Comer Historic District
Why it's listed
Comer, in Madison County, Georgia, grew up around the Georgia, Northern and Carolina Railroad, and its historic core is laid out in a cross-rail plan where Main Street meets the tracks. The district includes one- to three-story brick commercial buildings, some with cast-iron or pressed-metal fronts, a marble-veneered 1900 bank, and warehouses that once held cotton and other farm products. Surrounding streets hold houses in Queen Anne, Folk Victorian, Italianate, Craftsman and Colonial Revival styles, along with an unusually intact c.1870 single-pen cottage at 205 Madison Street. Churches, a woman's club, a 1930s high school, a 1938 WPA gymnasium and the town cemetery complete the community landmarks. Comer was incorporated in 1893, and its plan was drawn by engineer A.W. Jones. Cotton shipped by rail supported its commerce from the late nineteenth century into the early twentieth. The district was recognized for its architecture, commerce, town planning and transportation history, with a period of significance from 1870 to 1945.
Significance in brief: The district is significant in architecture, commerce, community planning and development, and transportation. It is an intact cross-rail plan railroad town with commercial buildings, warehouses, community landmarks and a wide range of house styles. The railroad and the cotton trade drove its growth.
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 95001378, listed November 21, 1995. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Roughly, Main St. from Forest Ave. to Laurel Ave., GA 72 from Oak St. past GA 98, and GA 98 from GA 72 past Paoli St., Comer |
|---|---|
| County | Madison County |
| Listed | November 21, 1995 |
| Reference number | 95001378 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | 1870-1945 |
| Architect / builder | E.T. Hale, First Baptist Church of Comer |
| Architectural style | Late Victorian (Queen Anne, Italianate, Gothic, Folk Victorian); Late 19th and Early 20th Century Revivals (Classical, Colonial, Tudor, Italian Renaissance); Craftsman |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture, Commerce, Community Planning and Development, Transportation |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Described as largely intact. Most historic commercial buildings survive, and the former high school is now used as a church. There are 47 noncontributing resources. |
| Acreage | 205 |
| Coordinates | 34.06274, -83.12597 (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 95001378.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikidata Q141779718
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.