Smith-Harris House
Why it's listed
Built in 1839 by Kit Taylor, a free Black builder hired by settler Joseph Smith, this two-story clapboard house sits in the countryside west of Vesta in Oglethorpe County, Georgia. It rests on a granite foundation with hand-hewn, pegged beams, hand-planed plank walls, carved mantels and six-over-six windows. A kitchen addition was added in 1879. The grounds hold a log smokehouse, corn crib, barns, a well, a family cemetery and a slave cemetery, along with oaks, walnuts, pecans, a scuppernong arbor, low granite walls and a terraced yard. Smith bought several hundred acres in 1838 and ran a cotton plantation and working farm that also grew wheat, corn, oats, peas and herbs. The house is valued as a representative mid-nineteenth-century farm of Georgia's piedmont, a good plantation-plain example with local building methods, and a well-preserved informal landscape. Smith and Harris descendants owned it from 1838 until 1983.
Significance in brief: The property is argued to be significant in agriculture, architecture, exploration/settlement, landscape architecture and local history. It represents a moderately sized piedmont cotton plantation and working farm, a good example of the plantation plain type built with local techniques, and an well-preserved informal farm landscape. It is also tied to the Joseph Smith and George Harris families, who held it from 1838 to 1983.
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 85001620, listed July 25, 1985. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | CR 207, Vesta |
|---|---|
| County | Oglethorpe County |
| Listed | July 25, 1985 |
| Reference number | 85001620 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1839 - 1934 |
| Architect / builder | Kit Taylor |
| Architectural style | Plantation plain |
| Areas of significance | Landscape Architecture, Exploration/Settlement, Architecture, Agriculture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Occupied private residence, described as in good condition and altered; electricity and plumbing were added in 1941. |
| Acreage | 97 |
| Coordinates | 33.94942, -82.96171 (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 85001620.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikidata Q134440837
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.