Pearce, William and Minnie, House
Why it's listed
Built around 1915, this one-story Craftsman bungalow at 125 Madison Avenue sits on a steeply sloping lot in Decatur's Oakhurst neighborhood. It has a front-gable roof with wide eaves, exposed rafter tails and knee braces, weatherboard siding, and a deep front porch carried on battered wood posts set on granite piers. Inside, the irregular floorplan has no central hall, and original details survive, including plaster walls, wood floors, exposed ceiling beams, high dining room wainscoting and Craftsman mantels. A rear addition completed during a certified rehabilitation in 2009 is hidden from the street. The house is recognized for its architecture as an excellent, intact local example of the Craftsman bungalow, the most common house type in Oakhurst, which developed largely after its 1915 annexation into Decatur. William and Minnie Pearce, who moved from Marietta, lived there until their deaths in the early 1960s.
Significance in brief: The house is considered significant at the local level under Criterion C in the area of architecture. It is argued to be an excellent and intact example of a Craftsman-style bungalow in Decatur, keeping its exterior and interior materials, floorplan and decorative elements. It is also representative of the Craftsman bungalows built in Oakhurst after the area was annexed into Decatur in 1915.
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 11001055, listed January 27, 2012. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 125 Madison Ave., Decatur |
|---|---|
| County | DeKalb County |
| Listed | January 27, 2012 |
| Reference number | 11001055 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | c.1915 |
| Architectural style | Late 19th and Early 20th Century American Movements: Bungalow/Craftsman |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Still used as a single-family dwelling; it was certified rehabilitated in 2009, with a new rear addition not visible from the street. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Within district | Kirkwood Historic District |
| Coordinates | 33.76202, -84.31200 (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 11001055.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikidata Q134296214
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.