Campbell-Jordan House
Also known as: Duncan G. Campbell House
Why it's listed
Two Federal period houses, built in the same style at different times, were joined into a single mansion at 208 Liberty Street in Washington, Georgia. The eastern section began around 1808 as a small two-story plantation plain house, and a matching western half followed, probably by 1813. Around 1841, during the ownership of merchant Aaron A. Cleveland, a Greek Doric peristyle colonnade and other Greek Revival details were added, creating a two-story porch with balconies on all four sides. Inside, the rooms remain Federal in style. The house sits directly beside the sidewalk, with open grounds to the south and west. Duncan G. Campbell lived on the lot, and his son John Archibald Campbell, later a U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice, was born in the eastern section in 1811. Later owners included Andrew Green Semmes and Benjamin F. Jordan. Little has changed since before the Civil War, and the house is regarded as a landmark among the area's Greek Revival mansions.
Significance in brief: The nomination calls it the most monumental and complicated example of a typical Washington, Georgia pattern, in which older houses were remodeled into Greek Revival houses in the 1840s. Few alterations were made after the antebellum expansion, and its condition is excellent. Its growth from 1808 to 1841 is well documented, and it was the birthplace of Supreme Court Justice John Archibald Campbell.
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 71000288, listed July 14, 1971. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 208 Liberty St., Washington |
|---|---|
| County | Wilkes County |
| Listed | July 14, 1971 |
| Reference number | 71000288 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 19th Century (specific dates c. 1808, c. 1813, 1841) |
| Architectural style | Greek Revival and Federal; described as a Classical Revival style townhouse |
| Areas of significance | Architecture, Social History |
| Level of significance | National |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Excellent condition, unaltered, on its original site; occupied as a private residence. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Within district | Washington Historic District |
| Coordinates | 33.73373, -82.73737 (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 71000288.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q16851214
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.