And, frankly, my dear, you’re going to have to act fast. The real-life Georgia mansion that served as inspiration for the 1939 Gone With The Wind film is going up for auction with a starting bid of $1 million.
Bidding for the 10,000-square-foot antebellum mansion opens July 4 and continues until July 25, according to the Target Auction Company. According to film historian David O. Selznick’s research, Gone With The Wind author Margaret Mitchell saw a photo of the 1836 home in a magazine and sent it to the movie producers as inspiration for Ashley Wilkes’, or Scarlett O’Hara’s first love’s, estate.
The real-life property has 12 bedrooms, 12.5 bathrooms, 12 fireplaces, 3 acres of gardens, a pool, a gazebo, and a historic horse carriage house. It underwent a $2 million renovation in 2017 and has been a bed and breakfast in recent years.
The property could be a significant business opportunity, according to Target Auction’s Dewey Jacobs. The house comes with a permit to offer tours and is regularly named in lists of properties that tourists can visit to get a sense of the Old South atmosphere.
While both the book and the film are both criticized for creating an idealized image of slavery, Mitchell’s work is still widely considered to be one of the most iconic depictions of the American Civil War.
“Take it from Rhett Butler, ‘Take a good look my dear. It’s an historic moment you can tell your grandchildren about,'” reads the listing.
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