Chattahoochee Valley Historical Society

The House Known as "Pebble Hill"

The Fall program of CVHS will be held virtually on Sunday, October 27th, at 3:00 PM (EDT). Our presenter will be Dr. Mark Wilson from Auburn University. Dr. Wilson will be discussing the Scott-Yarborough House (known more colloquially as ‘Pebble Hill”) in Auburn, AL. The house is an 1847 Greek Revival style cottage that has become an important landmark in Auburn as well as a popular event venue. The focus of the presentation will be on the history of the house as well as many notable people associated with the house. In addition, he will note some unique artifacts in the collection that illustrate important aspects of state and local history.
The origins of the home ultimately begin with Nathaniel J. Scott and his wife Mary. They moved to East Alabama as part of the massive influx of White settlers to this area following the Second Creek War of the late 1830s. Originally moving to Macon County, they eventually relocated when Nathaniel’s own half-brother John J. Harper founded the city of Auburn (then in Macon County). They purchased the land that “Pebble Hill” would be built upon in 1846 for just $800 (which was a short distance East of downtown Auburn at the time). While continuing to own additional farmland in Auburn, they completed the construction of the house in 1847.
Because of their wealth as landed planters and their family ties to the city’s founder, the Scotts played a big role in helping establish Auburn, with Nathaniel becoming town Commissioner in 1839. Nathaniel Scott also served in State politics, representing Macon County in the Alabama State House of Representatives from 1841 to 1845, when he was elected to the State Senate. He also helped establish what would later become the Auburn Masonic Female College. In 1856, Scott and many other of his fellow Auburn Methodists established East Alabama Male College (which is what we now know as Auburn University). The Scotts remained in Auburn even after Nathaniel’s death in 1862. Following the conclusion of the Civil War and the end of slavery, Mary Scott sold the house at Pebble Hill.
The house would change owners many times from the late 1860s up until its purchase by Dr. Cecil S. Yarborough and his wife Bertha Mae Yarborough in 1912. Like the original owner, Dr. Yarborough also served in Alabama State politics for many years. He also served two terms as Mayor of Auburn, and personally welcomed President Franklin D. Roosevelt to the community upon his visit in 1939. Following his death in the 1940s, his son Clarke S. Yarborough owned the home until finally selling it in 1982. It has officially been known as the “Scott-Yarborough” house ever since, though the name “Pebble Hill” is probably what it is best known as locally.
The house is currently maintained and cared for by the Caroline Marshall Draughon Center for the Arts and Humanities, a part of the College of Liberal Arts at Auburn University. The Center maintains a digital, virtual tour of the entire house, which is located at the following link: https://my.matterport.com/show/?m=g7dppkiJq8K
In addition to history related to Pebble Hill, Dr. Wilson will discuss upcoming events at Pebble Hill which might interest CVHS members.
Dr. Mark Wilson is of the Caroline Marshall Draughon Center for the Arts & Humanities in the College of Liberal Arts at Auburn University. Originally from Saraland, Alabama, he holds degrees from the University of Mobile (B.A. Religion), McAfee School of Theology at Mercer University (Master of Divinity), and Auburn University (Ph.D. History). He is the author of William Owen Carver’s Controversies in the Baptist South (Mercer University), co-author of Living Democracy: Students as Citizens, Communities as Classrooms (Kettering Foundation Press) and several articles. In 2018, he was voted by students at Auburn University to deliver the “Final Lecture,” an award coordinated by the Student Government Association. He is a past recipient of the David Mathews Center for Civic Life’s Jean O’Connor-Snyder Award.
Join us for this very informative and interesting presentation on October 27th. To attend this virtual meeting email ccpowers02@gmail.com prior to 12:00 PM noon (EDT) on Sunday, October 27th. You will then be sent the Zoom link with instructions regarding how to join the meeting.