Gulley-Vickery-Blackwell House
Also known as: Blackwell Residence
Why it's listed
Facing the public square in Hartwell, this two-story, three-bay house was built around 1850 for Jasper P. Gulley, who also ran a grocery store nearby. Its Plain-style form has a central hall, a rear ell and double front doors framed by a transom and sidelights. Between 1901 and 1908 the house received Victorian-inspired updates: two-level porches with chamfered posts, a cutwork balustrade, dentil molding and a mansard roof, all visible on Sanborn maps. Ownership passed from Gulley to Mary E. Vickery in 1890, and later to several other owners before a 1921 sale. The house is the last remaining dwelling on the square, which once held several homes before commercial uses displaced them. It was listed for showing how small-town buildings were modernized with new architectural layers, for documenting early residential land use in the town center, and for being among the few structures surviving from the period before the Civil War. It is in fair condition and currently vacant.
Significance in brief: The house shows how a plain early building was updated with Victorian-inspired features such as chamfered porch posts, a cutwork balustrade and a mansard roof. It is also the only remaining dwelling on the town square, documenting the area's early residential use, and is one of the few buildings left from the pre-Civil War settlement 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 86002014, listed September 11, 1986. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 115 Franklin St., Hartwell |
|---|---|
| County | Hart County |
| Listed | September 11, 1986 |
| Reference number | 86002014 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architectural style | Plain style with Victorian-inspired alterations |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Community Planning and Development, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Described as in fair condition and currently vacant and for sale; the long-time resident is in a nursing home. |
| Acreage | 1 |
| Within district | Hartwell Commercial Historic District |
| Coordinates | 34.35371, -82.93209 (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 86002014.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.