{"nrhp_refnum":"77000415","name":"Wild Heron","other_names":["Wild Horn"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"15 mi. SW of Savannah off U.S. 17","address_restricted":false,"city":"Savannah","county":"Chatham County","state":"GA","lat":31.970806389000074,"lon":-81.21880346199998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1977-12-16","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Agriculture","Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Wild Heron Plantation house is a raised, one and one-half story frame house in the coastal Raised Cottage style, about fifteen miles southwest of Savannah in Chatham County, Georgia. It was probably built between 1752 and 1756 on a tract granted in 1747 to Captain David Cutler Braddock.","why_significant":"It is one of the oldest domestic structures in Georgia and a relatively intact example of a house type common in coastal Georgia and South Carolina. It is also associated with Francis Harris and his son Francis Henry Harris, prominent figures of the Colonial and Revolutionary eras, and with two centuries of use as a working plantation.","narrative":"Fifteen miles southwest of Savannah, Wild Heron is a raised, one and one-half story frame house in the coastal Raised Cottage style. It was probably built between 1752 and 1756 for Captain David Cutler Braddock on a 500-acre grant made in 1747. Hand-hewn pine beams, brick piers, original wainscotting and distinctive mantelpieces survive from its early construction, and the house was restored in the 1930s. Its three chimneys, with diminishing brick shoulders, appear to be unique. Francis Harris, an English-born accountant, merchant and member of the Royal Governor's Council, bought the property and gave it the English name of an estate said to have belonged to his wife's family. His son, Colonel Francis Henry Harris, served as a soldier in the Revolution. The land remained a working plantation for about two hundred years, passing through descendants until the Myrick family bought it in 1935. The house is valued as one of Georgia's oldest surviving dwellings and a largely intact example of its type. About six acres are nominated, including gardens and old live oaks.","period_of_significance":"c. 1752-1756","architect_builder":"Captain David Cutler Braddock (likely builder)","architectural_style":"Coastal Raised Cottage","criteria":[],"status_note":"Occupied private residence in excellent condition; restored in the 1930s, with a c. 1930 frame guest house/garage also within the nominated acreage.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:40.257321-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_GA/77000415.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/77000415/046393cd60-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/77000415/046393cd60-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Historic American Buildings Survey","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wild_Heron_Plantation.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Historic American Buildings Survey</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wild_Heron_Plantation.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/93207373","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_Heron","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14686953"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/georgia/chatham-county/wild-heron-77000415/"}