O'Flaherty, John, House
Also known as: The Rock House
Why it's listed
Built of granite between 1896 and 1898, the Rock House in Buckhead, Georgia, sits between a railroad bed and a deep ravine. John O'Flaherty, a merchant and barber who came to town from Augusta, had it built. Local tradition says the stones came by train from Stone Mountain. The house is a square, hip-roofed Georgian Cottage of 1½ stories over a basement, with a central hall and two rooms on each side. Its walls are rock-faced ashlar with quoins, granite lintels, and sills. Inside, curly pine covers walls, ceilings, and mantels, which is highly unusual. Granite is rarely used for houses in Georgia, where most are wood or brick. The yard is also noted: informal in layout, with large trees and granite retaining walls and planting beds that adapt to the sloping, awkward site. The house remains a single-family home with a few alterations, including a removed hall wall, an enclosed back porch, and attic bedrooms added about 1975.
Significance in brief: The house is significant for architecture because it is built of granite, a rare residential material in Georgia, with rock-faced ashlar, quoins, and lintels showing skilled stonemasonry. Its interior is finished in curly pine, rarely used as a principal wall material. It is also a relatively intact Georgian Cottage with a central hall plan, and its granite-accented yard is a good example of late-19th-century small-town landscaping.
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 91001155, listed August 29, 1991. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 1000 Oconee Rd., Buckhead |
|---|---|
| County | Morgan County |
| Listed | August 29, 1991 |
| Reference number | 91001155 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1896-1898 |
| Architect / builder | Unknown |
| Architectural style | OTHER: Georgian Cottage |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Landscape Architecture, Architecture |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Still used as a single dwelling; changes include a removed hall wall, an enclosed rear porch, an attic converted to bedrooms about 1975, and a rear deck. |
| Acreage | 2 |
| Coordinates | 33.56885, -83.35951 (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 91001155.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q85771667
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.