Smith and Douglas Family Houses
Also known as: Edwards Estate; Smith Homeplace
Why it's listed
Two modest frame houses face each other across MacJohnson Road in Cassville, Georgia. The Smith House, built about 1892, began as a two-room saddlebag with a central chimney and was later enlarged for a growing family. The Douglas House, from about 1901, is a variant of the pyramidal cottage with a steep hipped roof and a four-room plan without a hallway. Both stand on land first bought in 1875 by Charles Edwards, a former slave who worked as a teacher, preacher and farmer. His descendants, the Douglas and Smith families, farmed the land, raised livestock and kept it in the family for more than a century. In a region where sharecropping and tenant farming were common, the houses show African-American independence and property ownership. They are among the first rural African-American resources documented in Georgia. Although covered with artificial siding, they keep their form, windows, doors, floor plans and many interior details.
Significance in brief: The houses are argued to be rare documented rural dwellings built and owned by African-American families, representing the move from slavery to land ownership in a region dominated by sharecropping and tenancy. The property stayed in one family for over 100 years. They are also good, intact examples of the saddlebag and pyramidal cottage house types common among rural African Americans in Georgia.
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 99000412, listed April 22, 1999. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | MacJohnson Rd., Cassville |
|---|---|
| County | Bartow County |
| Listed | April 22, 1999 |
| Reference number | 99000412 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | 1892-1945 |
| Architect / builder | unknown |
| Architectural style | Vernacular: saddlebag; Vernacular: pyramidal cottage |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture, Black |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Both houses remain in use as single dwellings. They have vinyl or artificial siding that closely replicates the original, and one nonhistoric ranch house is on the property. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 34.23441, -84.84584 (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 99000412.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.