Nejasco Farms, 4940, 4972, and 4983 Cumming Highway (State Route 20), Canton

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS GA-2443. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

Nejasco Farms is located at and Cumming Highway (alternatively State Route 20 or SR 20) in the central Cherokee County, Georgia community of Buffington. The resource sits on the north and south sides of the highway just east of Union Hill Road. The Nejasco Farms Dairy Barn, situated on the north side of SR 20, is located at latitude: longitude: This point was taken from the center of the resource. The Coker Denney House, situated on the south side of SR 20, is located at latitude: longitude: this point was taken from the center of the resource. Both points were obtained on August 9, using Google Earth There is no restriction on its release to the public.

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS GA-2443. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

Nejasco Farms is composed of eleven separate land parcels whose ownership is divided amongst six different landowners. The two parcels located on the north side of SR 20 (PINs and are owned by Denney Investments The nine parcels situated on the south side of the highway are held under the ownership of: SM Creek LLC (PIN Denney Investments LLC Joan A. Denney (PIN Stovall and Company Inc. 03- Andrew C. Wills and Brookwood Farms LLC

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS GA-2443. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

Nejasco Farms was one of about dairy farms in the state of Georgia when it was established in the early Unlike many dairy farms of its time, Nejasco operated as a full-service dairy: milking, processing, and bottling all occurred at the farm. The Dairy Barn, in which these operations took place, and a number of supporting buildings, remain extant on the NEJASCO FARMS HABS No. GA-2443 (Page 2) landscape. Collectively they present a glimpse into the relatively rare practice of mid-twentieth-century dairying in Georgia.

1 Historian(s): Marvin Brown, M.A., Senior Architectural Historian, AECOM; Sarah Potere, Architectural Historian, AECOM Report Completed December Nejasco Farms was evaluated for eligibility for listing in the National Register using the National Register Criteria for Evaluation as outlined in 36 CFR Part There are no known associations with individuals whose specific contributions to history can be identified and documented with this property. No associations were indicated or suggested as a result of background research on the project area, or in any response to the Department's early consultation correspondence received from consulting parties, or in an interview with persons familiar with the history of the property.

Therefore, there was no basis for evaluating the property under Criterion B. Also, there are no indications that the property is likely to yield information on important research questions in history or prehistory. This property does not appear to have the potential to be the principal source of important information. Therefore, there was no basis for evaluating the property under Criterion D. Nejasco Farms was evaluated under Criterion A and appears to possess a local level of significance in the areas of agriculture, commerce, and community development.

The property was evaluated within the broader historical context of mid-20th century agricultural operations in Cherokee County and was evaluated in this context due to the period of the farm s establishment and its historic agricultural and commercial associations in the county. The property is considered significant in this broader contextual framework because of its substantial impact on the economy of Cherokee County, particularly in the surrounding communities along Highway 20. The farm provided a significant number of jobs in the community not just for those who worked on the farm, but also to the handful of chicken farmers and milk producers that contracted with the farm to provide necessary goods and services.

During its operation, it was easily one of the most lucrative businesses in this area of Cherokee County and, even though it only retained anywhere from 40 to 50 employees, it was also one of the largest employers in this rural area of the county. As a result, Nejasco Farms made a significant contribution to the economic development of the surrounding communities. It is also a significant example of a multi-faceted farm operation comprised of both the raising of crops and cattle as well as the processing of milk products.

Even though many of the structures associated with the farm are no longer extant, the segmented organizational structure of the farm (dairy on the north side of the road; farming on the south side) is still clearly evident through the retention of the main dairy building, silo, man-made 40 Edwards-Pitman, Historic Resources Survey Report, The report also includes a history, description, and photographs of the Property. NEJASCO FARMS HABS No. GA-2443 (Page 44) lake, terraced fields, and underground tunnel. Therefore, it still retains enough essential physical features from its period of significance that enable it to adequately convey its historic identity. Therefore, Nejasco Farms is considered eligible for inclusion in the National Register under Criterion A.

Nejasco Farms was also evaluated under Criterion C and appears to possess a local level of significance in the area of architecture. While some of the extant structures (with the possible exception of the main dairy building) are not sufficiently intact or individually exceptional in terms of their architecture, the interrelationship of all the structures to the landscape is still readily apparent, as are the various functions of the natural and man-made features associated with the property. Therefore, Nejasco Farms is considered eligible for inclusion in the National Register under Criterion C. Integrity: Nejasco Farms has been determined to possess integrity in the areas of location, setting, design, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association.

