McRee Hall is a Neoclassical Georgia wooden house built in 1906 during Camilla’s Broad Street Gilded Age. It is one of Camilla’s grandest homes and is located at 181 E. Broad Street. James Price McRee, a prominent timber and turpentine dealer, built this house for his new bride, Jeanette Wade McRee. Although Jeanette called her husband Price, others called him James or Jim.

J. P. McRee came to Camilla around 1900 to teach at what was first called the old Camilla Academy. This school was later to become Camilla High School, a tax-funded school. Professor McRee also went into farming as well as into the booming turpentine business with W.C. Vereen of Moultrie and Thomas McNeal. Turpentine was a lucrative business because it was a necessary ingredient in paint.  Professor McRee was also an innovative farmer and one of the first to bring cattle to Mitchell County. In addition, he also implemented planting peach trees between newly-planted pecan trees.

McRee Hall is now on the National Historic Register. Originally, this home had six bedrooms and two baths, one upstairs and one downstairs. The house caught fire in 1934 and had to be rebuilt inside. The second floor living area was especially damaged. During the fire Camilla firemen had to put the fire ladders on their shoulders to make them tall enough to climb to the second story roof. After the fire, remodeling was done to the first floor. A powder room was added, and the living and dining rooms were combined into one larger room. In addition, the conservatory was converted into a new dining room, and the back porch was made into a breakfast room and an additional room. Unfortunately, the beautiful stained-glass window on the main staircase landing was lost in the fire. Another stained glass piece in shades of green was found in the attic, and this was used to replace the lost glass in the window in the landing. The hallmark of McRee Hall was the lovely leaded glass front door and side panels with reflecting lights, which could be seen at night by all when passing the Georgia mansion on Broad Street. Together with the wonderful homes built by affluent families, the Hall’s imposing columns and front porch have always been Camilla’s intriguing invitation to the charms of Broad Street during Camilla’s Gilded Age.

Jeannette Wade McRee supervised most of the landscaping around the Hall and the carriage house at the back of the home. Her children, Carolyn and Sarah, were born in McRee Hall, and Carolyn died at age six during a diphtheria epidemic. James Price McRee died from heart attack at the age of sixty-four. Jeanette Wade McRee continued to live in this splendid house on Broad Street until her death in 1971. The upkeep and maintenance of such a large home was a tremendous burden for a widow. When her daughter Sarah attended Wesley College in Macon, Mrs. McRee began to provide rooms for female boarders who were school teachers. Mrs. Frank Twitty, Sr. (Elizabeth Almand) was one boarder. She later married Mr. Frank Twitty, Sr. who was a lawyer and a prominent state political figure. Another boarder was Mrs. Betty McCollum Tyson, who married William F. Tyson, a well-known businessman.

While at Wesleyan College, Sarah McRee majored in china painting. Her heirs have a large punch bowl that she painted which reflects their mother’s talent. In January of 1937 Sarah McRee was married to George Jefferson Joiner, Jr. in a small family ceremony in McRee Hall. Their four children, George, Jeanette, Evelyn, and Fredrica were born and also married in McRee Hall.

In the 1990s George Jefferson Joiner, III opened McRee Hall to the public as a charming Bed and Breakfast. He unfortunately died of a heart attack in January 2001. In 2002, McRee Hall was bought by Joe Harris and Linda Morgan and extensively historically rehabilitated, for the 1906 home was on the National Historic Register. The barn and carriage house on the property were completely renovated, creating from the two outbuildings the Joe B. Adams, Jr. Multi Media Conference Center. The grand opening on April 2, 2005 officially christened McRee Hall as a premier Bed and Breakfast and state of the art conference center.