Dickey-Birdsong Plantation
Also known as: Birdsong Nature Center
Why it's listed
Dickey-Birdsong Plantation is a 565-acre rural property near the Georgia-Florida line in Grady County. Its core is a frame, one-and-one-half-story house finished in 1912 by enlarging a mid-19th century dogtrot, using heart pine cut on the land. Nearby stand an 1858 barn, a pump house, a cow shed and other frame outbuildings, along with five historic fields, a 1910 pecan orchard and a champion pecan tree planted in the 1850s. The Dickey family acquired the land between 1836 and 1872 and farmed it until 1938, growing cotton, corn, sugar cane and rice, and later relying on tenant farmers. William Dickey's journals describe daily plantation work. In 1938 Edwin and Betty Komarek took over and managed the land for wildlife, creating ponds, swamp and varied habitats. Since the 1980s part of it has served as the Birdsong Nature Center, where visitors watch birds from a large window added in 1958.
Significance in brief: The property documents about a century of Dickey family farming, from cotton, corn and cane plantation agriculture through tenant farming, and preserves 19th-century journals, fields and landscape features. It also reflects the long-term wildlife conservation and ecological management begun there in 1938 by Edwin and Betty Komarek. Its surviving barn, house, pecan trees and fields illustrate both eras.
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 95000741, listed June 20, 1995. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Meridian Rd., off GA 93 W of Beachton, Beachton |
|---|---|
| County | Grady County |
| Listed | June 20, 1995 |
| Reference number | 95000741 |
| Resource type | District |
| Architect / builder | Arthur Lee (built the Komarek barn and garage/office, 1942-1943) |
| Architectural style | Neoclassical Revival |
| Areas of significance | Conservation, Agriculture, Architecture |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Partly in use as the Birdsong Nature Center, with 196 acres used for educational programs; the historic barn hosts nature center programs and the house contains a gift shop and natural history collection. |
| Acreage | 565 |
| Coordinates | 30.69766, -84.19402 (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 95000741.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q29094503
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.