All of the extant structures associated with the farm are located on their original sites of construction; and while the historic setting has been modified by the razing of numerous buildings associated with the farm, there is still enough of an undisturbed rural landscape left, in terms of both structures and natural features, to convey the rural character of the farm. Design integrity is sufficiently retained as the arrangement of the multi-functional components of the farm are still evident through the dairy buildings on the north side of Highway 20 and the terraced fields and lake on the south side of the road. In terms of materials, the main dairy building, silo, hay barn, well house, and Ranch house on the property are still relatively intact.

Only the example of worker housing has lost material integrity due to the presence of vinyl siding along the exterior. Integrity of workmanship is evident through the plain finish and arrangement of spaces on the main dairy building. Because the resource retains many of the design and material features associated with its period of significance and operation as a farm, it also possesses integrity of feeling and association.

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS GA-2443. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

The Georgia Department of Transportation is implementing plans to widen SR 20 from two to six lanes between Scott Road (near Canton) and North Corners Parkway (near Cumming). The project corridor spans approximately miles and falls within Cherokee and Forsyth Counties. As a result of this roadway expansion, all or part of Nejasco Farms will be demolished. Mitigation efforts were explored and a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) was devised between the United States Army Corps of Engineers, the Georgia Department of Transportation, and the Georgia State Historic Preservation Officer. This Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) documentation (historical narrative report and large format photography) was prepared in accordance with the stipulations of the aforementioned MOA.

Part I: Historical Information A. Physical History 1. Date of erection: Nejasco Farms principal resource its dairy was erected at Cumming Highway in the mid-1940s. 2 Two houses still stand on the road s south side, opposite the dairy, that were associated with the farm and dairy. The frame residence, known as the Coker-Denney House, at Cumming Highway was built between and 3 The brick house, called the Big House, standing at Cumming Highway, was erected ca. 4 2 2. Architect: Not known. 1 Edwards-Pitman, Historic Resources Survey Report The DOE for Nejasco Farms, which is contained within the aforementioned document excerpt, is included in the Supplemental Materials. 2 Bell and Beavers, Buffington and Macedonia, p. 50.

3 County tax records assign a construction date of (Cherokee County Tax Assessor, Real Estate Search for Cumming Hw ). Joan A. Denney (personal communication, November 30, believes it may have been built around 4 County tax records assign the house a construction date of (Cherokee County Tax Assessor, Real Estate Search for Cumming Hw ). NEJASCO FARMS HABS No. GA-2443 (Page 3) 3. Original and subsequent owners, occupants, uses: Dr. Grady Newton Coker, Sr. established Nejasco Farms about The farm encompassed approximately acres within central Cherokee County s Buffington community. It extended nearly 1.5 miles along Cumming Highway, between current Hasty Trail on the east and Forest Creek Drive on the west. 5 Coker and his father, Dr.

Newton Jasper Coker 3F acquired much of the property from the estates of Jefferson Bell and William J. Ponder in separate transactions in the The farm was principally located south of Cumming Road. The dairy, however, stood just to the road s north, on land Coker had acquired from the Ponder estate in 6 The Cokers were prominent Cherokee County residents. Coker s grave marker identifies him as Physician, Philanthropist, Educationalist. He was chairman of the county board of education seven times and, in with his son, founded Coker Hospital in Canton, the county seat. Coker served one term in the Georgia House of Representatives and three terms in the Georgia Senate. In he was elected president of the Medical Association of Georgia.

He also served as president of the State Board of Medical Examiners. 7 Coker named the farm Nejasco, an acronym of the opening letters of Newton Jasper Coker, in honor of his recently deceased father. 8 According to an account of the operation: Dr. Grady [Coker] enjoyed having a farm, he enjoyed buying and selling registered dairy and beef cattle, and he used the dairy and farm to provide healthy foods for the hospital patients at Coker s Hospital. By operating a farm and dairy, Dr. Coker provided jobs and a home for many of his workers.

Nejasco had Registered Black Angus cattle for selling, breeding, exhibition and beef, registered Guernsey dairy cattle for selling, breeding, exhibition, for milk, cream, buttermilk and ice cream, hogs and chickens for meat, sheep to provide wool to sell and meat, and laying hens for fresh eggs. Nejasco Farms cultivated excellent hay, corn and corn silage for feed and even leased other 5 Bell and Beavers, Buffington and Macedonia, pp. 6 Cherokee County Deed Book ZZ/Page 455 (Estate of Jefferson Bell to Coker, and Cherokee County Deed Book 6/Page 355 (Estate of William J. Ponder to Coker,1939).

