Sandford-Wade Heritage House and the dawn
of the 20th century
 The Sanford-Wade Heritage House (SWHH) is a building at the crossroads of the village of Buchanan, Georgia, formerly the home of a prominent local citizen, the late Evelyn Shepard Sanford Wade (1907-2004), whose birth centennial was celebrated in 2007. The House itself was constructed in the year 1909. Miss Evelyn Shepard was unusual for a young woman coming up in rural Georgia. Always interested in technological advances, she was an amateur radio operator and shortly after her 31st birthday, then the wife of Dr. Sanford, a local physician, was recognized with the signal honor of election to the A-1 Operator Club of the American Radio Relay League (ARRL). The club continues in operation; nomination can only come through the initiative of two existing members, and a mere 3% of the total ARRL body is honored by such membership.
Evelyn married Levi Wade after the demise of Dr. Sanford, and had a 43-year career in education as a teacher and school principal. Undeterred by middle age, she earned a degree as a member of the Oglethorpe University class of 1952. In 1980 the University awarded her its annual School Bell Award, given to those "recognized by the Alumni Association’s Board of Directors as having made a lasting contribution to the field of education". Then Mrs. Wade made a second career in civic leadership, serving twenty consecutive years as the mayor of Buchanan. She may have been the first woman in Georgia to serve as a city mayor. Mrs. Wade was recognized within her lifetime by the State of Georgia via things named in appreciation for her labors. These include the 120-acre Evelyn S. Wade Park and a section of Georgia Highway 120 called the Evelyn S. Wade Highway The SWHH is an opportunity to study the changes in Buchanan and America over the last century. It is under the government of an independent board of directors organized as Sanford-Wade Heritage House, LLC. This board may soon receive title to the property from the Haralson County Historical Society. Much more online material documenting the history of Buchanan per se is available at its sesquicentennial anniversary portal. |
 Mayor Wade with Governor Jimmy Carter and other Georgia dignitaries. Carter went on to serve a term as US President and win the Nobel Peace Prize.
 Mayor Wade and West Georgia College Professor Newt Gingrich, who later served as Speaker of the US House of Representatives.
 Great Britain's monarch Edward VII (1841-1910), during whose brief reign (the "Edwardian Age") the SWHH was built. The son of Queen Victoria, Edward made a good-will tour of North America in 1860, and was entertained by President James Buchanan, former US Minister to Great Britain. Buchanan and the Queen had earlier exchanged greetings during the brief lifespan of the first Trans-Atlantic cable. The seat of Haralson County, the City of Buchanan, founded at the dawn of the Buchanan presidency, was named after him.
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 First known bird's-eye-view photo of Buchanan, circa 1910
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 The original building which housed Buchanan High School, circa 1907
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 Youthful Mrs. Evelyn (née Shepard) Sanford using her amateur radio rig. At the time she earned her A-1 Operator Club certificate, she used the station call letters --> W4DAI.
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 Mrs. Evelyn Wade in her latter years, as mayor of the City of Buchanan.
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