Kenneth Andrew Meredith was born in Liberty Center, Indiana, about 1903, to John H. and Zella (nee Mott) Meredith. John H. Meredith lived in Muncie, Indiana and worked in the street car barn according to the 1907 Muncie (IN) City Directory. By the 1910 Census, John and Zetta [sic] Meredith lived in Grant, West Virginia, where John worked as a pumper on an oilfield. By 1911, John H. Meredith lived in Akron, Ohio and worked at Goodrich Company. In the 1913 Akron City Directory, John H. Meredith lived at a separate address from Zetta Meredith. He worked as a fireman in Erie, and she worked as a housekeeper. According to Cuyahoga County (OH) Marriage Records, 1810–1973, Zetta Meredith was divorced in Akron in 1914 and remarried John A. Canda in 1919.

As a youth, Kenneth came to know the Sampliner family of Cleveland, Ohio. The Sampliners were a family with ties to Cleveland’s thriving knit goods industry. This relationship gave Kenneth early and deep exposure to the garment trade, shaping the career that would define his life. By 1923, Ken was working as a foreman at Rich-Sampliner Knitting Mills Company in Cleveland. Rich-Sampliner was one of the prominent knitting operations in the city during an era when Cleveland was second only to New York in garment manufacturing. By the late 1920s, Kenneth had established himself as an independent manufacturer’s agent in knit goods, working out of an address on Euclid Avenue.

Hazel Lamont Meredith (nee Lamont) was born in Cleveland, Ohio, about 1906, to John and Mary (nee McMichael) Lamont. According to census records, John was a native Scot and a foundry moulder; Mary was a native of Ireland. Hazel was an artist by temperament: a dancer, an accomplished violinist, and a singer. According to the 1930 Census, Hazel L. Lamont was a 24-year-old dancer at a theatre and restaurant in Cleveland, Ohio. Hazel and Kenneth’s sister, Gladys, were close friends through the dance world in Cleveland, and it was through this friendship that Kenneth and Hazel met.

Kenneth Meredith and Hazel Lamont were married on August 8, 1930 in Shaker Heights, Cuyahoga County, Ohio by Justice of the Peace William J. Zoul. Of note, W. J. Zoul was the same individual that married Kenneth Meredith’s mother to his step-father.

In the 1925 Cleveland (OH) City Directory, Zella H. Meredith was listed as a widow of John H. Meredith living at 2037 E 77th Street. This was the same address Kenneth A. Meredith was listed living at in subsequent Cleveland city directories. Kenneth A. Meredith was occupied in knit goods as a manufacturer’s agent in Cleveland, Ohio in from 1925 through 1930.

According to family tradition, when Kenneth and Hazel were newlyweds deciding where to establish his manufacturing business, they put a map of the United States on the wall and threw a dart. It landed on Atlanta. They packed up and headed south

In Fall 1931, the Merediths had moved to Atlanta and resided at 2222 Peachtree Road, Apartment C3, Atlanta, Georgia. He listed his occupation as a manufacturer’s agent in the 1932 Atlanta City Directory.  He was admitted as a new member to the Capital City Club in 1931 according to a Capital City Club book on its first 100 years.

In Fall 1932, the Merediths resided at in an apartment building at 1765 Peachtree Street, Atlanta, Georgia. Ken Meredith listed his occupation in the 1935 Atlanta City Directory as salesman.

By Fall 1936, the Merediths resided at 3198 Habersham Road, Atlanta, Georgia. Of note, the residence at 3150 Habersham Road (just one or two houses south of the Merediths’ residence) was designed around this time for Mr. & Mrs. Tyndall by James C. Wise. The residence at 3150 Habersham Road is an English Tudor-revival and shares stylistic similarities to Meredith House on Hillside. The Merediths would likely have watched the Tindal’s house being built prior to purchasing their property on Hillside. It’s influence and possibly helping them to select their architect may have emerged from this house. During this time, Ken Meredith had his own wholesale knit goods distribution business located on Whitehall Street, Atlanta, Georgia.

The Merediths had a daughter, Lynn Lamont Meredith, born in April 1937.

By Fall 1938, the Merediths resided at 335 Hillside Drive, Atlanta, Georgia, according to the 1939 Atlanta City Directory.

Mrs. Meredith hosted the Northwoods Garden Club meeting at her residence on December 11, 1939, according to the Atlanta Constitution, November 20 and December 11, 1939.

In a June 30, 1939, notice in the Atlanta Constitution, “Mrs. J. H. Meredith and her daughter, Mrs. A. H. MacDowell, of Cleveland, Ohio, are visiting the former’s son and daughter, Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth A. Meredith, at their home on Hillside Drive.” This was Kenneth’s mother and his sister, Gladys, visiting the newly completed house.

