The white, pre-Civil War General Lane House now sits quietly on 712 Sanders St., tucked near an elementary school and away from its previous home.
That previous home was once the corner of College and Thach, located where the Ralph Brown Draughon Library now sits.
Ralph Draughon Jr., co-author of "Lost Auburn: A Village Remembered in Period Photographs," remembers the days when a wood picket fence surrounded the historical home, whose land butted up all the way until Comer Hall, he said.
"Tradition and institutional memory add a thrill of depth to the educational experience that I think is very important," Draughon said.
For Draughon, the house is important to Auburn because of the people who occupied it and the memories within its walls.
The house was at one time occupied by Gen. James Henry Lane, a previous professor at Auburn, the youngest Confederate general to be given that title and an acquaintance to Stonewall Jackson, who was actually Lane's previous math teacher during Lane's time at Virginia Military Institute, Draughon said.
Draughon told of one important moment in Lane's career, the Battle at the Bloody Angle, in which Lane and his men held up their defense, although outnumbered, against Grant's troops as they tried to break through their lines.
After prolonged fighting, Lane and his men were able to push Grant's men back and they turned to head back to camp.
"But General Lane and his men were just exhausted," Draughon said. "They had been fighting for 24 hours and they were just staggering and weak and wounded."
As they hobbled back, Lane and his men saw a figure waiting for them on horseback in the distance and realized it was Gen. Robert E. Lee, Draughon said.
As they passed by Lee, "He took off his hat in this sweeping gesture and then he bowed to the men in gratitude for their heroic defense...their heroic fight- they saved the day at the Bloody Angle," Draughon said.
It is stories like this and others that are hidden within the walls of those who lived in and frequented the General Lane house.
Now, the house has become a venue for new memories in the community.
For over five decades the house has been used as the clubhouse for the Woman's Club of Auburn.
Gina Fromhold, who was president of the Auburn Woman's Club from 1984-1986, and has been a member for more than 30 years did extensive research on the house and its origins.
The building was designated for demolition in the early 1960s, but later saved, bought and given to the Woman's Club as a gift to be used for a hub for their community, Fromhold said.
It was then moved in sections over to its current location, where it has since been used for numerous meetings, socials and other happenings of the Auburn Woman's Club Fromhold said.
The Woman's Club of Auburn has worked hard to keep the original antiquated look and feel of the historic home.
Inside, the walls are adorned with numerous aged photographs of those who used to live in the house. Thick red curtains hang from the high windows, aged antiques hug the walls and china from the 1800s sits in a large glass cupboard, on loan to the Woman's Club from the granddaughter of Elizabeth Ross Glenn.
For woman like Fromhold, the club has become a center for community and an opportunity to branch out.
She studied science in college and said she was able to explore more artistic outlets through her involvement in the club.
"Auburn itself is a rich place for people who want to spread their wings in the arts," Fromhold said.
The Woman's Club is divided into six departments: bridge, home & garden, international affairs, literature & arts, lunch bunch and the newest section, business and professional women.
"There weren't any social services," Fromhold said. "The city didn't provide anything, the country didn't provide anything and poor people had no place to turn. And these women, they had canning classes, they started the public library... so they were really community-minded."
Jeanette Jones, current president of the Auburn Woman's Club said the club is honored to call the General Lane House their home and want to continue to foster its historic past by taking care of it.
"It's just a connection to the past," Jones said. "And it's a part of Auburn's history. So we're very proud, in the best sense of the word of pride."
Like Fromhold, Jones is thankful for those who pioneered ahead of them with not only the establishment of the clubhouse, but also the values that it promotes.
"I imagine, close to a hundred years ago, women were hardly able to vote or have any jobs of any kind and so to get together and talk about current events and be a part of the community was very important," Jones said. "We may not realize it so much today, we modern women, but I'm sure it must've been quite a remarkable thing 93 years ago."
Jones said the house has not only become a meeting place for the 250+ members, but a home of memories.
"It's just like being in a home really," Jones said.
Jones said that for her and many of the women, the home has become like a family possession.
"It's just like, if you go back to your parents' home and your grandparents' and great grandparents' pictures are on the wall, it's a family situation," Jones said. "We feel like we're members of a family."
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