Jul 14, 2004
National Register of Historic Places - Robert Alston House (Meadow Nook)
Statement of Significant: The Robert Alston House is significant in architecture as an excellent example of a Georgian Cottage with Greek Revival details including Doric columns on the front porch. Its overall form and floorplan are intact. It retains almost all of its original materials in the house including floors, mantels, doors, and moldings. Some of the most important interior details are the extraordinary spiral staircase and the original mantels in the three main rooms on the first floor of Italian and Austrian marble. The intact nature of this once rural property is quite remarkable, given its years of being rental property. It is one of the few houses in Atlanta surviving from the Civil War period, and possesses a Greek Revival style with strong coastal, South Carolina, influences. It was built late in the antebellum period, perhaps as a summer home, but quickly became a permanent refuge during the Civil War, and has survived the creation of a city around it. It has survived urban blight almost intact, and can be the centerpiece of the restoration of the neighborhood. The house is also significant in politics and government because of the role played in Georgia politics by the original owner, Robert A. Alston (1832-1879), who was an attorney in Charleston when he returned to his birth state of Georgia in the early 1860s as the Civil War began. Moving to this house during the Civil War, the family was forced from the home during the war, when the house became the headquarters for Union General John Schofield during the Battle of Atlanta. In 1872 Alston became editor of the Atlanta Daily Herald, eventually having Henry W. Grady (who later wrote Alston's obituary) as a partner. Before it closed in 1875, Alston's paper had championed women's rights. Alston was elected a State Representative in 1878, and during this time many famous people came to the house. He often took unpopular stands on important social issues of the day. He opposed the convict lease system, and due to an argument over this he was killed in a duel at the State Capitol in 1879. For years afterwards, African-Americans honored him with an annual ceremony at his grave for his stance on the lease system. While the family sold the house and surrounding farm in 1886, Alston's daughter and husband lived in the house until the early 1900s. The attached farm was eventually subdivided, becoming the East Lake neighborhood which now surrounds the house as well as the East Lake Golf Club and golf course, across the street. The house itself had numerous later owners. Alston's role in Georgia history was significant enough for his inclusion in the Dictionary of Georgia Biography in 1983.
National Register of Historic Places - Robert Alston House (Meadow Nook)
Statement of Significant: The Robert Alston House is significant in architecture as an excellent example of a Georgian Cottage with Greek Revival details including Doric columns on the front porch. Its overall form and floorplan are intact. It retains almost all of its original materials in the house including floors, mantels, doors, and moldings. Some of the most important interior details are the extraordinary spiral staircase and the original mantels in the three main rooms on the first floor of Italian and Austrian marble. The intact nature of this once rural property is quite remarkable, given its years of being rental property. It is one of the few houses in Atlanta surviving from the Civil War period, and possesses a Greek Revival style with strong coastal, South Carolina, influences. It was built late in the antebellum period, perhaps as a summer home, but quickly became a permanent refuge during the Civil War, and has survived the creation of a city around it. It has survived urban blight almost intact, and can be the centerpiece of the restoration of the neighborhood. The house is also significant in politics and government because of the role played in Georgia politics by the original owner, Robert A. Alston (1832-1879), who was an attorney in Charleston when he returned to his birth state of Georgia in the early 1860s as the Civil War began. Moving to this house during the Civil War, the family was forced from the home during the war, when the house became the headquarters for Union General John Schofield during the Battle of Atlanta. In 1872 Alston became editor of the Atlanta Daily Herald, eventually having Henry W. Grady (who later wrote Alston's obituary) as a partner. Before it closed in 1875, Alston's paper had championed women's rights. Alston was elected a State Representative in 1878, and during this time many famous people came to the house. He often took unpopular stands on important social issues of the day. He opposed the convict lease system, and due to an argument over this he was killed in a duel at the State Capitol in 1879. For years afterwards, African-Americans honored him with an annual ceremony at his grave for his stance on the lease system. While the family sold the house and surrounding farm in 1886, Alston's daughter and husband lived in the house until the early 1900s. The attached farm was eventually subdivided, becoming the East Lake neighborhood which now surrounds the house as well as the East Lake Golf Club and golf course, across the street. The house itself had numerous later owners. Alston's role in Georgia history was significant enough for his inclusion in the Dictionary of Georgia Biography in 1983.
Jul 14, 2004
Posted Date
Aug 07, 2023
Historical Record Date
Jul 14, 2004
Source Name
National Register of Historic Places
