Tompkins Inn
Why it's listed
Tompkins Inn is a 1 1/2-story frame building beside the old post road near Eatonton, Putnam County, Georgia. Its oldest section dates from about 1812 and has two rooms up and two down, with large brick fireplaces and heavy handhewn timbers joined by mortise and tenon. The corner posts are L-shaped, each shaped from a single piece of wood. A similar outbuilding behind the inn reportedly housed servants and stagecoach drivers. Additions were made in the early twentieth century, probably around 1920. The inn operated for many years as a stagecoach stop on the route between Milledgeville, then the state capital, and Athens, and it lodged many legislators heading to the capital. Giles Tompkins, an original Putnam County settler, bought the land in 1812, and his family ran the inn for decades. Federal ownership followed in 1936, and a garden club has restored and used the property since the early 1970s. It is among the few surviving remnants of the county's earliest architecture.
Significance in brief: The inn is significant to early Putnam County history as an example of the county's early architecture and as a building built and run by early settlers. It served as a stagecoach inn on the old post road between Milledgeville and Athens and housed many state legislators traveling to the capital. The inn and its outbuilding are fine examples of early 1800s handhewn braced-frame construction.
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 78001002, listed October 5, 1978. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | N of Eatonton on U.S. 441, Eatonton |
|---|---|
| County | Putnam County |
| Listed | October 5, 1978 |
| Reference number | 78001002 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1800-1899 |
| Areas of significance | Industry, Transportation, Architecture, Social History |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Restored to good condition since 1970 and in use by a garden club; the form checks the status as unoccupied, with a club listed as present use. |
| Acreage | 3.3 |
| Coordinates | 33.43641, -83.37753 (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 78001002.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikidata Q134440975
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.