Floyd Street Historic District

Floyd Street, just east of Covington's town square, is lined with large two-story houses built from the 1830s into the early 1900s. It is a wide, tree-lined street and one of the earliest developed in the town. The houses show two waves of classical design. Mid-19th-century Greek Revival examples include the Usher House, Swanscombe, Judge Floyd's House and the Cottage, while later Neo-Classical Revival homes such as the Porter-Rogers-Tuck House and the Williams-Adams-Cook House fill spaces between them. Swanscombe, built in 1830 by planter and merchant Cary Wood, is said to be the oldest weatherboarded house in Covington. The Graham-Simms House was built by Dr. William P. Graham, a trustee of the school that became the start of Emory University. Covington had only 500 to 600 residents in 1849, so this group of classical houses is unusual for its size. Wealth from surrounding farmland paid for the fine detailing, and the street remains largely residential.