Donalsonville Historic District
Why it's listed
Downtown Donalsonville, in the far southwest corner of Georgia, grew from a gridiron plan laid out in 1889 as the Alabama Midland Railway came through land owned by J. E. Donalson. The district holds attached one- and two-story brick stores along West Second Street with display windows, transoms and corbeled cornices. Its landmarks include the 1922 Beaux Arts Seminole County Courthouse by William J. J. Chase, the Oceola Hotel built between 1906 and 1910 and designed by Dennis and Dennis of Macon, and the Olive Theater. Two agricultural industrial complexes, the Planters Products Company and the Donalsonville Grain and Elevator Company, processed peanuts shipped by rail. Seminole Memorial Hospital, built about 1940, served both white and Black patients, though under segregation, until it closed in the late 1960s. Together these resources show how the town developed as the commercial, governmental and industrial center of Seminole County between 1889 and 1950.
Significance in brief: The district is significant for its intact late 19th to mid-20th century commercial, industrial and community landmark buildings, including the Beaux Arts courthouse. It also reflects the town's railroad-era plan of 1889 and its role in commerce, peanut processing, health care and county government. Seminole Memorial Hospital is noted as a rare property type in Georgia.
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 02000190, listed March 20, 2002. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | Roughly bounded by the Seaboard RR line, W. Thirt St., and Morris and S. Tennille Aves., Donalsonville |
|---|---|
| County | Seminole County |
| Listed | March 20, 2002 |
| Reference number | 02000190 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | 1889-1950 |
| Architect / builder | William J.J. Chase (architect) |
| Architectural style | Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals: Beaux Arts; Late 19th and Early 20th Century American Movements: Commercial Style |
| Criteria |
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| Areas of significance | Architecture, Community Planning and Development, Commerce, Industry, Transportation, Health/Medicine, Politics/Government |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Current functions include specialty stores, a financial institution, restaurants, manufacturing and industrial storage, the courthouse and rail-related uses. The Oceola Hotel's windows are boarded up, and the Olive Theater is owned by an arts council planning its restoration. |
| Acreage | 55 |
| Coordinates | 31.04242, -84.88219 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
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 02000190.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q29094091
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.