Sasser Farm
Why it's listed
Sasser Farm is a rural homestead of about three acres south of Cairo in Grady County, Georgia. It preserves a diamond-notched, double-pen dog-trot log house built around 1839, a one-story frame house of 1887 known as the "new" house, and outbuildings including a smokehouse and wash room, cold storage building, garage, corn crib, mule barn, and a five-story masonry silo. The Sasser family built the log house in an unsettled part of what was then Decatur County, nearly twenty years after the Land Lottery of 1820 opened the area, and did not replace it with a larger house for almost fifty years. The two houses show how pioneer dwellings changed over time, as porches became rooms and the dog trot became a central hall. The farm raised cotton, corn, and livestock, and is credited with county firsts such as cattle dipping vats and an early raised concrete silo. The family owned it until 1960.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the farm is significant in architecture, agriculture, and exploration and settlement. The log house and later frame house show how building types evolved on the frontier. The farm is a good example of a small family farmstead in southwest Georgia, with several reported county firsts in farm practice. It also reflects late settlement of the area after the Land Lottery of 1820.
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 83000230, listed September 8, 1983. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | Sasser Farm Rd. S of Cairo, Cairo |
|---|---|
| County | Grady County |
| Listed | September 8, 1983 |
| Reference number | 83000230 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architect / builder | Sasser family |
| Architectural style | Double-pen dog-trot log house (c. 1839) and double-pen, central hall plan frame house (1887) |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Exploration/Settlement, Architecture, Agriculture |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Listed as occupied, in use for agriculture and as a private residence; condition marked deteriorated, fair and altered. The silo has fallen into disuse. |
| Acreage | 3 |
| Coordinates | 30.78671, -84.23881 (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 83000230.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q29094733
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.