Crawford-Shirley House
Also known as: Franklin House
Why it's listed
Built in 1907 on a 360-acre tract, this two-and-one-half story frame house at 100 Augusta Road in Lavonia reflects Victorian-eclectic design. It has four gables with dentil molding and diagonal siding, a wraparound one-story porch, a high hipped roof, and pressed metal ceilings in the central hall and one front room. Original windows, doors, mantels and room layouts remain largely intact. Mack Crawford, an original owner of the Lavonia Cotton Mill and later an early banker in Toccoa, built the house and lived there briefly. Joseph N. Shirley later farmed cotton and raised cattle on the land, shipping the cattle to Atlanta. That operation continued until the mid-1940s, when J. H. Beasley bought the property and gradually sold or gave away most of the acreage. The house was divided into apartments in the 1960s and has served as an antique shop since the 1970s. It is regarded as a landmark house in Lavonia, valued for its architecture and its farming and industrial associations.
Significance in brief: The house is described as one of the most elaborate late-Victorian designs in the Lavonia multiple resource area, with pressed metal ceilings and detailed gable woodwork. It is also tied to a large cotton and cattle farming operation that ran from the early 1900s to the mid-1940s. It was the home of Mack Crawford, an original owner of the Lavonia Cotton Mill.
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 83000205, listed September 1, 1983. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 100 Augusta Rd., Lavonia |
|---|---|
| County | Franklin County |
| Listed | September 1, 1983 |
| Reference number | 83000205 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architect / builder | Unknown |
| Architectural style | Victorian-eclectic |
| Areas of significance | Architecture, Agriculture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | In use as an antique shop since the 1970s; described as in fair condition, with the back porches and the rear wing's central chimney deteriorated. |
| Acreage | 1 |
| Coordinates | 34.42829, -83.10605 (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 83000205.
- 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.