Garden Club of Georgia Museum-Headquarters House,Founder's Memorial Garden
Why it's listed
Set high above Lumpkin Street on the University of Georgia campus in Athens, this red brick house was built in 1857 as a home for university professors, together with a kitchen building and a smokehouse. Teachers were expected to live on campus, monitor student activity and board students. Over the years the house served as a dining hall, offices, classrooms, a residence for the first Dean of Women, a sorority chapter house, and the Department of Landscape Architecture. In 1939 the department's head proposed the Founder's Memorial Garden, a joint project with the Garden Club of Georgia, honoring the twelve founders of America's first garden club, formed in Athens in 1891. The garden includes a boxwood garden, a sunken garden with a serpentine wall, and informal plantings of Piedmont species. The Garden Club restored the buildings between 1959 and 1963 and now operates the house as a museum with period furnishings. The complex adjoins Old North Campus and forms part of its historic setting.
Significance in brief: The house reflects the University's 1857 practice of housing professors on campus to supervise students, and it later served many campus uses. The Founder's Memorial Garden (developed 1939-1946) honors the twelve founders of America's first garden club, the Ladies' Garden Club, founded in Athens in 1891. Together they are described as part of the historic fabric of the campus.
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 72000376, listed April 26, 1972. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Lumpkin St., University of Georgia campus, Athens |
|---|---|
| County | Clarke County |
| Listed | April 26, 1972 |
| Reference number | 72000376 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | 19th Century; specific date 1857 (garden developed 1939-1946) |
| Architect / builder | Edward Wade of Augusta, restoration architect (1961 restoration); original architect/builder not stated |
| Architectural style | Greek Revival detailing (trabeated doorway with sidelights and transom) |
| Areas of significance | Landscape Architecture, Architecture, Social History |
| Level of significance | National |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Restored by the Garden Club of Georgia, dedicated in 1963 as its state headquarters and operated as a house museum open to the public free of charge; condition listed as good. |
| Acreage | 9.9 |
| Within district | Old North Campus, University of Georgia |
| Coordinates | 33.95434, -83.37572 (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 72000376.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikidata Q141737598
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.