Brightwell Shotgun Row
Why it's listed
Six double-shotgun houses on Barber Street in Athens, Georgia, form a compact row built between about 1935 and 1940 by Helen Brightwell. Three face Barber Street and three face Crawford Avenue, a small unpaved lane at the rear, making a back-to-back arrangement that is the only one identified in Clarke County. Each house has weatherboard siding, a front-gable roof, brick chimneys and a full-width front porch. The houses were designed as duplexes but were converted to single-family use soon after construction. Double shotguns are scarce locally, and these six account for a notable share of those recorded on a 1947 insurance map. The row also stands in New Town, an African-American neighborhood that grew from the 1890s beside the Seaboard rail line to house workers for nearby industries. City directories show working-class Black tenants such as cooks, laundresses and laborers. Rehabilitated in 1997, the houses are now rented by students.
Significance in brief: The row is significant for architecture because double shotguns are rare in Clarke County and this back-to-back arrangement is the only one identified there. It is also significant for Black ethnic heritage and community planning, since the houses reflect African-American settlement in the New Town neighborhood in the first half of the 20th century.
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 01000642, listed June 14, 2001. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 366-376 Barber St., Athens |
|---|---|
| County | Clarke County |
| Listed | June 14, 2001 |
| Reference number | 01000642 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | c.1935-1950 |
| Architect / builder | Helen Brightwell (owner who built the houses); architect/builder listed as N/A |
| Architectural style | Other: double-shotgun house |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture, Black, Community Planning and Development |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Rehabilitated in 1997 and certified in 1999; the houses were converted to single-family use and are now rented by University of Georgia students. They had been vacant for many years before rehabilitation. |
| Acreage | 0.5 |
| Within district | Boulevard Historic District |
| Coordinates | 33.96651, -83.38536 (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 01000642.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikidata Q141737443
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.