Jones-Florence Plantation
Why it's listed
This plantation near Odessadale in Meriwether County centers on a two-story clapboard house in the Plantation Plain style, with a double-tiered front veranda added in 1898. Willis Jones settled the land around 1830 and built a one-and-a-half-story house. After his death in 1840, William Florence bought the property and enlarged that house into the present one. Inside, the house keeps its paneled wainscoting, mantels, pine floors, doors and hardware, and its second floor is split into two sections reached by separate stairs. Surviving outbuildings include a chicken house, smokehouse, covered well, tool shed, three barns and a tenant house. The farm produced mostly corn, wheat and vegetables to sustain the owners and their slaves or tenants. The Florence family owned it until 1981 and farmed it into the 1950s, so few changes occurred. It was recognized for its agricultural, architectural and local history value.
Significance in brief: The nomination calls it a good, intact example of an antebellum plantation and postbellum farm that grew mainly corn, wheat and vegetables rather than cotton. Its Plantation Plain house with Victorian additions keeps fine interior details and an unusual two-stair upstairs layout. It is also tied to the Jones and Florence families, who reflect the migration into land opened for settlement in 1827.
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 84001163, listed March 29, 1984. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | Off GA 109, Odessadale |
|---|---|
| County | Meriwether County |
| Listed | March 29, 1984 |
| Reference number | 84001163 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architect / builder | Unknown |
| Architectural style | Plantation Plain |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Exploration/Settlement, Architecture, Agriculture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Listed as occupied and used for agriculture and as a private residence; the house is described as remarkably intact with very little modernization. |
| Acreage | 82 |
| Coordinates | 33.02118, -84.81624 (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 84001163.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikidata Q107001354
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.