NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 (3-82) E»p. 10-31-84

United States Department of the Interior For NPS use only National Register of Historic Places received APR ' 6 I984 Inventory — Nomination Form date entered See instructions in How to Complete National Register Forms Type all entries— complete applicable sections ______1. Name______historic Fort Gaines Historic District ______and or common 2. Location J street & number See Continuation Sheet. EL/A not for publication city, town port Gaines N/A_ vicinity of state Georgia code 013 county Clay code 059 3. Classification Category Ownership Status Present Use _X district public X occupied agriculture __ museum building(s) private unoccupied X commercial park structure X both work in progress educational X private residence site Public Acquisition Accessible __ entertainment X religious object N/A jn process X yes: restricted X government __ scientific __ being considered .. yes: unrestricted industrial transportation nn __ military other: 4. Owner of Property name Multiple (more than 50) street & number city, town vicinity of state 5. Location of Legal Description courthouse, registry of deeds, etc. Superior Court street & number Clay County Courthouse city, town Fort Gaines state Georgia 31751 6. Representation in Existing Surveys Historic Structures Field Survey: title Clay County (See also Continuation has this property been determined eligible? yes X no Sheet.) date 1976 federal state county local depository for survey records Historic Preservation Section> Georgia Dept. of Natural Resources city, town Atlanta state Georgia 7. Description

Condition Check one Check one excellent deteriorated unaltered _X_ original site X good X ruins _JL_ altered moved date X fair unexposed

Describe the present and original (if known) physical appearance

Fort Gaines Historic District encompasses the contiguous historic residential, commercial, institutional, and industrial areas in the City of Fort Gaines. Fort Gaines and the district are located on a bluff overlooking the Chattahoochee River and extend westward to the river to include a portion of the river plain histori­ cally a part of the town. The core of the district is laid out with a gridiron street pattern which belies the rugged topography of the river bluff. The remain­ der of the district extends out along the historic transportation routes that lead from the town.

The commercial area of the district is centrally located in the blocks bounded by Jefferson Street, Washington Street, Troupe Street and Hartford Road. In this area, predominantly one- and two-story brick buildings, many with party walls, are set back uniformly along sidewalks with no landscaping. These commer­ cial buildings date primarily from the 1880s to the early 1900s and display typi­ cal Victorian and early-twentieth-century commercial design features. Brick cor­ beling and spandrel panels, window openings with segmental and/or rounded arches, and cast-iron columns and pressed-metal fronts are among the most prominent exter­ ior details. On the east side of Washington Street, at the edge of the commercial area, are located a ca.-1850 wood-frame lawyer's office, the wood-frame vDill House (individually listed in the National Register), which after its 1890s re­ modeling served as Fort Gaines 1 hotel, and the 1871-72 t Clay County Courthouse (listed in the National Register as part of the County Courthouses in Georgia the­ matic nomination).

Spreading out in all directions from the central commercial-government area are historic residential areas associated with Fort Gaines' white and black citi­ zens. Houses and a number of churches are located on varying sized lots and are set back fairly consistently from the streets. The majority of the houses are wood frame with wood detailing, but a significant number are constructed of lo­ cally manufactured brick. They vary in size from large two-story structures to small cottages. Greek Revival structures from the mid-nineteenth century remain, in addition to a number that were "updated!1 in the late-nineteenth century. Most houses date from the Victorian, turn-of-the-century and early-twentieth-century periods. Typical detailing includes porches with turned and sawnwork brackets and balustrades, gables decorated with cut shingles, and bay windows. Examples of Greek Revival, Gothic Revival, Victorian Eclectic, Queen Anne and Neoclassical style residences are in evidence in addition to many vernacular cottages of vary­ ing dates. Landscaping in the residential areas consists of informally planted yards, street trees, several avenues with central landscaped dividers, and a num­ ber of brick retaining walls and cast-iron fences. A historic city cemetery heavily landscaped with trees and shrubs is located in the district to the south of Carroll Street.

Near the western edge of the district, along the Chattahoochee River, are, on the bluffs, several reconstructed fort buildings located on the site of the original Fort Gaines and two Civil War gun emplacements. Located on the river plain are the site of the town wharf and the deteriorated remains of an 1890s cottonseed-oil mill and early-twentieth-century town waterworks. NFS Form 10-900-a OMB No. 1024-0018 (3-82) Exp. 10-31-84 Department off the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory—Nomination Form Location and Continuation sheet Representat ion Item number 2 and 6 Page 2

Location

Fort Gaines Historic District is located in Fort Gaines, Clay County, Georgia. It encompasses an area bounded approximately by Habersham, Eufaula, and Church streets on the north; College, Jefferson, Commerce, and Wilson streets on the east; Hartford Road and South Washington Street on the south, and the Chattahoochee River on the west.

