9725 Roberts Dr
Sandy Springs, GA, USA

National Register of Historic Places - Isaac Roberts House (Roberts House)

Statement of Significance:

The Isaac Roberts House was built by North Carolina-native Isaac "Ike" Roberts. Born in 1853, Roberts obtained a job with the Atlanta and Charlotte Air-Line Railroad Company (A&CAL) in 1872 and in five years had risen to the position of engineer. He then moved to Roswell, Georgia, where he helped the A&CAL build a 10-mile-long spur line, known as the Roswell Railroad, from the Chattahoochee River south to Chamblee. Roberts purchased 650 acres along the Chattahoochee River where he built a depot and his house. Roberts served as the only engineer for the entire 41 years that the Roswell Railroad operated from 1880 to 1921. Between 1880 and 1921 the Roswell Railroad changed owners on several occasions. The A&CAL built the line. In 1880, they leased the completed line to the Richmond and Danville Railroad. In 1894, the Richmond and Danville Railroad merged with several railroad companies to form Southern Railway who then purchased the Roswell Railroad. During that period, Roberts built Roswell Station and was instrumental in the construction of the Bull Sluice Railroad that serviced the Morgan Falls Hydroelectric Plant-the city of Atlanta's first hydroelectric power generating dam. Roberts also was a founder of the Roswell Bank and served as director until his death in 1930. Roberts Drive, a road that sits atop the old Roswell Railroad line, was named in honor of Isaac Roberts' contributions to the Roswell, Dunwoody, and Sandy Springs communities.

The Isaac Roberts House is significant in the area of architecture as an excellent example of a gabled-wing house, which is defined by a T- or L-shaped plan with a gable-front at one end of a recessed wing. According to Georgia's Living Places: Historic Houses in their Landscaped Settings, the gabled wing was among the most popular house types in Georgia during the 19th century. It was built across the state in rural and urban areas and its period of greatest popularity was from 1875 to 1915. The one-story gabled-wing cottage was most widely built, with the two-story house type (such as the Isaac Roberts House) representing only 10 percent of all gabled-wings in the Georgia Historic Resources Survey. The Isaac Roberts House is an excellent example of a gabled-wing house because it retains its original plan, form, and massing. The house is also architecturally significant for its Queen Anne and Folk Victorian stylistic elements such as the pent roof that encloses the northwest gable; the cantilevered wall extension located on the building's southeast side; the decorative brackets that accentuate the house's wide eaves; the two-story front porch that covers the entire front façade including the front entrance area and displays plain-style spindles, board-and- batten ceilings, and turned supports.

The Isaac Roberts House is significant in the area of transportation because of Isaac "Ike" Roberts association with the Roswell Railroad. The house was built in 1894 by Isaac "Ike" Martin Roberts (1853-1930), an engineer who worked for the Roswell Railroad from 1880 until 1921. Roberts was the sole engineer in the railroad's history. During that period, Roberts built Roswell Station and was instrumental in the construction of the Bull Sluice Railroad that serviced Morgan Falls-the site of the city of Atlanta's first hydroelectric power generating plant. Roberts also was a founder of the Roswell Bank and served as director until his death in 1930. As the Roswell Railroad's sole engineer, Roberts was the face of that transportation business. The residents of Roswell associated the Isaac Roberts House with the railroad and saw Roberts as a vital part of their community. Roberts endeared himself to many within the community through his charitable acts, friendly disposition, and business acumen. Children who lived along the Roswell Railroad remembered Roberts kindly as the friendly man who gave them free rides.