The Ball Ground Historic District, comprised of the downtown area of the 130-year-old settlement, was listed in the National Register of Historic Places as a “National Historic District” on Dec. 4.
The nomination was sponsored by the Cherokee County Historical Society and was procured through the Georgia Department of Natural Resources Historic Places Division.
“The historical society and (Executive Director) Stefanie Joyner have been working on this for more than a year,” said Ball Ground City Manager Eric Wilmarth.
Joyner said the entire process took nearly two years, because the application had to go through the state to the federal Department of the Interior level.
Joyner said it is the county’s second national historic district, the other being a small area around the Canton Theater.
“We’ve long known how special Ball Ground’s downtown is,” Joyner said. “We’re hoping this designation will help spur revitalization once the economy picks up.”
The designation includes around 120 buildings, including the Stripling Lovelady House, that was voted on the Cherokee County Historical District’s Web site as one of the three landmarks Cherokee citizens are most interested in preserving.
Wilmarth said even buildings that are not particularly historic, but are in the district, are included.
“This designation makes it official and opens up some doors, both for the city to seek grant funding for projects in the corridor and for individual property owners,” Wilmarth said. “It will give owners increased eligibility for grant dollars as well as low-interest loans to do repairs and maintain the buildings in keeping with their historic sense.”
Wilmarth said he wanted to be clear that the designation does not mandate that anyone do anything.
“It doesn’t affect anybody’s personal or private property rights, and does not impact any of the property owners in a negative way,” Wilmarth said, adding that the city would have to adopt a historic preservation ordinance in the future to put any use limits on downtown property.
Several of the buildings are owned by the heirs of the Oscar Robertson estate. Robertson, who died in 2006, collected rocks, and the buildings are known as the “rock shops.”
Wilmarth said considerable maintenance work has been done on those buildings in the past year.
Mayor Rick Roberts said he personally understood how much work is involved in submitting a National Register nomination, because he did it 25 years ago for his family homeplace, also in Ball Ground.
“I am grateful to the Historical Society for pursuing the nomination, which recognizes the historical importance of our downtown area and the city, which is the second oldest city in the county,” Roberts said. “I appreciate the hard work of Stefanie and the CHS in obtaining this distinction for our city.”
“We’re pleased the city supports the designation,” Joyner said.
The Georgia Department of Natural Resources Historic Preservation Division presented historic material about Ball Ground, that is denoted in the nomination for the National Register of Historic Places historic district (See box).
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of historic buildings, structures, sites, objects, and districts worthy of preservation in the United States. The National Register provides formal recognition of a property’s architectural, historical or archaeological significance. It also identifies historic properties for planning purposes and ensures that these properties will be considered in the planning of state or federally assisted projects.
National Register listing encourages preservation of historic properties through public awareness, federal and state tax incentives, and grants.
Listing in the National Register does not place obligations or restrictions on the use, treatment, transfer, or disposition of private property, DR spokeswoman Helen McRae-Tally said.
The Historic Preservation Division (HPD) of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources serves as Georgia’s state historic preservation office. Its mission, McRae-Talley explained, is to promote the preservation and use of historic places for a better Georgia. HPD’s programs include archaeology protection and education, environmental review, grants, historic resource surveys, tax incentives, the National Register of Historic Places, community planning and technical assistance.
