Bennett, Nathan, House
Why it's listed
Built in 1850 by Milton B. Davis on Dixie Avenue in Madison, Georgia, this two-storey frame house sits far back from the road on a large lot dotted with trees. It is five bays wide and four deep, with two-storey wooden pilasters, a nearly flat roof with white wooden brackets, and a one-storey porch with five arches and carpenter lacework spandrels. Inside, a central hall holds a walnut staircase with cut-out filigree, original pine floors and Italian marble mantels. The house is also tied to a turning point in women's property rights. After Davis, it passed to John Cardwell and then to his daughter Amanda, wife of Junius P. Smith. In 1863 Smith lost the house to James Mann in a poker game. Because the law treated him as his wife's agent, he could legally dispose of it, and the resulting controversy helped bring about the 1869 change allowing women to own property in their own names.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the house played an important role in the history of women's rights in Georgia. A dispute over its ownership, after a husband lost it in a poker game in 1863, led to the 1869 change in the law that let women own property in their own names. It is also valued as a fine, largely intact example of Victorian-style architecture with delicate cut-out wood detailing.
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 74000695, listed November 13, 1974. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | Dixie Ave., Madison |
|---|---|
| County | Morgan County |
| Listed | November 13, 1974 |
| Reference number | 74000695 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 19th Century; specific date 1850 |
| Architect / builder | Milton B. Davis (builder) |
| Architectural style | Victorian with classical details in an Italianate mode |
| Areas of significance | Politics/Government, Architecture, Social History |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Condition listed as excellent, unaltered, on its original site, and used as a private residence. The original rear kitchen is no longer extant, and a bath has been added upstairs. |
| Acreage | 7 |
| Within district | Madison Historic District (Boundary Increase) |
| Coordinates | 33.58680, -83.48787 (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 74000695.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikidata Q134392290
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.