Birdsville Plantation

Birdsville Plantation, in Birdsville, Jenkins County, Georgia near Millen, is a 50 acres (20 ha) property which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971. It then included 10 contributing buildings.[1] It is a National Bicentennial Farm.

Birdsville Plantation
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
The main house
Show map of Georgia (U.S. state) Show map of the United States
Location	NW of Millen, Georgia
Coordinates	32.87288°N 82.0783782°W / 32.87288; -82.0783782
Area	50 acres (20 ha)
NRHP reference No.	71000280[1]
Added to NRHP	April 7, 1971

The plantation property includes a main house, a barn, a privy, a smoke house, an old kitchen, a well house, a log building, an apothecary, a store, and a house and office of Mr. Bird, as well as a pecan grove and historic oak trees. A cotton gin building is included in photographs of the property.[2][note 1]

The plantation house survived Sherman's March to the Sea, with reason attributed to Sherman sparing the house due to the death of twins. A version of the story shared online is that Union troops "found freshly dug graves, and began to unearth them looking for hidden silver, valuables, etc. They stopped when they discovered they were actual graves. The lady of the house had recently given birth to twins who had not survived, these were the plundered graves. The plantation was spared complete destruction out of respect."[3]

It dates from circa 1789 and is one of few colonial-era ones in the interior of Georgia. Its front appearance was created in modifications c. 1847, under Henry Philip Jones, son of the original owner.[3]

The modifications added Greek Revival and Italianate elements in an unusual design. It is a two-story house with an unusual inset front portico, with four columns having Corinthian capitals. Its front facade, which would be flat otherwise, is relieved by two projecting Italianate window bays.[4] It has at least three brick chimneys. Pilasters with Corinthian capitals frame the north side of the house.[note 2]

Birdsville's architecture is unusual among plantations in the area. Birdsville was located in Burke County until Jenkins County was carved out in 1905.[4]

Notes

1. The original Birdsville National Register form, dated February 16, 1971, which justified the historic nature of the property, appears not available online at the National Park Service, as of April 21, 2017; an amendment updating the nomination to clarify that the acreage covered is 50 acres, dated November 6, 1973, is available.
2. These details are visible in photos.

References

1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
2. Elizabeth Z. Macgregor (November 6, 1973). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Birdsville Plantation (revision to original nomination)". National Park Service. Retrieved April 21, 2017. With photos from 1970 and 1971 by Jet Lowe and Dennis Darling, with captions.
3. Various commentators, online (December 2, 2013). "Birdsville Plantation, Circa 1789, Jenkins County". Vanishing South Georgia, Photos by Brian Brown. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
4. Philip Mills Herrington (2003). "Forgotten Plantation Architecture of Burke County, Georgia" (PDF). (Master of Historic Preservation thesis, University of Georgia)