O'Neal School Neighborhood Historic District
Why it's listed
This neighborhood just southeast of downtown Cordele, in Crisp County, Georgia, contains about 250 contributing buildings put up between 1887 and 1954. It follows the street grid laid out when the city was platted in 1887 and grew through land companies, including the Americus Investment Company and the O'Neal Land and Development Company. Larger houses line Twelfth through Fifteenth Avenues, while smaller homes sit along the edges. Styles range from Italianate, Queen Anne and Folk Victorian to Neoclassical Revival, Colonial Revival, English Vernacular Revival and Craftsman, with house types such as Georgian cottages, gabled ell cottages, New South cottages and bungalows. Several houses were designed by architects T. Firth Lockwood, Sr. and Jr. of Columbus and W. Elliot Dunwody, Jr. of Macon. The district also holds two early 20th-century commercial buildings and landmark churches, including Christ Episcopal, First Methodist, First Baptist and First Presbyterian. It was listed for its architecture and its role in the planned growth of Cordele.
Significance in brief: The district is significant in architecture for its collection of late 19th- to mid-20th-century house styles and types, and for its community landmark buildings. It is also significant in community planning and development, since it grew out of the 1887 street grid and later development companies.
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 04000339, listed October 6, 2004. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Roughly bounded by the Seaboard Coastline Railroad, Owens St. 16ht Ave. and 6th St., Cordele |
|---|---|
| County | Crisp County |
| Listed | October 6, 2004 |
| Reference number | 04000339 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | 1887-1954 |
| Architect / builder | Charles Edward Choate (architect, First Methodist Church); W. Elliot Dunwody, Jr. (architect); T. Firth Lockwood, Sr. (architect); T. Firth Lockwood, Jr. (architect) |
| Architectural style | Italianate, Queen Anne, Folk Victorian, Colonial Revival, Neoclassical Revival, English Vernacular Revival, Craftsman, Gothic Revival, Renaissance Revival, Commercial, Bungalow, Ranch |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture, Community Planning and Development |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Historic residential, commercial and religious uses continue; Adams Hospital has been converted to apartments, and O'Neal School (1957) is counted as nonhistoric after alterations. |
| Acreage | 152 |
| Coordinates | 31.96652, -83.77525 (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 04000339.
- 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.