Bond Family House
Why it's listed
Built around 1872 for Eason Jackson Bond, this two-story weatherboard house on Rock Chapel Road north of Lithonia follows the Plantation Plain form: a gabled front block with a central hall and a lower shed-roofed range of rooms at the rear. A hip-roofed porch spans the three-bay front. Inside, the original plan survives, along with four mantels, flush plank walls and ceilings, and a jigsaw-cut stair balustrade. Much of the woodwork is thought to have come from the family sawmill. Bond served as chairman of the DeKalb County Commission and as a justice of the peace, and the house stayed with his descendants until 1985. Rear additions from the 1980s and a rebuilt porch have not erased its early character. The house is valued as a well-preserved rural house type and as a reminder of a pioneer family in an area now dominated by roads and subdivisions.
Significance in brief: The house is significant under Criterion C as a good, well-preserved example of the Plantation Plain house type, retaining its original plan, chimneys, mantels, staircase and woodwork. It is significant under Criterion A in social history for its association with the prominent Bond family, who lived there for several generations until 1985. Eason Bond chaired the DeKalb County Commission, and family members ran local sawmill, photography and store businesses.
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 08000909, listed September 17, 2008. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 1226 Rock Chapel Rd., Lithonia |
|---|---|
| County | DeKalb County |
| Listed | September 17, 2008 |
| Reference number | 08000909 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | c.1872-1958 |
| Architect / builder | Unknown. |
| Architectural style | OTHER: Plantation Plain |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture, Social History |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Still used as a single dwelling; a non-historic rear outbuilding is now used as an office, and the front porch was rebuilt in 1998. |
| Acreage | 16 |
| Coordinates | 33.75746, -84.08087 (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 08000909.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikidata Q134296510
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.