Georgia adds four resources to National Register of Historic Places
Atlanta, GA – Georgia added four new listings to the National Register of Historic Places, continuing to highlight the diversity and breadth of the state’s historic heritage.
These nominations include:
- Lemon Street School, Marietta, Cobb County
- Brown’s Mill Battlefield, Coweta County
- Dooly County Campground, Vienna, Dooly County
- Augusta Warehouse and Compress Company, Augusta, Richmond County
Listing nominations are part of the Historic Preservation Division’s mission to promote the preservation and use of historic places for a better Georgia.
The Historic Preservation Division hopes sharing this information will encourage more historic property preservation through public awareness and an appreciation of the impact historic resources have on our social and economic lives.
As of March 8, 2023, Georgia has 2,217 listings comprising 90,070 resources in the National Register of Historic Places.
For more information on the newest listings, see below:
Lemon Street School, Marietta, Cobb County
Lemon Street School is a locally significant community landmark and educational facility that served African American students in Marietta during segregation. The building was designed with similar architectural details of the nearby and no longer extant Fort Hill Homes. From its opening in 1951 to the integration of Cobb County schools in 1968, more than 10,000 African American students from Fort Hill Homes and surrounding neighborhoods attended the school from first to sixth grade. The school accommodated hundreds of students at a time despite its small size, limited materials, and shortage of teachers. Lemon Street School, along with the no longer extant Lemon Street High School, were institutional anchors for African Americans who lived in the area. Both schools contributed to creating a sense of pride and accomplishment throughout the community.
Lemon Street School was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on February 23, 2024.
The nomination was sponsored by the Kennesaw State University Department of Museums, Archives, and Rare Books. Nomination materials were prepared by Dr. Jennifer Dickey and students of the KSU Public History Program.
Brown’s Mill Battlefield, Coweta County
The Battle of Brown’s Mill on July 30, 1864, was one in a series of Union setbacks that marked a major turning point in the Atlanta Campaign. While attempting to destroy the remaining Confederate railroads supplying Atlanta, Union forces directed by Brigadier General Edward M. McCook sought to bypass Confederate-occupied Newnan. Pursuing Confederate soldiers, commanded by Major General Joseph Wheeler, caught up with McCook’s forces that afternoon. This unanticipated clash on horseback and on foot throughout the heavy woods resulted in a Confederate victory. Coupled with an unanticipated Union defeat the next day at the Battle of Sunshine Church, these back-to-back Confederate victories compelled Union Major General William T. Sherman to abandon cavalry efforts to cut the railroads feeding and supplying the Confederate army defending Atlanta. While the Confederate victory at Brown’s Mill did not change the ultimate outcome of the Atlanta Campaign, it prolonged it at a time when President Lincoln’s reelection hinged on the success or failure of Union armies in the field and a speedy termination of the Civil War.
Brown’s Mill Battlefield was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on February 29, 2024. The nomination was sponsored by the Brown’s Mill Battlefield Association. Nomination materials were prepared by supporters Carolyn Turner, Dr. David Evans, Sandra Parker, and Danny Spivey.
Dooly County Campground, Vienna, Dooly County
Dooly County Campground is a United Methodist Church camp-meeting venue dating back to 1874. At the center of the site is a large, open-air tabernacle made of hand-hewn pine timbers using mortise-and-tenon joinery, built in 1875. Surrounding the tabernacle in a circular pattern are four dormitories, the preacher’s tent, and six extant family “tents” – a term harkening back to the earliest camp meetings when families traveled to a campground, pitched their tents, and joined in a week of religious sermons, singing, social interaction, and recreation. In addition to the tabernacle and tents, the campground evolved over time to provide additional facilities, such as a dining hall, restrooms, meeting spaces, basketball court, swimming hole, and swimming pool. Camp meetings are an institutionalized feature of Georgia’s religious history and remain an important and increasingly rare component of religious practice in the state today.
The Dooly County Campground was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on March 1, 2024. The nomination was sponsored by Dooly County Campground, Inc., and nomination materials were prepared by Lynne Cook.
Augusta Warehouse and Compress Company, Augusta, Richmond County
The Augusta Warehouse and Compress Company is located just two miles from downtown Augusta. Built in 1916, the complex consists of seven warehouses, a shop building, an iron water tower, and a railroad spur. Each warehouse contains multiple uniformly sized compartments separated by brick firewalls, historic central openings into each compartment, and brick knee walls. These compartments were divided into four apartment units during the recent restoration of the property. Original support beams and posts, skylights, and roof decking were retained, all largely remaining exposed. The Augusta Warehouse and Compress Company is significant for its association with the evolution of the cotton industry in Augusta, specifically the compression and warehousing of this critical commodity crop. At its height, Augusta was second only to Memphis as the largest inland cotton market in the world and the city’s economy was dependent on the cotton trade. At the time of construction, this property was one of five compress locations in the city and one of only two large modern cotton warehouse complexes. Today, it is the city’s only extant cotton warehouse from the early-20th century and remains a physical representation of Augusta’s once vital cotton industry.
Augusta Warehouse and Compress Company was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on March 4, 2024. The nomination was sponsored by Progressive Consultants LLC. Nomination materials were prepared by Ray, Ellis & LaBrie Consulting.
The Historic Preservation Division’s programs include environmental review, grants, historic resource surveys, tax incentives, the National Register of Historic Places, and community assistance. To learn more about HPD and its mission to promote the preservation and use of historic places for a better Georgia, click here.
