{"nrhp_refnum":"73000628","name":"Harman-Watson-Matthews House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"SW of Greenville on Odessadale/Durand Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Greenville","county":"Meriwether County","state":"GA","lat":32.989449653000065,"lon":-84.82651966099996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1973-05-09","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A brick house built circa 1860 by Luther Merriman Harman on a 200-acre plot about two miles south of Odessadale, near Greenville, Meriwether County, Georgia.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it the oldest brick house in Meriwether County. It is also noted as an architectural example for its four-square-room central hall plan, its original wood graining and its brick construction.","narrative":"Built around 1860 of hand-made Georgia clay brick, this house near Odessadale in Meriwether County was erected for Luther Merriman Harman, who had come to the county with his parents in 1827. Enslaved workers made the brick, and the nomination says a kiln collapse prevented a second planned house from being built. It is described as the oldest brick house in the county. The original design was a one-and-one-half-story Greek Revival house with a square-columned temple-form portico, gauged brick arches over the windows, graining on the doors, and a central hall with four square rooms. Later changes included a rear dining room and kitchen ell about 1880 and a flat-roofed porch added after 1896. After Harman died in 1892 the Watson family owned it until 1971. A restoration that year removed the later additions, and further work was planned to follow an 1896 photograph. The house sits on a 200-acre plot with granite outcroppings.","period_of_significance":"19th Century (c.1860)","architect_builder":"Luther Merriman Harman (builder/owner); bricks made by slaves","architectural_style":"Originally Greek Revival; later renovated in a version of the colonial style","criteria":[],"status_note":"Condition listed as excellent and altered; in use as a private residence (weekend retreat) with restoration begun in 1971.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:41.094603-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_GA/73000628.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73000628/445b643449-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73000628/445b643449-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Saverivers","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Harman-Watson-Matthews_House;_Greenville,_GA.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Saverivers</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Harman-Watson-Matthews_House;_Greenville,_GA.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/93208961","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q134391167"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/georgia/meriwether-county/harman-watson-matthews-house-73000628/"}