six months pregnant with their first child, Karen penned a heartfelt letter to Miss Winnie, promising to honor the home’s legacy, to cherish its details, and to nurture the garden. She even noted how ideal the bathroom in the garage would be for potty training.