Adairsville Historic District
Why it's listed
Adairsville's historic core is a railroad town in northwest Georgia, centered on a depot and Public Square. William Watts laid out the business lots in 1846 after selling land to the state for the Western and Atlantic Railroad, and the town was incorporated in 1854. The grid he established still organizes the community. The district covers about 170 acres and includes attached brick storefronts with pressed-metal fronts and cast-iron columns, warehouses and cotton gin sites, early gas stations, the Sans Souci Library of 1916, a Masonic Lodge of 1922, four churches and many wood-framed houses. Styles range from Italianate and Queen Anne to Neoclassical and Craftsman. Prussian-born architect-builder John Schmitz, who lived in town from 1901 to 1917, is credited with much of the building stock. The district was listed for its architecture, commerce, community planning and transportation history, reflecting a small Southern town shaped by the railroad and later by the Dixie Highway.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the district is significant in architecture, commerce, community planning and transportation. It is presented as a model mid-19th century planned railroad town, laid out by William Watts around a depot and Public Square. Its intact commercial buildings, churches, library, lodge and houses show a range of late 19th and early 20th century styles and local workmanship, including buildings attributed to John Schmitz.
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 87002043, listed December 4, 1987. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | Roughly Main St. bounded by King & Elm Sts., & city limits on S & W, Adairsville |
|---|---|
| County | Bartow County |
| Listed | December 4, 1987 |
| Reference number | 87002043 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | 1840s-1941 |
| Architect / builder | John Schmitz (1843-1920); Pavlovsky Brothers; Edwin Swain (Baptist Church, 1926); Tom Waldrop and Son (Methodist Church, 1887) |
| Architectural style | Commercial, Italianate, Victorian eclectic, Queen Anne, Neoclassical and Craftsman |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Community Planning and Development, Commerce, Transportation, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Rated in good condition and partly altered, with the depot now used for other purposes and railroad tracks still in use. Non-historic properties are few, chiefly a modern school complex. |
| Acreage | 170 |
| Coordinates | 34.36509, -84.93408 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
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 87002043.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikidata Q34806127
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.