Governor Clifford Walker Home

1877-1954

Clifford Walker was born in Monroe on July 4, 1877. Walker, a gifted student, attended school in Monroe at Johnson Institute and then at Georgia Military Institute. He then went to the University of Georgia, where his academic achievements, including establishing the Georgian literary magazine, earned him election to Phi Beta Kappa. He graduated from UGA in 1897 and returned to Monroe, where he began his law practice. Walker was admitted to the state bar in 1898.

In 1902, Walker married Rosa Carter Mathewson, and they had three sons. That same year, he was elected Mayor of Monroe and served until 1904. Walker left politics for five years before becoming Solicitor General of the Western Circuit in 1909. He held this post until 1913. In 1915, Walker was elected Georgia's attorney general, and in 1920, he resigned to run for governor.

Governor Walker worked to secure more funding for education in Georgia, including free textbooks for the public schools. He wanted every child in Georgia, regardless of race, to have a chance at a good education. He sought a complete overhaul of the tax system and favored an income tax. He also wanted to reduce the number of government offices. However, most of his proposed programs failed to pass in the Georgia General Assembly. Walker felt his most important accomplishment as governor was getting programs underway to improve schools and roads.

In 1928, Walker moved from Monroe to Atlanta and started his private law practice. In 1933, he founded, with Joseph B. Kilride, the Woodrow Wilson College of Law in Atlanta. Walker wrote a textbook, Walker’s Notes on Criminal Law. He served as general counsel for the Georgia Department of Labor from 1937 to 1952. He died on November 9, 1954, at his home in Monroe and was buried in the Old Baptist Cemetery.

Former governors Henry McDaniel and Clifford Walker were cousins as well as neighbors. “Today, the handsome brick homes of the two Georgia governors face each other across McDaniel Street.”

Sources: New Georgia Encyclopedia
Wayfarers in Walton

Governor Henry McDaniel sold the property across McDaniel Street from his home to his cousin Clifford Walker, who hired the Atlanta architectural firm of Edwards and Sayward to design his future home.

Most of the pictures of Gov. Walker’s home in this collection were taken during and after the renovation of the home by Charles and Diane Sanders in the 1990s.