Roscoe-Dunaway Gardens Historic District
Why it's listed
Roscoe-Dunaway Gardens is a rural district in northern Coweta County, Georgia, made up of the crossroads community of Roscoe, surrounding farmsteads, and a designed garden. Roscoe received a post office in 1882 and has houses from the late 19th and early 20th centuries arranged around an irregular road pattern. Nearby farms include an antebellum I-house, tenant houses, large barns, family cemeteries, and Andrews Chapel, a church with two towers. The district is recognized for its architecture, farming heritage, community development, and tenant farming, much of it by African-American farmers. Dunaway Gardens, begun in the mid-1920s by Hettie Jane Dunaway Sewell with Atlanta landscape firm Cagle and Monroe, features terraces, rock walls, pools and an amphitheater built largely by local labor. It served as a base for Chautauqua-style productions across the Southeast and opened in 1934. Today the gardens are overgrown, though much stonework survives.
Significance in brief: The district is significant as an intact rural area combining a crossroads community with surrounding farmsteads and a formally landscaped garden used for theatrical productions and training. It is cited for architecture, agriculture, community planning and development, landscape architecture, entertainment/recreation, and African-American ethnic heritage, including tenant farming and local labor.
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 96001414, listed December 6, 1996. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | Roughly bounded by the Chattahoochee R., Cedar Cr., Hood Branch, and White Oak Cr., Roscoe |
|---|---|
| County | Coweta County |
| Listed | December 6, 1996 |
| Reference number | 96001414 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | c.1830-1946 |
| Architect / builder | Hettie Jane Dunaway Sewell (Dunaway Gardens); Monroe and Cagle/Landscape Architects (Dunaway Gardens) |
| Architectural style | Late Victorian/Queen Anne; Bungalow/Craftsman; Plantation Plain; I-House; Georgian cottage; Folk Victorian; Saddlebag; Double-pen; New South cottage; Central Hallway; Hall-parlor |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture, Agriculture, Community Planning and Development, Landscape Architecture, Entertainment/Recreation, Black |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Roscoe remains a rural community with houses, farms, a church and cemeteries still in use. Dunaway Gardens is overgrown and needs maintenance, though much of its rock walls and terraces remain, and a restoration organization is raising funds. |
| Acreage | 4500 |
| Coordinates | 33.49786, -84.83539 (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 96001414.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7367487
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.