In correspondence, the Merediths’ daughter, Lynn, wrote: “If you stand in front of the house facing Hillside Drive, we owned everything on the right to North Side Drive and to the left all the way to Powers Ferry with the exception of the Harry Summers House which later belonged to Henry Hirsch. We also owned the property across the street. Occasionally, my father would take his two favorite hunting dogs across the street to shoot quail.”

According to the 1940 Census (Military District 722, Buckhead, Sheet 9A), there were three residences on Hillside Drive between Powers Ferry Road and North Side Drive. Robert McConnell, Sr., a carpenter, and two of his sons were renting a house on east end of Hillside. Harry Sommers, a divorced auto dealer, was living with his male valet in a residence at 319 Hillside Drive. The census placed the total value of the residence at $40,000.   The Merediths lived at 335 Hillside Drive with Kenneth Meredith as head of household. Mr. Meredith was listed as a 36-year-old who completed four years of college, worked fifty hours in the week before the census was taken as a “nitted goods” [sic] distributor. Mrs. Meredith was listed as a 33-year-old who completed three years of high school and did not work outside the home. Their daughter, Lynn, was listed as a 3-year-old. Also residing in the main house was Jessie Freeman, a 38-year-old white female nurse, who completed two years of high school, worked 72 hours in the week preceding the census being taken, and was paid $600 per year. Henry Hood, a 28-year-old black male, was residing in the servant’s quarters / carriage house. Mr. Hood was listed as having completed four years of high school, working 75 hours as a Butler in the week preceding the census being taken, and being paid $10 per week. Hellena Robinson, a 34-year-old black female, was also residing in the servant’s quarters / carriage house. Ms. Robinson was listed as having completed one year of high school, working 75 hours as a Maid in the week preceding the census being taken, and being paid $10 per week.

In correspondence with the Merediths’ granddaughter, Lynda Packard, Meredith House was a mini “farm” and “the only place to get eggs and milk during [World War II].” The property had chickens, goats, a lamb, a horse, and dogs.

Kenneth Meredith and Oxford Manufacturing Company

Kenneth Meredith was the founder and first president of what is now Oxford Industries, Inc. (NYSE: OXM), the Atlanta-based apparel company whose brands today include Tommy Bahama, Lilly Pulitzer, and Southern Tide.

In a 1973 audio recording made at Meredith House, the home’s architect, James C. Wise, stated plainly: “In fact, Ken Meredith was really the starter of Oxford Industries.”

Meredith’s path to founding Oxford grew directly from his roots in Cleveland’s knit goods industry. By the 1936 Atlanta City Directory, he had established his own knit goods distributing business with offices on Whitehall Street, SW, Atlanta. By 1942, he had expanded his footprint to include an office on 7th Avenue in New York, in the heart of the garment district.

The earliest confirmed reference to a business relationship between Kenneth Meredith and the Lanier brothers (J. Hicks, Sartain, and Thomas H. Lanier) is in 1943. On May 17, 1943, Samuel Rothberg conveyed the lot and building known as 151 Spring Street, NW, Atlanta, to “Lanier-Meredith Company, a partnership composed of J. Hicks Lanier, Sartain Lanier, Thomas H. Lanier and Kenneth Meredith” [Fulton County Deed Book 1943, Page 356].

In the 1944 Atlanta City Directory, the listing for Oxford Manufacturing Company listed J. Hicks, Sartain, and Thomas H. Lanier, along with Kenneth Meredith, as affiliated with the company. By 1947, Ken Meredith was listed as President of Oxford Manufacturing Company, with the three Lanier brothers each listed as Vice Presidents. He remained listed as President through the 1950 Atlanta City Directory.

Fulton County deed records reveal that Kenneth Meredith held a one-third (33%) undivided interest in Oxford Manufacturing Company’s real property, making him the largest single shareholder in the enterprise. The three Lanier brothers collectively held the remaining two-thirds. On February 28, 1950, Kenneth A. Meredith conveyed his interest in two buildings (292 Lambert Street, NW, and 151-155 Spring Street, NW, Atlanta) to “Lanier Management Company, a partnership composed of J. Hicks Lanier, Sartain Lanier and Thomas H. Lanier” [Fulton County (Ga.) Deed Book 2536, Page 154].

By 1951, Ken Meredith was no longer listed as affiliated with Oxford Manufacturing Company. The company he founded would go on to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange and grow into a publicly traded corporation with annual revenues exceeding one billion dollars.

