Frobel-Knight-Borders House
Approximate location: the National Park Service places this pin arbitrarily within the property, not at a surveyed point (stated accuracy ±12 m).
Why it's listed
Built in 1869 on a small knoll along Allgood Road in Marietta, this two-story brick house is an asymmetrical Italianate residence with a cross-gabled roof, paired wooden eave brackets, bay windows and varied brick-arched windows. It was constructed for Col. Bushrod W. Frobel, a Confederate engineer who afterward served as Georgia's Superintendent of Public Buildings and Works and oversaw rebuilding of state buildings in Milledgeville. In 1872 he sold the house to Judge Noel B. Knight, who served on the Cobb County Superior Court and had been mayor of Marietta. The house keeps its original floor plan, doors, flooring, stairway and mantels, and later changes were modest: a 1950s garage, an enclosed rear porch and an early 1980s greenhouse. Its brick construction and country-estate character set it apart from the smaller wooden houses typical of the county, and Italianate houses of this kind are uncommon in Georgia. It remains a family residence.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the house is a rare, relatively intact Georgia example of Italianate architecture built as a rural country estate. It is also tied to Col. Bushrod W. Frobel, a Reconstruction-era state Superintendent of Public Works and later Atlanta city engineer. Its second owner, Judge Noel B. Knight, was a Cobb Superior Court judge and former Marietta mayor.
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 95000901, listed July 21, 1995. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 1001 Allgood Rd., Marietta |
|---|---|
| County | Cobb County |
| Listed | July 21, 1995 |
| Reference number | 95000901 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1869-1887 |
| Architect / builder | Unknown Architect, unless Mr. Frobel himself. |
| Architectural style | LATE VICTORIAN/Italianate |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Politics/Government, Architecture |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Still used as a single-family dwelling; the main house is the only contributing building, with two noncontributing modern storage garages; a greenhouse added in the early 1980s blocks the traditional main entrance. |
| Acreage | 5 |
| Coordinates | 33.97534, -84.52363 (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.
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 95000901.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q55612120
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.