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Hannah Homeplace.
We invite you to tour the Chatt Hills Barn Quilt Trail and learn more about the rich rural heritage of beautiful Chattahoochee Hills. Visitors are welcome to take photos from the public road, and are invited to shop in the local businesses.
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Rising Sun (#40)
8025 Rico Rd 
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Rise and Shine at the Hannah Homeplace
Andy Hannah made Chattahoochee Hills his home in 1987, then set about building and remodeling homes for others in the community. When it came time for Andy and his wife Joanna to settle down, he built what he calls, "The biggest little house" in Chatt Hills.
Running his construction business has Andy up at dawn most mornings; his rooster crows the wake-up call of "Cock-a-Doodle-Do." When selecting a barn quilt for their homeplace, Andy chose a "Rising Sun" pattern to accompany the six-foot tall metal rooster by their boat-port. |
The making of a country boy and artisan builder
Andy feeds his flock of chickens and rooster.
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Andy & Joanna's "Biggest Little House" has 3,000 sqft of heated space.
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Tell a kid not to do something, and he's all over it. That was the case when Andy was 12 years old. His dad had hired a crew to build a home on a parcel he had divided in Ohio. He told Andy, "Now don't you go bothering those men up on the hill." Of course, that's exactly what Andy did. He hung around whenever he could, picked up some tools and tips when the crew would let him, and knew in those instances that he wanted to become a builder.
Andy got his first job in construction when he was 16 years old sweeping houses for Cumberland Builders during the summer. In his senior year of high school, he work after school, then continued on after graduation, accumulating 10 years of experience in the profession.
Soon after Andy moved to Chatt Halls, he started his own company as a framing contractor. Over the next 20 years, he built and remolded more than 10 homes in the community ranging from modest ranch homes, to large custom farm houses, and everything in between. Now with over 36 years in the industry, he has expanded to building specialty structures like tiny houses and barndominiums.
When asked what Andy likes best about living in Chatt Hills he says, "I'm a country boy at heart, and I love living here in the country." With his "biggest little house" on a scenic country road, stocked fish pond in back, chickens and a rooster in the coop, and good neighbors all around, Andy and Joanna agree -- there's no place like home in Chatt Hills.
Andy got his first job in construction when he was 16 years old sweeping houses for Cumberland Builders during the summer. In his senior year of high school, he work after school, then continued on after graduation, accumulating 10 years of experience in the profession.
Soon after Andy moved to Chatt Halls, he started his own company as a framing contractor. Over the next 20 years, he built and remolded more than 10 homes in the community ranging from modest ranch homes, to large custom farm houses, and everything in between. Now with over 36 years in the industry, he has expanded to building specialty structures like tiny houses and barndominiums.
When asked what Andy likes best about living in Chatt Hills he says, "I'm a country boy at heart, and I love living here in the country." With his "biggest little house" on a scenic country road, stocked fish pond in back, chickens and a rooster in the coop, and good neighbors all around, Andy and Joanna agree -- there's no place like home in Chatt Hills.
Heritage story . . . Treasuring Grandma's prayer quilt
Andy (pictured right) displays a quilt his Grandma Hannah made 35 years ago.
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When Andy received a letter from the Chatt Hills Barn Quilt Trail inviting him to host a barn quilt, he did a double take.
The letter mentioned the origins of the first official quilt trail. It began in 2001 in Adams County, Ohio, when Donna Sue Groves wanted to honor her mother, Maxine, a noted quilter, with a painted quilt square on the family's barn in Manchester, Ohio. Andy was originally from Adams County, and his family had a heritage of quilting. Pictured here, Andy displays a quilt made around 35 years ago by his Grandma Hannah while she lived in Seaman Ohio in Adams County. |
Grandma Hannah's quilt features a pinwheel pattern that has been quilted using "prayer knots." The idea behind these prayer quilts is simple. A heavy thread is used to take stitches through the quilt layers, and the ends are left free to be tied with a square knot. As each knot is tied, a silent prayer is said for someone in special need, who then receives the finished quilt.
Knowing the heritage of Grandma Hannah's quilt -- and the power of prayer -- is especially meaningful for Andy, whose faith led him to become an ordained minister.
Knowing the heritage of Grandma Hannah's quilt -- and the power of prayer -- is especially meaningful for Andy, whose faith led him to become an ordained minister.