{"nrhp_refnum":"02001259","name":"Hillman-Bowden House","other_names":["Pylant Place"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1348 Pyland Crossing Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Thomson","county":"McDuffie County","state":"GA","lat":33.43746473300004,"lon":-82.5554873028727,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2002-11-01","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story Greek Revival-style frame house built about 1860 on a rural property roughly three miles west of Thomson in McDuffie County, Georgia, originally the center of a cotton plantation built by Josephus Hillman.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the house is an outstanding and excellent antebellum example of Greek Revival architecture in Georgia, where relatively few such houses were built on rural plantations. Its Doric temple-front portico and Georgian plan are characteristic, and Italianate brackets and bargeboard give it a vernacular interpretation of the style. It also retains a high level of integrity.","narrative":"Set on a lawn shaded by oak and pecan trees about three miles west of Thomson, this two-story frame house was built around 1860 by Josephus Hillman, a cotton planter who relied on enslaved labor and was among the wealthiest residents of the area. A temple-front portico with four colossal Doric columns dominates the facade, and the interior follows a Georgian plan with four rooms divided by a wide center hall. Italianate brackets and scalloped bargeboard add a vernacular touch to the classical form. Original grained doors, mantels and moldings survive inside. Later owners included Felix Brown, the Pylant brothers, William K. Miller and banker Paul A. Bowden. In the early 1950s his daughter, Lucille Bowden Johnson, added plumbing, electricity and a historic scenic wallpaper mural. The house was listed as an excellent example of antebellum Greek Revival architecture in Georgia, with its rural setting and original materials largely intact.","period_of_significance":"c.1860-c.1951","architect_builder":"Unknown","architectural_style":"Mid-19th Century: Greek Revival","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Current function is listed as social: civic; the property was conveyed to the Wrightsboro Quaker Community Foundation after 1994. A small hunting cabin on the property is noncontributing.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:42.749852-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_GA/02001259.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/93208912","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q134390657"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/georgia/mcduffie-county/hillman-bowden-house-02001259/"}