{"nrhp_refnum":"85003110","name":"Homer Historic District","other_names":["See Also:Banks County Courthouse","Banks County Jail","Homer His"],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Along Main St. and Silver Shoals Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Homer","county":"Banks County","state":"GA","lat":34.333379296500055,"lon":-83.4976116246246,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1985-12-03","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Transportation","Politics/Government","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 57-acre historic district in the center of Homer, the county seat of Banks County, Georgia, containing mid-19th to early 20th-century commercial, residential, civic and religious buildings and open spaces along Main Street (U.S. 441) and Silver Shoals Road.","why_significant":"The district is argued to be significant in architecture for its varied styles, including an unusual row of Plantation Plain commercial buildings, a Greek Revival courthouse and a Gothic-style jail. It is also cited for community planning, landscape architecture, politics and government as the county seat, transportation through its highway link, and local history. The form cites criteria A, B and C, though the final reviewer's recommendation was to accept under A and C.","narrative":"Homer is a small county-seat town in Banks County, Georgia, and its central 57 acres hold a varied group of buildings from the mid-1800s to the 1930s. The town was incorporated in 1859 on land donated by William Turk, with sites set aside for a courthouse, jail, school and three churches. It grew on a gridiron plan on a level plateau. The district includes the Greek Revival courthouse, begun in 1860 and completed in 1875, a Gothic-style jail, a row of simple frame Plantation Plain stores, Victorian-eclectic houses and churches, and a Craftsman house built in 1918. Open spaces include the courthouse square with its early well house, Veterans' Park and several cemeteries. Homer was bypassed by the railroad in the late 1880s, but a federal highway reached it by the 1920s and encouraged growth. Its role as county seat, its architecture, its planned layout and its landscape are the main reasons it was listed.","period_of_significance":"1859 - 1935","architect_builder":"various","architectural_style":"Plantation Plain, Greek Revival, Gothic, Victorian-eclectic, Georgian Revival, and Craftsman","criteria":["A","B","C"],"status_note":"Mostly occupied, in good condition; the original town cemetery is described as neglected and overgrown. Uses include government, commercial, private residence, religious and park.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:42.693235-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_GA/85003110.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85003110/ca2b17d4c7-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85003110/ca2b17d4c7-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Gwringle","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Historic_Homer_Hwy_%26_Athens_Street,_photographer_facing_SE_(2).JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Gwringle</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:Historic_Homer_Hwy_%26_Athens_Street,_photographer_facing_SE_(2).JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/93206893","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q49502649"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/georgia/banks-county/homer-historic-district-85003110/"}