Bullock s Cherokee County map depicts Bell and Ponder, s father, as principal Buffington area landowners in For a sense of the extent of Coker s holdings in the early see loan agreement between Coker and the Norwega Production Credit Association at Cherokee County Deed Book 24/Page 534 and Figure 3. 7 Johnston, Cherokee County, pp. 74; Marlin, History of Cherokee County, p. Atlanta Constitution, May 15, and February 25, 8 Following the theme, he named his other farm, Granco, located southeast of Buffington, with an acronym of his own initials, Grady Newton Coker (Bell and Beavers, Buffington and Macedonia, p. NEJASCO FARMS HABS No. GA-2443 (Page 4) lands in Cherokee County to expand their production of sources of feed for the animals. 9 Coker never lived at Nejasco Farms.

The brick house he built on Jeanette Street in Canton in still stands 10 He continued to practice medicine at the nearby Coker Hospital, but was deeply involved in the administration of Nejasco, through hand s-on activities and the careful hiring of its management team. Coker traveled throughout the South with members of his team to sell his Guernsey dairy cows. 11 Nejasco Farms dairy was central to the operation s success: Of all the types of farming Nejasco was connected with, the steady money maker was the dairy. The dairy produced milk and its products for the hospital, but primarily delivered to homes, restaurants, grocery stores and schools.

It was even considered a part of the compensation for the workers; they all received quarts of milk each day, determined by the size of their family. Cherokee County was the major recipient of these products, but the dairy trucks also delivered daily to Pickens, Forsyth and Gilmer counties. Any unused milk was given to feed calves and if it spoiled, it was mixed into the hog slop. This was a well-thought-out model of business. The dairy as a money maker was the main hub of the farm operations: (a) it supplied a product to many; (b) it employed local workers; (c) it supplied housing for many workers; (d) it helped to maintain the other aspects of the farm, such as cattle sales/breeding, animals for consumption, land use and conservation.

12 The dairy was a necessary cash-producing part of Nejasco, as the remainder of the farm operations focused on the raising of food and livestock other than the dairy cows was largely intended to supply Coker Hospital with fresh food for its patients. 13 Coker owned the 11F hospital, so he not only supplied his patients with fresh food, but also may have saved some of the expenses of buying it. 9 Bell and Beavers, Buffington and Macedonia, p. 50. 10 Johnston, Cherokee County, p. 99.

11 Photos of Coker with his prize animals at cattle shows and fairs can be found in the Atlanta Constitution, October 5, (with his grand champion Guernsey bull at the Atlanta Metropolitan and Southeast Fair) and the Florida Dairy News, January-February (with a Guernsey cow, the second highest-priced animal sold at the Florida State Guernsey Sale). A search of the word Nejasco at identifies sales of numerous other Nejasco Guernseys in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee. from the mid-1940s through the mid-1950s. 12 Bell and Beavers, Buffington and Macedonia, p. 52. 13 Joan A. Denney, personal communication, December 7, NEJASCO FARMS HABS No. GA-2443 (Page 5) While the dairy was central to Nejasco s success, Nejasco s managers and other key employees were central to the dairy s success.

Some of these men lived in the houses (addressed further below) at and Cumming Highway, which stand immediately across (south of) the road from the dairy. Coker built the frame house at Cumming Highway between and 14 The house s first identified occupants were Coker s 12F brother and sister-in-law, Shault and Helen Coker, who were living there by the mid-1940s. Shault Coker managed the dairy until when the job was taken over by Coker s son Bobby, and son-in-law, Pat Bass. Pat and Peggy Coker Bass lived in the house for about a year, until he moved on to manage another Coker farm and the Denney family moved in. 15 On one of his many cattle show trips in Coker met Woodrow W. Denney an animal husbandman at the University of Georgia Griffin Experiment Station (Figure 3).

In Coker impressed by Denney s strong background of knowledge and experience in the field of dairy and beef cattle hired him to manage and expand the Nejasco farming operations. Denney, his wife, Ruth Austin Denney, and their three children Wilson Jack and Ann (3) moved into Canton initially. Denney s management duties included taking care of the Guernsey and Black Angus herds and overseeing Nejasco s fields of corn, oats, and hay. In he took over management of the dairy as well and, in or moved into the frame house at Cumming Highway. 16 Coker and Denney increased the size of and improved Nejasco s operations. When Denney arrived in all milking was done by hand. In he purchased automatic milking machines.

He also established a network of about 10 farms to bring milk to the dairy for processing and sale. Between and he managed the expansion of the livestock: registered Black Angus rose to between 100 and sheep to between 200 and and hogs to between 200 and Additionally, Coker s registered Guernseys expanded from a small herd, in the mid-1940s, to between 200 and 17 14 County tax records assign a construction date of (Cherokee County Tax Assessor, Real Estate Search for Cumming Hw ). Joan A. Denney (personal communication, November 30, believes it may have been built around 15 Bell and Beavers, Buffington and Macedonia, pp. personal communication with Joan Denney, November 30, 16 Bell and Beavers, Buffington and Macedonia, pp.

