FORT BENNING, Ga., (July 22, 2015) -- The historic Riverside, home to the commanding general of Fort Benning, was renovated by the Fort Benning Family Communities - the public private partnership charged with managing, maintaining and redeveloping the on-post Family housing. Jean Harron, retired real estate agent, tour guide and the wife of a former garrison commander, was invited to be one of the first persons to see the renovations July 16.
The original owner, Arthur Bussey, built the plantation home in 1909. It has been home to many distinguished generals such as General-of-the-Army Omar N. Bradley, Lt. Gen. David E. Grange Jr. and Maj. Gen. Paul D. Eaton.
Harron, a trained tour guide from the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C., had her first encounter with Riverside in 1978 when her husband, Col. Jack Harron, was assigned to Fort Benning as the garrison commander. She was chosen to begin the historic cataloging of Riverside and the surrounding area.
Soon after arriving to Fort Benning, Harron became friends with Arthur Bussey's daughter, Sarah.
"Sarah would call me seven days a week at 7 a.m. and give me all kinds of information and memories of living in her father's house," Harron said.
This fueled Harron's love of research, which began her journey of going into the archives, the census and many other sources to find and understand the history of not just Riverside, but Fort Benning and the surrounding areas
"One of my fondest memories (of Riverside) was in 1981 when I was walking down from upstairs on the arm of John Amos (co-founder) of AFLAC and then being handed off to then Maj. Gen. David E. Grange Jr.," Harron recalled. "At the bottom of the stairs I was named one of Georgia's Most Gracious Ladies of Georgia. All my memories of Riverside are positive."
Among the many renovations, Harron first noticed the original heart pine floors restored back to their original beauty.
"The greatest change I noticed was the handicap accessibility, as my husband was 100 percent disabled and I had great difficulty getting him up that shake ramp and you could not get a walker into the bathroom, which is not the case now," Harron said.
According to the plaque on Riverside, its placement on the National Register of Historic Places, U.S. Department of the Interior in 1971, has ensured that all future generations of commanders and visitors can enjoy the beauty and history for many years to come.
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