Historic Cartersville: Spotlight on Granger Hill Historic District

May is National Historic Preservation Month, and Cartersville City officials are proud of the many historic homes and buildings in town.

One example is the 1940 residence of Ty and Jessica Mitcham, located at 3 Brookland Drive off West Main Street in the Granger Hill Historic District. Ty, Jessica and their children Asa, Emily and Micah, are only the second family to live in this residence, characterized as an American Small House. The original owners were Clyde and Marjorie Jolley, whose children were Janne, Lillian and Marion.

The Granger Hill area has roots extending back before the Civil War. In 1856, James Young acquired land in what was then Cass County. James Young and his wife Sallie established their home place on a hill approximately one mile west of the Western & Atlantic depot. In 1889, after James Young’s death, Sallie conveyed 75 acres and the Young home place to Arthur Granger, a Union veteran who had served with General Sherman.

Arthur Granger became a developer of Bartow County’s natural resources. Until his death in 1914, he was one of Bartow County’s most important businessmen. The Grangers greatly enlarged their home and added unusual features such as a gymnasium, observatory, and an observation tower from which they had a view of the surrounding area.  They chose the name “Overlook” for the lands and home place they acquired.

Granger Hill Historic District, adopted by the city council in 2010, includes the property associated with the Granger home place as well as two residential subdivisions of land previously owned by the Grangers. These subdivisions, the Granger Subdivision and the Overlook Subdivision No. 1, were platted in the 1930s, developed from the 1930s to the 1950s, and include homes along and adjacent to West Main Street and Brookland Drive.

The Granger Hill Historic District is significant in community planning and development as a good example of residential suburban development by subdivision near the city’s edge in the years just before and after World War II. 

There are five locally designated Cartersville historic districts: Cherokee-Cassville; Downtown Business District; Granger Hill; Olde Town; and West End. Maps of the districts may be found on the Planning & Development page of the City website, www.cityofcartersville.org and may be obtained at no cost from the Planning & Development office of City Hall, Second floor, 10 N. Public Square.

City staff would like to remind property owners in a locally designated historic district about the changes to the outside of homes and buildings that require Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) approval before starting a project. Maintenance or repair that does not involve a change in material does not require HPC approval. Changing the paint color and changes to the inside of a structure do not require HPC approval.

In the Downtown Business District (DBD), signs that meet Sign Ordinance requirements do not require HPC approval. HPC approval is required before starting any of the following projects: replacing or relocating windows or doors with a change in material; new accessory buildings; demolition or relocation of a structure; excavation for construction purposes; and new fences that require a variance.

If you have any questions, contact Richard Osborne, city planner, at rosborne@cityofcartersville.org or 770-387-5614.