Atlanta Constitution, February 22, According to Joan Denney (personal communication, November 30, about 20 families rented the house from Coker and her parents, Woodrow and Ruth Denney, its later owners. Coker originally used it for new doctors moving into the area, she recalls, and later many teachers, coaches and new families to Canton rented it until they were established and able to purchase a home. 17 Bell and Beavers, Buffington and Macedonia, pp. NEJASCO FARMS HABS No. GA-2443 (Page 6) The brick house at Cumming Highway, also known as the Big House, was built ca. 18 Its earliest identified occupants were Bud and Wynelle Perkins Sams and their 16F children. They moved out in when Bud Sams took over management of Coker s Granco farm. 19 In Coker and Denney closed the processing plant.

For about a year, a Pet Milk Company distributer used the dairy building to hold Nejasco s raw milk for processing in Atlanta, closing all dairy operations the following year. Over the course of the next two years, Nejasco sold off its livestock herds and ended all operations. 20 4. Builder: Not known. 5. Original plans and construction: No original plans, descriptions, or construction documents were identified for any of the Nejasco Farms buildings. The farm s primary resource, the Dairy Barn, stands one-story tall and rests on a concrete block foundation. Its plan is best described as T-shaped (Figure 11 through Figure Joan A. Denney daughter of former Nejasco farm manager Woodrow W.

Denney paints a broad picture of the layout and various interior spaces of the Dairy Barn and the many functions they served. As part of her discussion she includes the following account by brother Wilson Denney: There were twenty-four milking areas on each side of the [Dairy] barn allowing forty-eight cows to be milked The milking barn measured 36 x 120 with an attached feed room 18 x 18 . In the middle, it was large enough to drive a car or truck into it. On each side of the road were the individual places for the cows to stand. Ms.

Denney continues to discuss additional functions housed beneath the building s asphalt-covered, cross-gabled roof: The processing plant was located in the same building and was in-between the milking barn and the bottling room 18 County tax records assign the house a construction date of (Cherokee County Tax Assessor, Real Estate Search for Cumming Hw ). 19 Bell and Beavers, Buffington and Macedonia, p. 54. 20 Bell and Beavers, Buffington and Macedonia, p. 65. NEJASCO FARMS HABS No. GA-2443 (Page 7) Connected to the bottling room was the cooler and freezer room. The cooler was about 40 x 40 feet, and the freezer was about 12 x 6 feet. The cooler was accessible both from inside the bottling room and on the outside.

The outside doors to the cooler opened to a loading dock 21 The northern block of the building holds the 12-bay-wide, frame, gabled milking barn. Centrally placed on this block s rear (northern) facade and projecting north is a small, gabled, frame feed room. Centered on the milking barn s primary (southern) facade and projecting south toward SR 20 is a single-story, gabled, frame mass standing six piles deep. This block housed the dairy s processing facilities. The dairy s homogenizing and pasteurizing equipment were in the north end of the block. The south end housed a portion of the equipment necessary for bottling milk.

A nine-bay-wide, concrete-block, flat-roofed block, connected to the southern gable end of the central processing block, forms the building s southern section, closest to the road. The eastern end of the flat-roofed block held bottling equipment in addition to ice cream machines. A small, side-gabled wing constructed of concrete block, attached to the northern portion of the flat-roofed block s east side, served as a freezer/cooler room. The eastern portion of the flat-roofed block held three offices, which included the office of the farm secretary and the farm manager. 22 The Coker-Denney House stands on the south side of SR 20 directly across from the Dairy Barn. It is built of wood-frame construction and clad in modern vinyl siding.

Originally built as an American Small House, it stands one-story tall and is topped by a cross-gabled asphalt- covered roof. The building sits on a continuous brick foundation and is divisible into two principal sections: an original, three-bay, rectangular, front block and a rear ell that spans the width of that block. Standing to the east of the Coker-Denney House is the Ranch residence historically known as the Big House. The mid-century residence stands one-story tall and rests on a continuous brick foundation. The central block of the building stands four-bays wide and features a front-facing gable from which projects a pedimented portico. Both the portico and front- facing gable feature vinyl siding in their gables and cornice returns.

A fifth bay is found on the front facade slightly recessed from the main block of the house. It is also clad in brick. 21 Bell and Beavers, Buffington and Macedonia, p. 22 Joan A. Denney, personal communication, December 7, NEJASCO FARMS HABS No. GA-2443 (Page 8) 6. Alterations and additions: While the building s exterior remains largely intact, all interior elements associated with dairying have been removed and the Dairy Barn s concrete floor repoured. 23 The former processing block has been divided with partition walls to create offices and display space for the pottery studio which most recently occupied the building. It is unclear what, if any, historic alterations were made to the building s footprint.

