Quotes from an article written in the Atlanta Journal Constitution by Julie Hairston. For the entire article on the AJC, please click here.
(Chinquapin is also featured on the front cover of the May 2009 edition of DuPont Registry. Click here to see; please enter your email address for the entire digital magazine. )
Rolf and Alexandra Kauka bought this Mediterranean-style home set amid more than 1,200 acres of woodland property near Thomasville in 1982. The late Rolf Kauka, who died in Thomasville in 2000, was the creator of a menagerie of animated figures beloved in Europe. He was known as the “European Walt Disney.” The flags Alexandra still flies in front of the house include the Kauka house flag, the Georgia flag, the Bavarian flag and the American flag.
This rooftop weathervane depicts one of Kauka’s popular creations, Lupo the Wolf. The Kaukas restored the home, which was built in 1910 by Standard Oil heir John F. Archbold. The couple came to America from Munich, looking for a warmer climate and a retreat where Rolf could write and paint. They fell in love with this plantation, known as Chinquapin, because it reminded them of their country estate in Germany. “When I saw Chinquapin, I knew all my things would fit,” said Alexandra Kauka.
In 1981, Chinquapin Plantation was purchased by Rolf and Alexandra Kauka. Rolf Kauka was a renowned publisher, author and cartoonist…the so called “Walt Disney of Germany”. In honor of her late husband and in accordance with her love and devotion to the natural environment, Alexandra made a charitable donation of a portion of the sale of 2400 acres of Chinquapin in 2005. Purchased by the State of Georgia, this property was transformed into the Rolf and Alexandra Kauka Wildlife Management Area which serves as a perpetually protected wildlife refuge.
Cheri Riley
Realtor, Founding Partner
404.944.9992
Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International Realty
For more information on Chinquapin, please click here.