Known as “Free Bird’s Nest,” the sprawling estate lies on the outskirts of Atlanta, and comes complete with a pair of barns, custom pool and spa, and private lake sporting two boat docks.
Nine months after his death earlier this year at age 71, the Georgia estate of legendary guitarist Gary Rossington is available for the first time in its three-decade history. Resting in the well-to-do community of Milton, about 30 miles north of Atlanta, the bucolic residence is up for sale at exactly $12 million, as first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
A founder of the legendary Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd—and the last surviving original member—Rossington had cheated death more than once, according to Rolling Stone. Not only did he survive a car accident in 1976 in which he drove his Ford Torino into a tree, inspiring the band’s cautionary song That Smell, but he also emerged with two broken arms, a broken leg, and punctured stomach and liver after a 1977 plane crash that killed singer Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines and backing vocalist Cassie Gaines.
Rossington went on to have quintuple bypass surgery in 2003, suffered a heart attack in 2015 and then underwent numerous heart surgeries, having left Lynyrd Skynyrd in summer 2021 to recover from one of those procedures.
Meanwhile, the musician and his longtime wife Dale pieced together their 80-acre property over several years, purchasing the first 7-acre parcel for just over $1 million in 1997, per WSJ. Built in the early 1990s, and affectionately known as “Free Bird’s Nest,” the since-renovated premises are showcased by a main home and separate guesthouse—for a total of nine bedrooms and an equal number of baths in 7,500 square feet of living space.
Other highlights include a double-height entry foyer that flows to a formal dining room and study, as well as a fireside great room that connects to an eat-in kitchen outfitted with top-tier appliances, a workstation and windowed breakfast nook. Another living area has a fireplace and French doors opening to an expansive wood deck, while a main-level master retreat comes complete with a sitting area, mini-bar, and spa-like bath equipped with dual vanities, a dressing area, garden tub and tiled shower.
Three more bedrooms can be found upstairs, including an en-suite one, and two that share a bath; and the terrace level offers plenty of room for relaxing and entertaining guests with a fireplace, built-in bar, billiards area and Rossington’s simple music studio, which consisted of a desk, armchair, CD player and small amplifiers.
The amenities continue outdoors, where the sprawling grounds host a custom waterfall-fed pool and spa, fire-pit, pair of barns “ready for storage or conversion into animal spaces,” per the listing, and large spring-fed fishing lake sporting two docks, one floating and another with dual boat slips. There’s also a spacious motorcourt flanked by an attached two-car garage out front.
In addition to their primary Georgia residence, the couple also maintained a home in the Wyoming city of Jackson Hole. Per WSJ, Rossington’s widow is selling because she is planning to move to Florida where she can be closer to family. “Without Gary, it’s time for us to move on,” she said. “We’ve had our time here.”
The listing is held by Cynthia Chandlee of Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International Realty.
