For more than 100 years, the towers of Shorter College dominated Rome's skyline, rising above the city like a castle. Around the same time the courthouse became one of Rome's defining landmarks, visitors arriving downtown would have looked up and seen something entirely different—a sprawling collection of Gothic-inspired buildings perched dramatically on Shelton Hill.

Today, only fragments remain. But if you know where to look, the architecture still tells its story. If these building still stood today, they would almost certainly be one of Georgia's most photographed Victorian landmarks.