Life at Meredith House

Mr. and Mrs. Meredith were involved in numerous social clubs, including the Northwoods Garden Club, Tuxedo Hunt Club, Piedmont Driving Club, Capital City Club, East Lake Country Club, and Lake Forest Gun Club. Kenneth was a founding member of the Tuxedo Hunt Club. He was also an accomplished golfer; newspaper accounts from the late 1930s and 1940s record him winning or placing in member tournaments at the Capital City Club, frequently shooting in the low 70s. A December 1938 photograph in the Atlanta Constitution shows “the three comrades” at the Lake Forest Gun Club: Mrs. Hicks Lanier, Mrs. Kenneth Meredith, and Mrs. James Henry.

The Merediths’ daughter, Lynn, was involved in Girl Scout Troop 154, attended the Westminster Schools, and rode horses competitively.

The Merediths maintained a 60-foot yacht called the Kammar, which they used for cruises to the West Indies, Key West, Havana, and Bimini. Kenneth was also an avid hunter, keeping sporting dogs on the property. The family entertained frequently, and the Atlanta Constitution’s society pages from this era regularly chronicle gatherings at Meredith House and at events where the Merediths were central figures.

According to the 1940 Census, the property was valued at $40,000. By the time it was listed for sale in 1953, the Adair Realty & Loan Co. brochure described it as “The Elegant Meredith Estate” and priced it at $125,000, with approximately 10 acres of woodland remaining from the original 17-plus-acre parcel. The deed to the property was in Mrs. Hazel L. Meredith’s name.

By Fall 1950, there were four residences on Hillside Drive between Powers Ferry Road and North Side Drive. Two of those residences were on the south side of Hillside (280 and 286). Two of those residences were on the north side (319 and 335). The Meredith House was 335 Hillside Drive.

After Oxford: The Wildcatter

After his departure from Oxford Manufacturing Company, Kenneth Meredith turned to oil exploration. He had business interests in oil wells in Louisiana, including a venture called “Lynn Oil Company,” named for his daughter. Lynn Oil Company survived Kenneth and was inherited by his daughter, who eventually sold the wells to a larger company. In the words of his granddaughter, Lynda Packard, Kenneth became “a wildcatter” after the Oxford chapter closed.

He maintained residences in New York City (375 Fifth Avenue, later Park Avenue in Murray Hill), Miami Beach (2220 North Bay Road), and Darien, Connecticut (721 Hollow Tree Ridge Road). He continued to move in Atlanta social circles even after leaving the city; in April 1954, Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Meredith were feted at a 250-person cocktail party on West Paces Ferry Road during a visit to Atlanta.

Hazel’s Passing

Mrs. Hazel Meredith passed away on June 30, 1953, at Meredith House. According to the architect and a newspaper account, she had a tragic accident at the house. She was taken to Piedmont Hospital, where she died shortly afterward.

Hazel’s death shattered the family’s connection to the house and to Atlanta. Kenneth closed the house immediately. He and Lynn never returned. The house stood essentially empty from July 1953 through May 1954, with Julia Allen, a longtime member of the household staff, serving as caretaker from the servants’ quarters above the garage.

Kenneth’s Later Years

Kenneth remarried twice after Hazel’s death. His second marriage, in January 1954, was brief. His third wife, Mary Lewis, became a beloved figure in the family.

Kenneth A. Meredith passed away on February 22, 1962, in Delray Beach, Florida. He was 57 years old.

The main house at Meredith House was generally unoccupied from July 1953 through May 1954. Chris McLoughlin wrote: “During the time our parents [Dr. and Mrs. McLoughlin] were looking at the house and property with the idea of purchasing it, Julia Allen was a permanent resident in the servants’ quarters above the garage. During the time that the house stood empty before we moved in Julia was the housekeeper and caretaker [of Meredith House], but I have the idea that she had been the Meredith’s cook. . . . After we moved in, Julia and her dog named ‘Pistol’ stayed on as our cook. She lived there for as long as I can remember, and I have no knowledge of what became of her after we moved [in 1962]. George Wicker, who doubled as chauffeur, butler and yardman, came with us from Rivers Road. George lived in the servants’ quarters from time to time as suited his lifestyle. Eventually, George moved on and Charles Collins was hired as his replacement.”

Lynn Meredith Packard (1937 – 2021)

Lynn Lamont Meredith Packard, the Merediths’ only child, died in October 2021 at the age of 84. Born in Atlanta, she grew up at Meredith House before the family’s move to Florida following her mother’s death. Lynn was educated partly in London, where she was presented during the London season. She was a lifelong volunteer, establishing charity fundraising events in Atlanta and later serving with the Junior League of Bergen County, New Jersey, and volunteering at New York-Presbyterian Hospital. She married John W. Packard and raised their daughter, Lynda, in Englewood, New Jersey, and Water Mill, New York. Services were held at the Marble Collegiate Church in New York City.