Pyle-Davis House
Why it's listed
Built in 1891 on a corner lot overlooking Lake Demorest, this Queen Anne house in Habersham County, Georgia, survives from a planned model town founded by prohibitionists in 1889. It is the only one of six original homes on Massachusetts Boulevard still standing. The wood-frame house has a pressed metal cross-gabled roof, clapboard siding with bands of decorative sawn clapboards, and a wrap-around porch with turned posts and spindle frieze. Recessed chamfered bays, Eastlake-style doors and colored glass windows add detail. Its original deeds barred alcohol, prostitution and gambling. Over the decades owners rented rooms to students and faculty of nearby Piedmont College, and the Davis family repaired the house after 1939. A small wooden barn serves as a garage, and the landscaped grounds are part of the property. It was listed for its architecture and for its link to the planning and development of Demorest.
Significance in brief: The house is significant in architecture as a good, intact example of a Queen Anne house, with a wrap-around porch, recessed chamfered bays, Eastlake doors and sawn decorative clapboard. It is also significant in community planning and development as one of the last surviving houses of the 1890s planned prohibitionist town of Demorest, and the only one left of six original homes on Massachusetts Boulevard.
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 03000537, listed June 23, 2003. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 202 Massachusetts Bvd., Demorest |
|---|---|
| County | Habersham County |
| Listed | June 23, 2003 |
| Reference number | 03000537 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1891 |
| Architect / builder | J.W. Watt-Builder; C.R. Pyle-Builder; Tom Stiles-Carpenter for 1939 renovations |
| Architectural style | Late Victorian/Queen Anne |
| Criteria |
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| Areas of significance | Architecture, Community Planning and Development |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Still in use as a single dwelling with a garage, and now surrounded by the Piedmont College campus. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 34.56489, -83.54272 (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 03000537.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikidata Q134363669
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.