{"nrhp_refnum":"08000396","name":"Barker, William, Whiskey Bonding Barn","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"9450 Old Zebulon Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Molena","county":"Pike County","state":"GA","lat":33.007454669000026,"lon":-84.47074867799995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2008-05-12","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Commerce"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A c. 1870 one-and-a-half-story brick barn at 9450 Old Zebulon Road near Molena in Pike County, Georgia, built by farmer William Thomas Barker as a storehouse for bonded whiskey.","why_significant":"It is presented as a good, intact and relatively rare example of a brick barn in Georgia, built with thick walls and limited access for security and insulation. It is also tied to whiskey production and sale in Pike County, as the probable local bonding warehouse until the 1897 Bottled-in-Bond Act.","narrative":"Set on a low rise on three acres near Molena in Pike County, Georgia, this c. 1870 brick barn was built by farmer and Civil War veteran William Thomas Barker as a storehouse for bonded whiskey. Its four-course-thick walls, stone foundation, and small barred windows set high on the sides provided security and a steady interior temperature for aging spirits. Inside, the plaster walls still carry penciled lists of seed and supplies dating from 1899. After bonding operations likely ended with the 1897 Bottled-in-Bond Act, the building served as a store for sharecroppers, a temporary cotton warehouse, a school for a year in the early 1940s, and later a place to store feed and equipment for a turkey farm. It was listed as a relatively rare, intact brick barn in Georgia and for its link to local whiskey production. A preservation group bought it in 2005 and is rehabilitating it as an event space and gallery.","period_of_significance":"c.1870-1897","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"OTHER: barn","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Currently used as a museum per the function listing; the barn was empty until purchased in 2005 and is being rehabilitated as an event space and photography gallery, with the first floor boards recently removed to stabilize the foundation.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:43.549811-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_GA/08000396.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/08000396/02c3b090d8-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/08000396/02c3b090d8-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Jud McCranie","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:William_Barker_Whiskey_Bonding_Barn.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Jud McCranie</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:William_Barker_Whiskey_Bonding_Barn.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/93209265","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Barker_Whiskey_Bonding_Barn","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q29092818"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/georgia/pike-county/barker-william-whiskey-bonding-barn-08000396/"}