{"nrhp_refnum":"73000623","name":"Bowman-Pirkle House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"NE of Buford off U.S. 23 on Friendship Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Buford","county":"Hall County","state":"GA","lat":34.14254835600008,"lon":-83.95444151399994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1973-08-14","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story log plantation plain type house, later weatherboarded, built in 1818 on Pirkle Ferry Road (now Friendship Road) near Buford and Flowery Branch in southern Hall County, Georgia. A one-story cottage addition dates to about 1870.","why_significant":"The house was built by John Bowman with help from Cherokee men in 1818, as the area was being ceded by the Cherokees. It is probably one of the earliest structures built and occupied by whites in this Indian territory. Andrew Jackson and the Cherokee chief Major Ridge are said to have visited during Bowman's and later Noah Pirkle's ownership.","narrative":"Built in 1818 near Flowery Branch in southern Hall County, Georgia, this two-story log house began as a plantation plain type dwelling and was later covered in weatherboard. It has a double verandah, a trabeated doorway with side lights, and a stone chimney original to the house. A one-story, two-room cottage was added at the rear around 1870. John Bowman, a courier on General Andrew Jackson's staff, built it with help from Cherokee men after Major Ridge gave him a tract of land. The area had been ceded by the Cherokees in 1817, and Bowman had to buy back land grants. The house is therefore considered one of the earliest structures built and occupied by whites in the territory. Bowman, who learned herbal medicine from the Cherokees, developed a largely self-sufficient plantation. His daughter Amanda and her husband Noah Pirkle kept the house in the family until 1969, when it passed to the Hall County Historical Society. It was later moved for restoration.","period_of_significance":"19th Century (c.1818)","architect_builder":"John Bowman","architectural_style":"Plantation plain type house","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed as unoccupied, in fair condition and altered. It was owned by the Hall County Historical Society, with plans to move it and restore it for use as a meeting place and museum. A 1978 letter reports it was moved in November 1977 to a county water park and museum site.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:40.356749-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_GA/73000623.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73000623/3366b4ddef-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73000623/3366b4ddef-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Jean Buckley","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bowman-Pirkle_House.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Jean Buckley</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bowman-Pirkle_House.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/93208560","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowman-Pirkle_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q65060340"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/georgia/hall-county/bowman-pirkle-house-73000623/"}