Forest Grove
Also known as: Warthen, Thomas Jefferson, Plantation
Why it's listed
Forest Grove is a farmstead southeast of Sandersville, Georgia, built around a one-story frame house of about 1840 that is four rooms wide, with a door from each room onto a full-width front veranda. Thomas Jefferson Warthen purchased the land in 1840, and it has remained in the same family and been farmed continuously since. A rear ell was added about 1895. The interior keeps plaster walls, heart pine floors, Greek Revival mantels and door surrounds, and grained doors. Surrounding the house are a mid-1840s smokehouse, a detached kitchen and chicken coop rebuilt after the Civil War, an 1880s schoolhouse, a barn, a scale house, a windmill and a c. 1910 carriage house. A family cemetery holds 24 graves, and ruins of a gristmill, cotton gin, blacksmith shop and tenant houses mark former activity. The property was listed for its agricultural importance, its unusual farmhouse design and its intact working landscape of paths, farm roads and fields.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the property is an intact antebellum farm that has stayed in one family and been farmed continuously since 1840. It is significant for agriculture because of its unusually large and varied set of historic farm buildings and structures, for architecture because of its unusual four-room-wide farmhouse form, and for landscape architecture because of its preserved working landscape.
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 04001556, listed January 26, 2005. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 1200 GA 242/Riddleville rd., Sandersville |
|---|---|
| County | Washington County |
| Listed | January 26, 2005 |
| Reference number | 04001556 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | c.1840 - 1954 |
| Architectural style | Other: vernacular farmhouse |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Agriculture, Architecture, Landscape Architecture |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Still a private farm with a dwelling, outbuildings, cemetery and fields. The detached kitchen is being repaired, and some fields are in managed pines and mowed for future crops. |
| Acreage | 662 |
| Coordinates | 32.95452, -82.78746 (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 04001556.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikidata Q141812483
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.