The footprint of the Coker-Denney House has experienced alterations which include a two-bay front-gabled addition to the building s rear and a modern wood deck which extends from the building s western facade. The footprint of the Big House retains its original rectangular form. B. Historical Context Nejasco Farms principal building is the former dairy. The other buildings were subsidiary to it, even the two houses across Cumming Highway, which were home to the dairy s managers and other supervisors. Dairying was always limited in Georgia. From about until the state s number of dairy cows increased more than fortyfold, from approximately to Commercial success remained elusive, though, in spite of the increased numbers.

The number of dairy cows declined from through the early years of the Great Depression. By the statewide herd size stood at head. The price of dairy cows increased rapidly during World War II, but by the herd size had dropped to Since when the state had dairy farms, the number of farms and dairy cows has declined steadily, although milk production has increased. 24 In the state s largest concentration of dairy farms was in the counties surrounding Atlanta and in northwest Georgia. 25 Mid-century accounts of the industry in these areas and elsewhere in the state were largely positive, but always with some reserve. In its Biennial Report, the Georgia Department of Agriculture wrote Georgia is rapidly developing as a great dairy State.

It continued, though: There is a tremendous amount of 23 The building s interior was partially accessible during field survey in July Access to the building s interior was not made available when HABS photographs were taken in September 24 Brown and Ely, Dairy Industry. 25 Brown and Ely, Dairy Industry. The Digital Library of Georgia and Georgia Archives Virtual Vault include images of a few of these dairy operations from the period: a concrete-block barn photographed in in Lamar County, about 60 miles south of Atlanta frame barns photographed at Atlanta s Brownlee and Lively Dairy in and and concrete-block and frame barns photographed in Rockdale County about 25 miles east of Atlanta in NEJASCO FARMS HABS No. GA-2443 (Page 9) work required in Georgia to develop a real dairy State.

26 As part of a series of articles, Atlanta Constitution editor Ralph McGill drove through and reported on, many Georgia counties during In his Report from the Country of July 8, he wrote of the efforts of farmers to establish dairy farms in southern Fulton County: Middle Georgia is becoming very rapidly a dairy section. The change is slow, but it is gaining speed. It has not progressed as fast as in Alabama or Mississippi. But it is being accelerated. 27 The Atlanta Constitution carried auction notices in the late for only a small number of dairy farms within its readership area, none of which were in Cherokee County. 28 The historical information on Cherokee County dairy farms is limited.

In the value of the county s dairy products barely exceeded 29 The Cherokee Farm Products Corporation, renamed Etowah Maid Dairy, which opened in Canton in the late may have accounted for much of this. Albert and Bernese Haynes Cagle established Cagle s Dairy in the Hickory Flat community, about five miles south of Nejasco, in It began processing milk in when the Cagles and four other dairy operations purchased the Etowah Maid Dairy processing facility. The dairy operated first in Canton and later in Hickory Flat until 30 Cherokee County no longer has an operating dairy. Part II. Architectural Information A. General Statement 1.

Architectural character: The Nejasco Farms Dairy Barn is a frame and concrete-block, one-story, mid-twentieth-century dairy barn arranged in what is best described as a T-shaped plan. The rear, gable-end block of the building, which spans east to west, functioned as the milking barn, with the capacity of up to 48 cows for milking, feeding, and watering. Abutting the center of the dairy barn is a southerly projecting, rectangular, front-gabled block which held the processing equipment and a portion of the bottling operations. The nine-bay, concrete-block, flat-roofed block abutting the south end of the processing plant housed the remaining elements required for bottling, in addition to ice cream making equipment. In sum, 26 Georgia Department of Agriculture, Biennial Report, pp.

27 McGill, Atlanta Constitution, July 9, 28 See, for example, Atlanta Constitution auction notices of: October 27, (88-acre dairy farm in Covington, Newton County with a walk-in cooler and 20-cow stanchion barn ); November 17, (80-acre dairy farm south of College Park in Fulton County with a dairy refrigerator and 30-cow stanchion barn ; and January 2, acre dairy farm near Monticello, Jasper County with a 4-unit milking machine, 12-can electric ice box, and 44 stanchion concrete dairy barn. 29 Georgia Public Forums, Statistical Survey. 30 Johnston, Cherokee County, Georgia, Atlanta Constitution, July 31, and November 30, Patch, August 17, NEJASCO FARMS HABS No.

GA-2443 (Page 10) this singular building housed all of the functions essential to the operation of an all-inclusive, mid-twentieth-century dairy operation. 2. Condition of fabric: Despite dairy operations ceasing in the late the Dairy Barn stands in good condition. B. Description of Exterior 1. Overall dimensions: The main mass of the building at the north, which functioned as the milking barn, is rectangular in form and spans approximately 120 -0 x 36 -0 . The square feed room projecting from this block s north side is approximately 20 -0 x 21 0 . The north- to-south-running processing plant block is approximately 36 -0 x 50 -0 . The flat-roofed bottling and office block at the south spans approximately 50 -0 x 20 -0 .

