Bankston, J. C., Rock House
Also known as: The Rock House; Building 510
Why it's listed
This small stone cottage on Dobbins Air Reserve Base, near Marietta, Georgia, was built in 1938-39 by railroad engineer J.C. Bankston and his sons. J.C. Bankston, Jr., then 23 and with no architectural training, designed it with four 12-by-12-foot rooms, a front chimney, a cross-gable roof and arched openings. Hollow-core brick tile walls are veneered in uncut fieldstone set in cement so that no mortar joints show, a method the family devised after admiring a rock bungalow in Marietta. Interiors used tupelo gum wood and plaster applied directly to the tile. The Bankstons lived there only until 1942, when the Army acquired the land for an airfield and the Bell Bomber plant. The house later served as servicemen's quarters, guest quarters and base offices. It is listed for architecture as a rare Georgia stone house, a local take on the English Cottage style, and a survivor of the farming community that preceded the base. It is now vacant.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the house is an unusual and exceptional example of stone masonry construction in a Georgia rural dwelling. It is also an example of 20th-century Historical Revival architecture and of rural southern building traditions, with family-built construction and local materials. It is one of few surviving buildings from the pre-World War II farming community on the base site.
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 94001387, listed November 25, 1994. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 901 Industrial Dr., Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Marietta |
|---|---|
| County | Cobb County |
| Listed | November 25, 1994 |
| Reference number | 94001387 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1938-1939 |
| Architect / builder | J.C. Bankston, Jr. (Designer); J.C. Bankston, Sr., J.C. Bankston, Jr., Harold Bankston (builders) |
| Architectural style | Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals: English Vernacular Revival (English Cottage) |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Listed function is vacant/not in use; the form says Dobbins planned a historic rehabilitation for use as offices. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 33.92546, -84.52680 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary for a privately owned home: it does not by itself restrict what an owner may do with their own money, and it does not require public access. Restrictions come from local landmark or historic-district ordinances, which are separate (how they differ).
Owner-occupied houses are not eligible for the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit, which applies to income-producing buildings, but many states offer credits for homeowners. Listing also opens the door to preservation easements and to buying a plaque. Start with what listing means for homeowners, renovating a listed house and selling one.
Noted as vacant in the nomination. Nomination documents can be decades old; current status may differ. If you are considering buying an empty listed property, read the due-diligence checklist.
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 94001387.
- 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.