Barrowville
Also known as: Col. William McKinley House
Why it's listed
Barrowville, also known as the Col. William McKinley House, is a two-story brick country house east of Milledgeville in Baldwin County, Georgia. McKinley laid the cornerstone on July 27, 1858, using bricks made at a brickyard he set up for the project, and the house was finished shortly after the new year of 1859. Its design was adapted from a plate in A. J. Downing's The Architecture of Country Houses, with a gentler roof pitch, a reversed floor plan and other changes for local conditions. Features include a cross-shaped plan, a broad veranda, wide eaves, a carved verge board, a circular gable window and paired ridge chimneys. Brackets and a rooftop lookout were dropped to save money. The house has stayed in the builder's family and remains largely unaltered. McKinley's plantation records on farming and weather from the late 1850s add to its importance. An original smokehouse and a cottage where McKinley lived during construction survive nearby.
Significance in brief: The nomination calls the house primarily significant for its architecture, as a pure example of a Downing Gothic style cottage that has stayed in the original owner's family and is practically unaltered. A second area of significance is the plantation records Col. McKinley kept on the agriculture and weather of the region in the late 1850s.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 78000958, listed December 14, 1978. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | E of Milledgeville on GA 22/24, Milledgeville |
|---|---|
| County | Baldwin County |
| Listed | December 14, 1978 |
| Reference number | 78000958 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1800-1899 |
| Architect / builder | Based on A. J. Downing design; Builder, Mr. Demarest |
| Architectural style | Gothic style country house (Downing Gothic cottage) |
| Areas of significance | Agriculture, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Form lists the property as occupied private property, preserved practically unaltered since construction, with the original smokehouse and a cottage still standing behind the house. |
| Acreage | 3 |
| Coordinates | 33.08848, -83.20454 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary: it recognises significance and does not restrict what a private owner may do without federal money or permits. It unlocks the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit for income-producing buildings, state credits in many states, and Section 106 review when federal agencies are involved. See what listing means in practice.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 78000958.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikidata Q134079537
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.