Winn, Elisha, House
Why it's listed
North of Dacula in Gwinnett County, Georgia, stands a house dating to about 1812 that served as the first seat of local government. When the Georgia legislature created the county in 1818, the act directed that elections and the Superior and Inferior courts be held at the house of Elisha Winn. Winn, a planter, became the first justice of the Inferior Court and later served as state senator and representative. The house is a two-over-two Plantation Plain structure with a central stair hall, stone end chimneys and wideboard walls. A mid-nineteenth-century T-shaped addition extends from the rear, and the interior retains its original stair, mantels and finishes. The three-acre site also holds a rebuilt drive-through barn, a small shed and possible archaeological remains of an early jail and commissary. Owned by Gwinnett County and leased to a historical society, the house is slated for restoration.
Significance in brief: The house is tied to Gwinnett County's political and legal history: the act creating the county in 1818 required its first elections and court sessions to be held at the house of Elisha Winn. It is also one of the few surviving examples of Plantation Plain architecture from the county's earliest period.
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 79000728, listed December 18, 1979. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | N of Dacula at 908 Dacula Rd., Dacula |
|---|---|
| County | Gwinnett County |
| Listed | December 18, 1979 |
| Reference number | 79000728 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | ca. 1812 |
| Architect / builder | Unknown |
| Architectural style | Plantation Plain |
| Areas of significance | Law, Politics/Government, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | The original portion of the house was unoccupied at the time of nomination, but a restoration architect appraised its structural condition as excellent. The county owns it and leases it to the Gwinnett Historical Society, which intends to restore it. |
| Acreage | 3 |
| Coordinates | 34.02385, -83.90804 (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.
Noted as vacant in the nomination. Nomination documents can be decades old; current status may differ. If you are considering buying an empty listed property, read the due-diligence checklist.
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 79000728.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5361828
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.