The home owned by Heather and John Pomponi on Piedmont Avenue is one of the several stops for those who participated in the 2023 Rockmart Tour of Homes for the holidays. Here’s the full history they provided for this year’s tour:
The oldest tax records for Polk County date back to 1900 and list every house that existed at the time with a build date of 1900. However, it’s believed that many of these houses were constructed at an earlier date, such as the North Piedmont Avenue home, simply based on the architectural elements of the homes which were present prior to 1900.
Charles Floyd Burnette was the first known owner of the house. He lived in the house with his wife and four children, and he co-owned the Fambro-Burnette Hardware Company with storefronts in both Rockmart and Cedartown. After his passing, his daughter Gladelle Burnette inherited the house and married Preston Lane Jr. from the Lane family. Today, Lane Street in the Goodyear Village is named after his father.
Following the passing of her husband in 1936, Gladelle raised her three children in the home and later remarried Hoyt Cook who was well known in Rockmart at that time. After Cook’s passing, the property had multiple new owners and changed hands several times over the years. One such previous owner was Ah Kaw Tan, who rented half of the house to his employees. Tan was also the previous owner of the House of China next door. Additionally, there have been boarders who lived in the house over the last century.
In 2014, the home underwent extensive renovations when John and Heather decided to make it their family home. Since that time, the house has been thoroughly loved and lived in, with updates currently ongoing, and a list of more to follow. They are thankful to live in a home that has had so much history and often reflect on the families who lived here before them.
Heather and John strive to maintain a balance between their busy family life with their children, forging new memories, and preserving the historical elements of their house when possible. They also endeavor to honor the legacy of those who lived there before them.
This year’s Rockmart Tour of Homes organized by the Rotary Club of Polk County raised money for the Murphy-Harpst Children’s Center in Polk County.