Representation in Existing Surveys

Two properties in the Fort Gaines Historic District are individually listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The Dill House, located at 102 South Washington Street, was listed on May 6, 1975. The Clay County Courthouse was listed on September 18, 1980, as part of the Courthouses of Georgia Thematic Nomination. 8. Significance

Period Areas of Significance— Check and justify below orehistoric archeology-prehistoric XL communitv olannina X landscape architectur e religion 1400-1499 X archeology-historic conservation law science 1500-1599 agriculture economics literature sculpture 1600-1699 X architecture education X military social/ 1700-1799 art engineering music humanitarian X 1800-1899 X commerce .X exploration/settlement philosophy theater X 1900- communications X_ industry _XL_ politics/government X. transportation invention other (specify)

Specific dates 1816/1830-1930s Builder/Architect Multiple Statement of Significance (in one paragraph)

Fort Gaines is a good intact example of a frontier Georgia town planned and developed in the nineteenth century for a combination of military, political, and commercial purposes. It is historically significant in the areas of exploration and settlement, military history, community planning and development, architecture, landscape architecture, commerce, industry, transportation, politics and government, and historic archaeology. These areas of significance support property eligibility under National Register criteria A, B, C, and D.

Exploration and Settlement, Community Planning and Development, and Military History

In 1816, Fort Gaines was established as a military post on a bluff overlooking the Chattahoochee River. The fort, a wooden palisade, was constructed by the state militia to defend territory newly acquired from the Creek Indians in the 1814 Treaty of Fort Jackson. By 1819, a village was developing in the vicinity of the fort. By 1827, the town had been laid out with its present gridiron pattern, and lots were being sold. In 1830, Fort Gaines was incorporated. The community began to prosper in the 1830s as a result of the 1827 opening for settlement of the region directly to its north and the 1828 establishment of a river port upstream at Columbus. With the appearance of extensive riverboat traffic on the Chattahoochee in the years be­ fore the Civil War, Fort Gaines grew into an important cotton-shipping center. In 1854, the community was designated the county seat of newly created Clay County. During the Civil War, in 1863, in order to protect the town from the possibility of a federal drive upriver to the Columbus Navy Yard, a military installation was con­ structed on the bluff overlooking the Chattahoochee.

Fort Gaines Historic District is significant in terms of exploration and set­ tlement as one of the very earliest settlements in the western part of the state. A few early houses remain in the Fort Gaines Historic District to document this early period. In terms of community planning and development, the district is sig­ nificant as a good example of a Georgia town planned and developed in the nine­ teenth century for military, political and commercial purposes. In terms of mili­ tary history, the district is significant as an example of a town that grew up in conjunction with a fort located on the frontier to protect early settlers from the Indians. The location within the district of the remains of a Civil War military installation provides additional military significance.

[continued] 9. Major Bibliographical References______Mahan, Joseph B., Jr. "Historic District Information Form: Fort Gaines Historic District," March, 1983; on file at Historic Preservation Section, Georgia Depart­ ment of Natural Resources, Atlanta. (This National Register nomination is based largely on the information contained in this document.) [pnn t inue^ 1 10. Geographical Data Acreage of nominated property Approximately 300 acres Quadrangle name Fort Gaines, Ala . -Ga . Quadrangle scale 1:24,000 UT M References

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Verbal boundary description and justification The district boundaries, outlined on the enclosed tax maps with heavy black lines, have been drawn to include the intact historic area of Fort Gaines.

List all states and counties for properties overlapping state or county boundaries state codecountycode state code county code 11. Form Prepared By name/title Carolyn Brooks, National Register Researcher ______Historic Preservation Section organization Georgia Dept. of Natural Resources______date January 20, 1984 street & number 270 Washington Street, S.W. telephone (404) 656-2840 city or town Atlanta state Georgia 30334 12. State Historic Preservation Officer Certification

The evaluated significance of this property within the state is: __ national __ state X |Ocal As the designated State Historic Preservation Officer for the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (Public Law 89- 665), I hereby nominate this property for inclusion in the National Register and certify that it has been evaluated according to the criteria and procedures set forth by the National Park Service.

