Gilmer, Thomas M., House
Approximate location: the National Park Service places this pin arbitrarily within the property, not at a surveyed point (stated accuracy ±12 m).
Why it's listed
Built about 1800 in the Goosepond area of Oglethorpe County, Georgia, this one-and-a-half story frame house was the home of Thomas M. Gilmer, a settler from western Virginia. His son George R. Gilmer, later governor of Georgia, spent his boyhood there and described the neighborhood in First Settlers of Upper Georgia. The house is the last standing physical trace of that Broad River settlement. Its plan is unusual for Georgia: two rooms deep, with a short passage, a great room, and two smaller rooms with side-by-side corner fireplaces, plus a cellar fireplace and very wide brick chimneys laid in Flemish bond. The nomination links this arrangement to the Swedish-Quaker house plan known in the Valley of Virginia. A lost diamond-motif door had parallels in Virginia. The house is now nearly a ruin, stripped of doors and most mantels, and a family graveyard lies a short distance east.
Significance in brief: It was the boyhood home of George R. Gilmer, twice governor of Georgia, whose book First Settlers of Upper Georgia records the Broad River settlement. It is also the only surviving material remnant of that settlement. Architecturally, its plan two rooms deep with side-by-side corner fireplaces is unique in Georgia and is read as a modification of the Swedish-Quaker plan from the Valley of Virginia.
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 77001540, listed November 2, 1977. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 5 mi. (8 km) W of Washington on U.S. 78, Washington |
|---|---|
| County | Wilkes County |
| Listed | November 2, 1977 |
| Reference number | 77001540 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1800 |
| Areas of significance | Politics/Government, Architecture, Social History |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Described as virtually a ruin after deterioration and vandalism; marked unoccupied, with doors and most mantels removed. A citizens' group hoped to see it purchased and restored. |
| Acreage | 8 |
| Coordinates | 33.97748, -82.83510 (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.
Noted as vacant in the nomination. Nomination documents can be decades old; current status may differ. If you are considering buying an empty listed property, read the due-diligence checklist.
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 77001540.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.