Adams Cotton Gin Building
Also known as: Adams Gin House
Why it's listed
Built in 1920 on Hamilton Road in Columbus, Georgia, this two-story wood-frame building once processed cotton for the Adams family farm. George M. Adams built it after Fort Benning displaced the family from its farm in Chattahoochee County, reusing parts and equipment from the earlier gin. Its walls are unpainted vertical boards of rough-cut lumber under a corrugated metal roof. Inside are a Daniel Pratt gin patented in 1889 and a Lummus cotton press made in Columbus. Cotton was carried across the upper floor to the gin, cleaned and seeded, rolled, and pressed into bales of about 500 pounds, while seed dropped to the ground floor for storage. The gin ran until 1935, and the farm stopped producing in 1946. The building was recognized for its role in agriculture and as a plain, functional farm structure made from local materials and labor. It has since been adapted for commercial use, with new partitions, an entrance and a furniture-making shop on the lower floor.
Significance in brief: The nomination finds it significant in agriculture as a late example of the gin buildings found on cotton farms, with surviving equipment showing the shift from animal power to gasoline power. It is also significant in architecture as a plain, functional farm building made from local materials and labor. The Adams family built it after Fort Benning displaced their farm in neighboring Chattahoochee County.
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 84001205, listed May 17, 1984. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 6601 Hamilton Rd., Columbus |
|---|---|
| County | Muscogee County |
| Listed | May 17, 1984 |
| Reference number | 84001205 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1900- |
| Architect / builder | Unknown other than original owner (built by George M. Adams) |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture, Agriculture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Occupied and in good condition; altered by commercial adaptation, with the lower floor used for furniture making and the upper floor partitioned into display areas and an office. |
| Acreage | 2 |
| Coordinates | 32.54061, -84.95494 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For an income-producing building, listing (individually or as a contributing building in a district) is the gateway to the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit on qualified rehabilitation costs, often stackable with state credits. Work claiming the credit must follow the Secretary of the Interior's Standards and be approved in advance.
Listing does not restrict a private owner acting without federal money or permits; where federal funding or licensing is involved, Section 106 review applies.
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 84001205.
- 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.