Gordon County, GA Historic Preservation: Historic-Cultural Monuments (2026)

Gordon County Code § 11-446 defines a historic property as a building, structure, site, or object, including the adjacent area needed to appreciate it, that is worth preserving for its value to Gordon County, the State of Georgia, or the United States. The four listed reasons are an outstanding example of a structure from its era, one of the few remaining examples of an architectural or military fortification type or style, an association with an event or persons of historic or cultural significance, or a site of archaeological, natural, or aesthetic interest. Section 11-443 separately sets the test for a historic district: a definable section of Gordon County with special character or special historic or aesthetic value.

Anyone can start the process: the Board of Commissioners, any member of the Historic Preservation Commission (HPC), a local historical society, an organized neighborhood association, or a group of interested property owners (§ 11-447). The HPC prepares a nomination report with a physical description, a statement of significance, a boundary map, a statement justifying the boundaries, and photographs (§ 11-442). It sends that report to the Historic Preservation Division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources at least 30 days before it recommends anything (§ 11-449). The HPC and the Board then hold a joint public hearing, with notice published three times in the Calhoun Times and mailed to owners and occupants between 10 and 20 days beforehand (§ 11-448). The HPC has 15 days after the hearing to send its recommendation, and the Board can adopt the ordinance as proposed, amend it, or deny it (§§ 11-450, 11-451).

The designation ordinance names the owners, sets boundaries precise enough for GIS, and puts the property on the Official Zoning Map (§ 11-452). From then on a certificate of appropriateness is required before any material change in appearance (§ 11-476). The HPC must approve or reject an application within 45 days, and silence counts as approval (§ 11-483). Ordinary maintenance that changes no design, material, or outer appearance needs no certificate (§ 11-511).