Downtown Millen Historic District

Downtown Millen grew up around the railroad, and its commercial core still follows the tracks along Cotton Avenue. The district covers parts of six city blocks in the Jenkins County seat and includes 50 contributing resources. Most are one- and two-story brick storefronts from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, sharing zero-lot-line setbacks, similar cornices and rhythmic window spacing. Standouts include two Craftsman-inspired railroad depots, a 1918 concrete water tower, the 1910 Neoclassical Revival courthouse, a 1938 Colonial Revival post office and the 1936 Stripped Classical city hall. Four wood-framed buildings, the oldest dating to 1872, are among the earliest in town. Contractor John Edenfield built many of them. The settlement began as a stagecoach inn and railroad stop in 1835, was burned during the Civil War, and rebuilt. Millen was incorporated in 1881 and became county seat in 1905. The district was recognized for its architecture, commerce, transportation-based planning and government, with a significance period of 1835 to 1946.