“I would also like to thank Joseph Ford for his bold and daring dream of a place known as ‘Colonial Heights’ in what was called ‘The Land of Cotton.’

Today, 175 years later, almost all of the cotton fields are gone. It is no longer ‘The Land of Cotton,’ but it can now and forever more be called ‘The Land Where Our Fathers Died.’

— James H. Birdsong,

Standing on the veranda of James Birdsong’s home, one looks out over a sprawling property. And with a little imagination, it’s not difficult to see an old Southern plantation at the height of its glory.

There is a story here if one is patient enough to listen. It is a story of loss and joy and one of progress and industry. It is the story of great men and great deeds and about a war that was fought here many years ago.

Birdsong is helping to tell the story of this home and this land. He has written a historical novel called “Land Where Our Fathers Died” about Colonial Heights, an old plantation house just off U.S. 411 on the way to Cave Spring.

Thirty years ago, Birdsong and his wife Cherrye purchased the house and restored it so carefully that it looks much as it did during the Civil War. He knew little of the property’s history until two years ago when descendants of the original owner, Joseph Ford, came forward with a wealth of information about the property’s history.

“And that led me to write the book,” Birdsong said. “That was the beginning. They gave me a lot of valuable information and I did my own research as well.”

He pored over history books at the library, legal documents at the courthouse, and spent hours online searching for information about the origins of the home and property.

The result is a 180-page historical novel that begins with Joseph Ford’s acquisition of the land and his consequent construction of Colonial Heights.

But then Birdsong realized that the story of this home is incomplete without giving the reader a time and place and events in which to place the historical structure.

To that end, the book also includes chapters on the Cherokee expulsion from Northwest Georgia and the Trail of Tears.

He covers the plantation years, Rome’s growth and prosperity and especially Rome’s role in the Civil War.

“The history is told around the Ford family and around the home,” Birdsong said. “The book talks about Chief Vann and Major Ridge and many of the other historical homes in the area as well as the war. But it’s not just about the major battles in this area. I tried to cover as much history as possible.”

But the history always comes back to Rome and Colonial Heights. The book serves as a history lesson but also paints a picture of the beautiful home which looks surprisingly similar to how it did during the war.

Some area residents had the chance to read advance copies of the book. The response, Birdsong said, has been overwhelmingly positive.

“(Birdsong) takes true facts and spins a great story of your area’s history form 1832 through the end of the Civil War in 1865,” said Huntsville, Ala. resident Herbert Kitchens. “It shows the sad injustice done to our Native Americans, weaves a story of a man’s vision for developing a ‘new’ country and relates the trials of a man’s family through a terrible war. It really brought history alive in an easily understandable way.”

The Birdsongs have restored and maintained the house and property and said they’re now welcoming visitors into the home for free tours.

On Thursday, Greater Rome Bank hosted a reception for Birdsong at which he formally introduced the book to the community.

Invited guests included descendants of Joseph Ford as well as owners of local Antebellum homes and other historic sites.

“And now we’re opening the home to any who would like to visit and see what this book is about,” he said.

Throughout May, the house will be open each day at 5 p.m. for free tours.

“We want Sunday schools, gardening clubs, history clubs, school classes and everyone else to come out and take a tour,” Birdsong said. “The architecture and furniture is fascinating. Almost everything looks exactly as it did during the war.”

After turning off U.S. 27 toward Cave Spring, the property is a couple miles on the left.

“Land Where Our Fathers Died” is available at the Colonial Heights home as well as at the Rome-Floyd County Library gift shop. It retails for $25.