After inheriting the house, the Middlebrooks made several notable additions and changes. The L shaped back porch was eventually closed in to create the current laundry room, master bathroom, and breakfast nook. A carport was added, along with a metal shed. A concrete patio was added in 1983. Many of the original features of the house were updated--the fireplaces were closed to allow for gas furnaces to be added. 

John and Louise enjoyed the home for many years, providing a stable and loving presence in the neighborhood. Neighborhood children happily remember playing cards with the couple on the back porch, eating ripe pomegranates from the tree in the backyard, and waving to the couple as they passed their house on a Sunday drive. 

John Middlebrooks passed in 2007, shortly after selling the home to the young Haygood family. Living to the ripe old age of 91, he shared wisdom with the young couple about the home's history, peculiar ways, and the myriad of unique plants that had been added to the homes extensive gardens. 

During this time, Barnesville had gone through many unique changes. The few mills eventually closed and the Gordon Military College flourished. The original Gordon Primary School closed in the 1970s following the combination of all county schools. The building was eventually demolished to make way for the new Barnesville Library, that bears a plaque in memory of the building, it's history, and those who taught there.

Downtown Barnesville changed as well. Many of the original businesses closed as new strip malls and fast food restaurants opened. The famed canopy of trees that ran through the middle of Barnesville Downtown was removed and replaced with a small garden.