Circa 1841, James Joseph commissioned the architect John Wind to design a plantation house.

William Warren Rogers writes "Some of Wind's work still exists and reveals him as one of the South's most talented but, unfortunately, least known architects.

"[3] James Joseph Blackshear was killed in a cotton press accident on November 3, 1843, before the house was completed.

After the American Civil War, Cedar Grove fell onto hard times, but it remained in Blackshear hands until 1887.

In 1891, A. Heywood Mason of Philadelphia purchased Susina Plantation and approximately 6400 acres (2590 ha).

His sister, Elanor Mason Butler and her husband expanded the nearby cottage to 5,000 square feet (460 m2) circa 1925.

[1][5] In 1980, Susina Plantation was acquired by Anne Marie Walker and was operated as a bed and breakfast.

In 2000, Randall and Marilynn Rhea of Atlanta acquired the property for use as their private residence,[6] and they hired general contractor Terrell Singletary of Thomasville to repair and renovate the main house and four of the dependencies.

The main house at Susina Plantation is considered by some to be one of the finest examples of the Greek Revival style.

[7][8] The main house sits on a knoll surrounded by large and mature live oak and magnolia lawns.

John Wind's early work, such as Greenwood and Susina, were in traditional Greek Revival style.

Later at Eudora and Fair Oaks, he skillfully added his own style which tended toward a later romantic or Oriental period.

[9] Susina's Ionic portico is supported by four two-story, fluted and tapered round columns.

The front double door is eight by seven feet and has sidelights and a fixed transom with lattice work created by strips of wood.

The molding around the door has a fret design at the upper and lower corners with fluting running the length of the posts.

Circa 1891, A. Heywood Mason added porches that extend the full length of the house on both the north and south sides.

This sleeping porch and a rear race for air conditioning were removed by the Rhea's in 2000 to return the exterior to an earlier period.