{"nrhp_refnum":"80001253","name":"Chattooga Academy","other_names":["Gordon, John B., Hall"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"306 N. Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"LaFayette","county":"Walker County","state":"GA","lat":34.70870472000007,"lon":-85.28076535599996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1980-02-15","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Education","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story, red-brick academy building of Federal design at 306 North Main Street in LaFayette, Walker County, Georgia, built in 1836 on a site of less than one acre. It is also known as John B. Gordon Hall.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is a fine example of Federal-style and early rural school architecture, and is believed to be one of the oldest academy buildings remaining in Georgia. It helped advance education in frontier northwest Georgia and was the boyhood school of John B. Gordon. It was also the site of fighting in the Battle of LaFayette during the Civil War.","narrative":"Chattooga Academy is a two-story red-brick schoolhouse on North Main Street in LaFayette, Georgia, built in 1836 and later known as John B. Gordon Hall. Its symmetrical front, thin flat door moldings, and stuccoed brick lintels with brick keystones reflect the Federal style as carried out by frontier settlers. Brick was uncommon in northwest Georgia at the time, and the building is believed to be one of the oldest school structures remaining in the state. Authorized by the General Assembly in 1835, the academy opened in 1837-38 and taught boys and girls, including future general and governor John B. Gordon. During the Civil War it served as a temporary headquarters for General Braxton Bragg and was a focus of skirmishing in the Battle of LaFayette. Used for schooling until the 1920s, it was bought by three women's clubs in 1924 and dedicated as Gordon Hall in 1925. The city now owns it, and the Chamber of Commerce occupies it after renovations begun in 1971.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899 (specific date 1836)","architect_builder":"Unknown","architectural_style":"Federal","criteria":[],"status_note":"Owned by the City of LaFayette, occupied and used by the LaFayette Area Chamber of Commerce after renovation 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 02:55:41.013951-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_GA/80001253.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80001253/832fd38052-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80001253/832fd38052-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 2.0","author":"Georgia Historic Preservation Division, DNR","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chattooga_Academy_(2011).jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Georgia Historic Preservation Division, DNR</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 2.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chattooga_Academy_(2011).jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/93209808","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chattooga_Academy","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q29093362"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/georgia/walker-county/chattooga-academy-80001253/"}