Two small freezer/cooler blocks that extend east from the building s eastern fa ade measure roughly 18 -0 x 16 -0 and 10 -0 x 11 -0 . 31 2. Foundations: All sections of the barn appear to rest on continuous concrete-block foundations. 3. Walls: The frame sections of the building (milking block and processing block) are clad in asbestos shingles. The bottling room/office wing is painted concrete block. 4. Structural system, framing: The building s structural system was not available for inspection. However, the depth of walls indicate that the milking and processing blocks are of frame construction and the bottling/office block is constructed of concrete block. 5. Porches, stoops, balconies, porticoes, bulkheads: A shed-roof porch projects from the eastern facade of the processing plant.

The appendage is topped by standing-seam-metal and supported by plain wooden posts. The raised porch floor is poured concrete. The porch historically housed a large ice machine used in ice cream making. 32 A small concrete stoop extends from the eastern fa ade of the office/bottling block. This stoop, accessible by south-facing concrete stairs, is edged by a plain wooden handrail. The stoop leads to the farm office door. 6. Chimneys: The Dairy Barn does not have any chimneys. 31 Cherokee County Tax Assessor, Real Estate Search for Cumming Hw. 32 Joan A. Denney, personal communication, December 7, NEJASCO FARMS HABS No. GA-2443 (Page 11) 7. Openings a. Doorways and doors: Given its many functions, multiple doors of varying types and sizes are found on the Dairy Barn.

Beginning with the building s rear block, the milking barn is accessible by two large, wood, paneled garage doors, one found at both the east and west fa ades. The doors design features two rows of four, square wood panels at the bottom, topped by a row of square fixed lights, topped by another row of four, square wood panels. The doors open via a roller-track and served as the entrance/exit for cows into the milking barn. The flow of cow traffic through the barn was from west to east. Three doorways are found beneath the shed-roofed porch on the western fa ade of the processing block. The center doorway holds a wood-frame door with 15-fixed lights. The door features a simple wooden surround and appears to be original or an early replacement.

The doors located to the left and right are both modern metal or fiberglass replacements. A fourth doorway is found on the western fa ade, on the west end of the flat-roofed office/bottling block. Accessible via concrete stairs and stoop, its wood-paneled door has no surround, but appears original. It rests beneath an asphalt-clad, shed-roofed awning supported by wooden triangular kneebraces. Two additional doors are found on the building s eastern fa ade. The first of these is a wood door featuring horizontal panels and strap hinges. This door leads to the freezer/cooler room and is accessed via a small wooden loading dock. The second door is found just north of the freezer/cooler door, near the juncture of the processing plant and the milking barn.

This doorway holds a pair of double wood doors composed of diagonal wood slats. Their placement a few feet off the ground suggests their use as a truck loading bay. b. Windows and shutters: Twelve original, nine-light, fixed, wood-frame windows punctuate the northern and southern facades of the milking barn block. Fixed wood shutters were added sometime during the late twentieth century. 33 A single window of the same style is centered on each of the three facades of the feed room block at the building s north rear. Two windows of the same type are also found on the western facade of the processing plant block. An additional three-over-three, double- hung, wood-sash window marks the west-facing facade of the processing plant, near its south end. 33 Joan A.

Denney, personal communication, December 7, NEJASCO FARMS HABS No. GA-2443 (Page 12) Six unevenly spaced window openings pierce the southern facade of the office/bottling block. Each opening holds a set of paired, four-light, metal casement windows topped by a two-light metal transom. Three windows of the same style are also found on the western facade of the office/bottling block, one to the right of the doorway and two to the left. 8. Roof a. Shape, covering: A cross-gabled roof clad in asphalt shingles tops the milking, processing, and feed room blocks of the barn. The office/bottling block is topped by a flat roof with unknown cladding material. b. Cornice, eaves: The roof covering the frame portion of the Dairy Barn features an unadorned cornice with deep set eaves.

A band of dentil molding encircles the perimeter of the building s flat-roofed wing, above which rests modern gutters. c. Dormers, cupolas, towers: Two large, round, metal barn vents sit atop the ridgeline of the milking block, one centered on each of its eastern and western ends. A modern furnace stack is visible on the western slope of the processing plant roof. C. Description of Interior 34 1. Floor plans: The building is roughly T-shaped. The rectangular rear block spanning east to west holds the milking barn. Twenty-four milking stalls spanned both the northern and southern interior walls of the building. Projecting north from the center of the milking barn is the small square feed room. Abutting the center of the milking barn and extending south is the front-gabled processing plant.

