GWINNETT COUNTY, GA—Gwinnett County officials held an open house on Saturday, Oct. 18, to kick off a series of community meetings to gain public input on the restoration of the historic Maguire-Livsey Family Big House in Snellville.

The Big House was primarily occupied by two families central to Gwinnett’s history — the Maguires, who were Irish, during the 19th century and the Livseys, who were black, in the 20th century. Thomas Maguire, an Irish immigrant, bought the plantation and owned it until his death in 1886, after which the property was subdivided and later purchased by the Livsey family, descendants of slaves in the 1920s.

Photos via Gwinnett County.

Gwinnett County had purchased the historic home and four adjacent properties in 2017 to preserve it and was planning to acquire m

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