Miller Brothers Farm
Also known as: Kensington; Big House
The pin is a point inside the NPS boundary polygon, not a surveyed location.
Why it's listed
Kensington, also called the Miller Brothers Farm, is a large frame house on a hilltop in Walker County, Georgia. It began in 1890 as the Kensington Hotel, the centerpiece of a resort town planned by Philadelphia investors. The town never prospered, as a fire in 1892 and the depression of 1893 halted its growth. In 1915 Gustavus Hindman Miller and Frank L. Miller acquired the hotel and converted it into a home for their families. Contractors Whittice and Pressley carried out a drastic remodeling that removed the upper one-and-a-half stories, the turrets, and the long front verandah. Two-story Tuscan-columned verandahs were added on the east and south sides, giving the building a Classical Revival look, and original door and window frames were reused. The house sat within a 1,600-acre dairy farm. It is the only surviving piece of the town of Kensington, and it is considered one of Georgia's largest examples of Classical Revival domestic architecture, though not in pure form.
Significance in brief: The house is argued to be one of the most dramatic renovations in Georgia architecture, converting a Queen Anne resort hotel into a Classical Revival style plantation-type house. It is also the sole remnant of the planned resort town of Kensington, which stalled after a 1892 fire and the 1893 depression.
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 87001332, listed August 6, 1987. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | GA 912, Kensington |
|---|---|
| County | Walker County |
| Listed | August 6, 1987 |
| Reference number | 87001332 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1800-1899; specific dates 1890, 1915-1917 |
| Architect / builder | Whittice and Pressley (Contractors); architect not known |
| Architectural style | Classical Revival (remodeled from a Queen Anne style hotel) |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Community Planning and Development, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Occupied as a private residence; the form lists the property as occupied, with virtually no major changes since the 1915-1917 remodeling. |
| Acreage | 40 |
| Within district | McLemore Cove Historic District |
| Coordinates | 34.77253, -85.37576 (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 87001332.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q6859092
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.