Rectangular in shape, this space held much of the barn s processing equipment. This space was subsequently divided into smaller rooms by modern partition walls. The nine-bay, flat-roofed, concrete wing abutting the south end of the processing plant housed the remaining elements required for bottling, in addition to equipment necessary for ice cream making. 2. Stairways: The Dairy Barn is one story and does not have any stairways. 34 The building s interior was partially accessible during field survey in July This abbreviated description of the interior is based upon limited observations made during the survey. The MOA that led to the preparation of this document did not require interior access or descriptions. NEJASCO FARMS HABS No. GA-2443 (Page 13) 3.

Flooring: The floor of the Dairy Barn s rear milking block is concrete. Since the closure of dairy operations in the the floor was repoured, covering all drains and other features typically found in a dairy barn floor (Figure 14 through Figure 4. Wall and ceiling finish: The ceiling of the milking room is drywall, which was likely added during the building s post-dairy years. 5. Openings a. Doorways and doors: No historic interior doors were identified. b. Windows: The interior windows viewed within the milking barn retain their original simple wood surrounds and sills. The window openings continue to hold historic, fixed, nine-light, divided windows in their wood frames. 6. Decorative features and trim: No trim or decorative features were identified inside the interior of the Dairy Barn.

7. Hardware: No notable hardware was identified within the interior. 8. Mechanical equipment: No notable lighting fixtures, plumbing systems, heating, air conditioning, or ventilation equipment was identified within the interior. All stanchions, milking, feeding and watering, processing, bottling, cooling, and other equipment appears to have been removed. 9. Original furnishings: No original furnishings were identified inside the Dairy Barn. D. Site 1. Historic landscape design: Nejasco Farms was one of the few mid-twentieth-century dairy farms in Cherokee County (Figure 6 through Figure 9). Its dairy barn was constructed in the early and served as the flagship of farm operations. Despite the cessation of dairying in the the farm s spatial organization is much the same as when it opened.

At its inception, Nejasco s roughly acres fell on both sides of the Cumming Highway. The majority of the farm s land, including pastureland for the dairy cattle, was on the road s south side. The dairy operations were on the north. The division prompted the need for a tunnel, providing the cattle with safe passage from one side of the road to the other. 35 (Expansions of and improvements to the highway have removed all physical evidence of the tunnel, which ceased being active around 35 Bell and Beavers, Buffington and Macedonia, p. 50. NEJASCO FARMS HABS No. GA-2443 (Page 14) Growth in dairy production necessitated the need for more farm hands.

As a result, Coker had multiple employee residences erected on the farm during the The two extant houses on the south side of the highway were built for farm managers and their families. A aerial depicts dozens of buildings within close proximity to the Dairy Barn. 36 This included employee housing and supporting agricultural buildings such as the Red Barn, which was situated directly north of the Dairy Barn until its disappearance from the landscape in the mid-2000s. This large building served as the dairy s calving barn. Many of the farm s buildings were abandoned following the closure of the dairy and have gradually disappeared from the landscape over time. 37 2.

Outbuildings Silo: The Silo, which was added to the Nejasco landscape prior to stands just a few yards off the northwest corner of the Dairy Barn (Figure The structure rests on a concrete foundation and rises above the barn s roofline. It is clad entirely in metal panels and its metal chute on its south remains intact. Historically holding corn for the dairy cows, the silo is now vacant and obsolete. Hay Barn: Currently utilized for hay storage, this mid-twentieth-century barn sits at the top of a hill roughly 50 yards northeast of the Dairy Barn (Figure It was constructed between and 38 The front-gabled building is rectangular in 36F plan and of frame construction. It is clad in a variety of materials including standing- seam-metal, corrugated metal, and vertical wood siding.

Oriented to the south, the barn features two large open bays at its facade which are divided by a wooden post. Well House: The mid-twentieth-century Well House sits approximately 60 yards east of the Dairy Barn on the east side of a gravel drive leading from SR 20 to the Hay Barn (Figure It is of brick construction and roughly square in plan. The small building s front-gabled roof is topped with standing-seam-metal and features wide, overhanging eaves. An opening centrally placed on the building s southern facade holds the remnants of a door composed of vertical wood boards. A rectangular wood- slat vent rests above in the building s gable, which is clad in horizontal wood boards.

According to a historic aerial, the Well House once stood amidst a much larger cluster of buildings which have subsequently disappeared from the landscape. 36 Netronline aerial. 37 Joan A. Denney, personal communication, December 7, 38 Netronline aerial. NEJASCO FARMS HABS No. GA-2443 (Page 15) The Coker-Denney House: Built between and the Coker-Denney House stands on the south side of SR 20 directly across from the Dairy Barn and was one of the first residences constructed on the farm (Figure It historically served as home to the farm s managers, which included Shault Coker and Woodrow Denney. The house is currently owned by Woodrow Denney s daughter, Joan A. Denney.

