{"nrhp_refnum":"95000742","name":"Barber, Obediah, Homestead","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Off Swamp Rd. approximately 7 mi. S of Waycross","address_restricted":false,"city":"Waycross","county":"Ware County","state":"GA","lat":31.090349751000076,"lon":-82.34575180999997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1995-06-20","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Exploration/Settlement"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-story, single-pen cypress log house built in 1870 on the northwestern edge of the Okefenokee Swamp, about seven miles south of Waycross in Ware County, Georgia, as the home of swamp explorer Obediah Barber.","why_significant":"The house is argued to be significant under Criterion A for representing the frontier farming life of Okefenokee Swamp settlers, under Criterion B for its link to Obediah Barber, who guided 19th-century swamp surveys, and under Criterion C as an intact example of coastal Georgia log construction. It is described as the oldest known swamp settler's house remaining in and around the swamp.","narrative":"Built in 1870, this one-story log house sits on the northwestern edge of the Okefenokee Swamp near Waycross. Its single pen is made of round cypress logs cut from the swamp, saddle notched at the corners, with a side-gabled metal roof that extends over the brick chimney to shield the log wall. Shed-roofed porches and wood-framed rooms were added along the sides. Obediah Barber, a farmer, hunter and storyteller born in 1825, built the home on a 490-acre parcel and raised cattle, hogs, rice and corn. He guided survey parties exploring and mapping the swamp in 1857, 1875 and 1890. The house is described as the oldest known swamp settler's house still standing and a good example of coastal Georgia log building. It is now the centerpiece of an interpretive park showing a late nineteenth-century swamp farmstead. The original well is included, along with a reconstructed kitchen.","period_of_significance":"1870-1909","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Other: single pen (vernacular log house)","criteria":["A","B","C"],"status_note":"Now part of an interpretive park open to the public, with the house used as a museum. The kitchen and well structure have been reconstructed, and the brick chimney was recently rebuilt.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:42.7013-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_GA/95000742.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/95000742/7e83028e7b-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/95000742/7e83028e7b-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Bubba73 (Jud McCranie)","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Obediah_Barber_homestead_-_house,_kitchen,_and_well,_Ware_County,_GA,_US.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Bubba73 (Jud McCranie)</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:Obediah_Barber_homestead_-_house,_kitchen,_and_well,_Ware_County,_GA,_US.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/93209851","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obediah_Barber_Homestead","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q24197340"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/georgia/ware-county/barber-obediah-homestead-95000742/"}