Preservationist Jim Carter killed by car while walking in downtown Watkinsville
A Watkinsville man, who just three years ago restored one of the city’s oldest homes, was killed Friday after he was hit by a car while walking along North Main Street.
James “Jim” Carter, 75, was hit by a southbound Subaru Forester about 1:50 p.m. as he walked along North Main Street near Charity Lane, according to the Georgia State Patrol.
Troopers said Carter was walking along the west shoulder of the highway before he walked into the southbound lane. The 28-year-old woman driving the car is not expected to be charged as a result of the fatal collision, according to the patrol.
Carter restored a 200-year-old home along Second Street in Watkinsville that was built about 200 years ago. The house, known as the Osborn House, was to be moved or torn down when Carter saved the structure located a few blocks from the downtown area.
Carter was living in an historic home in the Oglethorpe County town of Philomath, which he also restored on a 213-acre estate dating back to 1799, when he sold this house to relocate to Watkinsville in about 2019.
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Carter was well known in historic preservation circles, where he had a reputation of restoring old buildings and homes. He once restored, and later sold, an historic house in downtown Athens at 185 Hull St.
Nearly 20 years ago, Carter was involved in the restoration of the historic Fitzpatrick Hotel in downtown Washington, a project that he and three of his friends engaged, according to a news account in the Oglethorpe Echo.
Funeral arrangements have not been announced.