SUMMARY OF PROPOSED NATIONAL REGISTER/GEORGIA REGISTER NOMINATION

1. Name: John and Effie McDaniel House

2. Location: 317 West Main Street, Thomaston, Upson County, Georgia

3a. Description: The John and Effie McDaniel House is a large two-story, north-facing house located at 317 West Main Street/State Route 74, approximately 1,000 feet west of the Upson County courthouse and square in downtown Thomaston, near the western central portion of Georgia. The property is slightly less than one acre, has several mature trees, is bordered by a brick and iron fence, and is surrounded by single-family residential on three sides with an apartment complex to the south (rear) side. The Neoclassical Revival-style house was built in c.1920 and has been attributed to architect Frank P. Milburn. The symmetrical red brick house with painted white detailing has a low-pitched pyramidal roof with original Ludowici clay red barrel roof tiles. It has a dominant full-height entry portico supported by large fluted columns with Doric capitols and a triangular pediment, a single-story front porch with smaller columns interrupted by a small second-story balcony, an altered porte-cochere to the left, dentil molding along the cornices, and four brick chimneys. The openings consist of multi-paned paired and triple windows, with the front façade featuring the main entrance and lower windows topped by beveled fanlights. The entrance on the first floor opens into a large drawing room, along with a library, two half bathrooms and a utility room on the left portion of the house, with a small rear hall in the center. The right portion of the first floor contains music, sun, dining, and breakfast rooms, with a kitchen at the rear. The second floor of the house has a full central hall and stair with a door to the balcony at the front façade, four bedrooms, and three bathrooms. A contributing one- story detached garage, also built c.1920 in similar fashion to the house, is located about 20 feet behind the southeast corner of the house and is parallel to it with a large, paved driveway connecting to the street. The property also contains a c.1930 noncontributing fountain and remnants of a 1940s formal garden. The house retains many original features including wood flooring, doors and hardware, windows, and two of the fireplaces. The house and garage are in excellent condition, and both retain a high degree of historic integrity including location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association.

3b. Period of Significance: c.1920

3c. Acreage: Less than one acre.

3d. Boundary Explanation: The proposed boundary is the current and historic legal boundary associated with the property.

4a. National Register Criteria: C

4b. National Register Areas of Significance: Architecture

4c. Statement of Significance: The John and Effie McDaniel House is significant under National Register Criterion C in the area of Architecture as an excellent example of the Neoclassical Revival style, as defined in the statewide context Georgia’s Living Places: Historic Houses in Their Landscaped Settings. The Neoclassical Revival style was popular throughout Georgia and the United States from the 1890s through the 1930s, and can be found in rural areas, cities, and towns. The style drew on the Early Classical Revival and Greek Revival styles of the early 19th century, and often combined Greek and Roman details. The house demonstrates many of the character-defining features of the Neoclassical Revival style including: classical symmetry; classical fenestration; dentil cornices; a dominant full-height front entry portico with classical columns; a triangular pediment over the portico; a single-story full-façade porch; a main entrance with fanlight and sidelights; a low- pitched and pyramidal-shaped roof; a balustrade; a porte-cochere; and paired windows with multiple panes.

4d. Suggested Level of Significance: The property is being nominated at the local level of significance as an excellent example of the Neoclassical Revival style in Upson County.

5. Sponsor: The nomination is sponsored by the property owner, and nomination materials were prepared by consultants Johnnie and James Gaskill.

Summary prepared August 2020/CRA