The tremendous size of this house is hardly discernable to the casual viewer but it has grown from a small cottage to massive proportions. The great and the near great were entertained lavishly in the wide parlor and around the expansive tables of General Robert Toombs in the hayday of this house.

But before General Toombs bought the house in 1837, there was a pioneer cottage on the site built by the famous Dr. Joel Abbott around 1797. He came to Wilkes from Connecticut and became a leader in Georgia politics. He was also a fine physician and served in the setting up of themedical dispensary for the United States. Dr. Abbott seemed to be a man of decided mind as well as likes and dislikes for he gave the land for the Presbyterian Church in 1825 - not because he was a Presbyterian, but because he didn't want to look at Mr. Quigley's house which stood on the corner. He recorded this in the deed.

When Robert Toombs became owner of the property, he added wings and colonades and installed the first gas plant in Washington. After the civil war, some of the citizens of Washington proposed building a hotel here. The General was indignant. "What do we need with a hotel?" he asked in amazement, adding, "If a man is a gentleman, he can stay at my house, if he's not a gentleman, we do not need him here."

Although General Toombs was disenfranchised because he never took the oath of allegiance to the United States, he helped to frame the Code of Georgia in 1877 and when Cleveland was elected president, he made a speech from his veranda, urging his friends and fellow-townsmen to give their allegiance whole-heartedly to their re-united nation.

Miss Kathleen Colley, the General's great niece who lived here for many years was librarian for Washington for 25 years. Her sister, Marion Colley Boyd, was the first woman ever to fly from New York to Cuba. Mrs. Boyd was a journalist and national secretary of the Democratic Party.

The Robert Toombs House is now a museum that can be visited.