State Historic Preservation Officer signature Elizat$th A. Lyon tltle State Historic Preservation Officer date For NPS use only I hereby certify that this property is included in the National Register

date

Attest: date Chief of Registration NPS Form 10-900-a OMB No. 1024-0018 (3-82) Exp. 10-31-84 United States Department off the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory—Nomination Form

Continuation sheet significance______Item number 8______Page 2____

Architecture

In terms of architecture, Fort Gaines Historic District is significant for providing examples of the types of historic buildings found in Georgia's small towns. These structures reflect prevailing national principles and practices of architecture as they were interpreted by local carpenter/builders over more than a century. Most of the structures feature typical building materials and tech­ niques, with load-bearing brick predominating in the commercial area and wood- frame construction with exterior weatherboarding being most common in the residen­ tial areas. Buildings date from the 1830s to the 1930s and include a variety of building types such as private residences, churches, stores, hotels, a lawyer's office, a bank and municipal buildings. Among the architectural styles well re­ presented in their local manifestations are the Greek Revival, Gothic Revival, Victorian Eclectic, Queen Anne, Neoclassical and Early-twentieth-century Commer­ cial. A number of intact examples of simple vernacular cottages of various dates are also located in the district.

Landscape Architecture

In terms of landscape architecture, the district is significant for its late- nineteenth-early-twentieth-century residential landscaping which features the in­ formal use of trees, shrubs, grass and walks in individual lots to create a natur­ alistic and park-like setting which flows from one lot to the next. This type of landscaping is characteristic of that found in the residential areas of small towns and cities nationwide and represents accepted landscaping practices of the period. Street trees, several avenues with central planted dividers, and a land­ scaped cemetery contribute to the town's overall historic landscaping.

Beginning in the mid-1830s, Fort Gaines became a Chattahoochee River steam­ boat stop and an important shipping center for cotton from the surrounding area in both Georgia and . In 1859, a rail line was completed between Macon, Georgia, and Eufaula, Alabama, with a spur line to a rail head at Fort Gaines. These transportation facilities helped make Fort Gaines a viable regional commer­ cial center for both wholesale and retail activities in this sparsely populated part of the state. In the 1890s, local industries, including a cottonseed-oil mill and a brickyard were developed to take advantage of this local trade. Com­ mercial activity in Fort Gaines remained heavily tied to cotton production into the twentieth century. The collapse of the cotton market in the years after 1920, due to the devastation caused by the boll weevil and followed by the onset of the Great Depression, resulted in the end of historic commercial development.

[continued] NPS Form 10-900-a OMB No. 1024-0018 (3-82) EXP- 10-31-84 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory—Nomination Form

Continuation sheet Significance______Item number 8______Page 3_____

Fort Gaines Historic District contains the historic commercial center of the community. The district served as the center for such day-to-day activities as wholesaling and retailing, banking, professional services, and hotel accomoda- tions. Its commercial structures, primarily brick buildings constructed between 1880 and 1920, provide evidence of Fort Gaines 1 period of greatest prosperity and commercial growth. This was a time of great building activity and commercial de­ velopment in many Georgia communities. Earlier frame commercial buildings were replaced by more substantial brick structures, reflecting the expanding commercial activity of the late-nineteenth century. In addition, the deteriorated remains of the 1890s cottonseed-oil mill survive to document one of Fort Gaines' historic in­ dustrial activities.

Politics and Government

The district is significant as the seat of local government for the community of Fort Gaines and of county government for Clay County. The presence of these im­ portant institutions is represented by the 1871-72 Clay County Courthouse (listed in the National Register), the Clay County Jail,and the remains of the historic city waterworks, which operated in the early years of the twentieth century.

Historic Archaeology

The identification of the site of a Civil War military installation and of the deteriorating remains of an 1890s cottonseed-oil mill and an early-twentieth- century waterworks implies a significant historic archaeological potential for the district. No formal archaeology has been done to this date, but future archaeolo­ gical investigation could add valuable data to what is presently known about his­ toric Fort Gaines. Unfortunately, the archaeological potential of the early-nine­ teenth-century fortification at Fort Gaines was lost in the mid-twentieth century when the site was excavated for fill used in the construction of a nearby bridge. NPS Form 10-900-a OMB No. 1024-0018 (3-82) Exp. 10-31-84 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory—Nomination Form

Continuation sheet Bibliography______Item number 9______Page 2______

Jeanne, D. Gregory, ed. The Architectural Legacy of the Lower Chattahoochee Valley in Alabama and Georgia. University of Alabama Press, 1978.

King, P. C., Jr. Fort Gaines and Environ. Auburn, Alabama: Warren Enterprises, 1976.

Robertson, Joan. "Fort Gaines Historic District: Draft National Register Nomina­ tion," n.d. On file at Historic Preservation Section, Georgia Department of Natural Resources.

Sanborn Map Company maps for Fort Gaines, 1924.

Todd, Priscilla Neves, et al. The History of Clay County. Fort Gaines: Clay County Library, 1976.

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