Fisher House
Also known as: Reba Vaughn Residence
Why it's listed
Built in 1905 at 221 Hartwell Road in Lavonia, this one-story frame house was the home of Levi E. Fisher, who worked in C. P. Ray's general mercantile business and later ginned cotton at the Farmers Oil Mill. The house follows a central hall plan under a gabled roof, with a single pediment on the front facade and a shed-roofed porch carried on square wooden columns. Original multi-paned windows and doors survive, along with wainscoting and plastered walls in the hall, a dining room mantel, and tongue and groove paneling in the rear den. Later changes include removal of part of the central hall to enlarge the living room. After Fisher's death the house passed through two owners, apparently as a rental, before being bought in 1948. It is valued locally as an intact example of modest late Victorian housing for the town's lower middle class, and for its link to a typical working resident of early twentieth-century Lavonia.
Significance in brief: The house is argued to be significant in architecture as a relatively intact example of modest late Victorian housing built for Lavonia's lower middle class around 1900. It is also significant in local history through Levi Fisher, a store worker and later cotton ginner who represents that class in the early 20th century.
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 83000206, listed September 1, 1983. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 221 Hartwell Rd., Lavonia |
|---|---|
| County | Franklin County |
| Listed | September 1, 1983 |
| Reference number | 83000206 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architectural style | Modest late Victorian housing |
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Still in use as a residence; alterations after 1927 include a partly removed central hall wall and some sheetrocked ceilings. |
| Acreage | 1 |
| Coordinates | 34.43328, -83.09900 (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 83000206.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikidata Q134305430
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.