Built of frame and clad in modern vinyl siding, the Coker-Denney House stands one- story tall and is topped by a cross-gabled asphalt-covered roof. The building was originally constructed as an American Small House, but due subsequent alterations to the building s footprint (see below) it no longer represents this building type. The residence sits on a continuous brick foundation and is divisible into two principal sections: an original, three-bay, rectangular, front block and a rear ell that spans the width of that block. A brick chimney stack rises from the northern roof slope of the front block. A second shouldered brick chimney stack on the front block s western exterior end has been partially obscured by a one-room frame addition.

The primary entrance to the building is centered on the front (north) facade. A centrally placed doorway rests beneath a front-gabled portico, which is supported by turned wooden posts and rests on a concrete slab. Its gable is clad in modern vinyl siding and features cornice returns. It is approached by a concrete stair. The doorway holds a wood door with vertical wood panels below and four divided lights above. A simple wood surround encircles the door. A set of paired, six-over-six, double-hung, wood-sash windows with vinyl surrounds flank either side of the doorway. These windows are framed by modern fixed shutters.

Two windows of the same style are symmetrically placed on the eastern facade of both the main block and rear ell, although those windows on the rear ell have slightly smaller window surrounds. A small, two-bay-wide, front-gabled addition extends from the south (rear) facade of the rear ell. A modern wood deck extends between the western facade of this addition and the rear of the ell. Shed: Standing a few yards to its southwest, the frame shed is believed to be contemporary with the Coker-Denney House (Figure Modest in its design, the frame building is rectangular in form and topped with a front-gabled asphalt-shingle roof with deep eaves. The building is clad in modern vinyl siding.

The building s singular doorway is placed off-center on its southern facade and holds remnants of a wood door. Paired, six-over-six, double-hung, wood-sash windows are found on the building s eastern and western facades. The northern facade is void of any openings. A ca. photograph suggests this building may have been erected as a garage NEJASCO FARMS HABS No. GA-2443 (Page 16) (Figure 4). 39 The building s proportions, proximity to the house, placement at the end of the building s associated driveway, and orientation to the road lend further support to this assertion. The Big House : Historically known as the Big House, the Ranch residence stands to the east of the Coker-Denney House at Cumming Highway and is clad in a running-bond brick veneer (Figure The residence was built ca.

and has housed a number of Nejasco employees and their families, including the house s first residents, the Sams family. The mid-century residence stands one-story tall and rests on a continuous brick foundation which is punctuated by metal vents at its base. The house is topped with an asphalt-clad hipped-roof and displays deep eaves. A brick chimney rises from the northern roof slope. The central block of the building stands four-bays wide and features a front-facing gable from which projects a pedimented portico. Both the portico and front-facing gable feature vinyl siding in their gables and cornice returns. The portico, which rests on a brick stoop and is supported by Tuscan columns, shelters the building s primary entrance.

The off-centered doorway holds a wood door unadorned save for a rectangular light at its top. Flanking either side of the doorway are fluted pilasters. To the left (east) of the door is a wood-frame tripartite window. Its central window is composed of four, fixed, horizontal four-light windows and is flanked on either side by two-over-two, double-hung, wood-sash windows. Paired two-over-two, double-hung, wood-sash windows occupy the front facade s first bay and a single window of the same style composes the facade s fourth bay. A fifth bay is found on the front facade slightly recessed from the main block of the house. A large, boxy, brick, exterior-end chimney rises from the western end of this recessed block.

Like the main block of the house, the recessed block is clad in brick and holds a two-over-two, double-hung, wood-sash window at its front. Two windows of the same style are also found on the building s eastern facade, and two smaller windows of the same style mark the house s western facade on either side of the chimney. A secondary door on the eastern facade of the recessed block is covered by a wood, shed-roofed dormer supported by wooden kneebraces. The southern (rear) facade of the house features a ribbon window which spans from west to east and encompasses well over half of the building s rear. A small, two-over- 39 Bell and Beavers, Buffington and Macedonia, p. 50. NEJASCO FARMS HABS No.

GA-2443 (Page 17) two, double hung, wood-sash window is found on the eastern end of the rear facade. Two ground-level openings hold wood doors and presumably provide access to crawlspaces. Part III. Sources of Information A. Selected Sources Atlanta Constitution, Dr. Grady N. Coker Doctors New Head, May 15, Cattle Judging Ends at Fair, October 5, Beef or Dairy Farm auction notice, October 27, Grade-A Dairy Farm auction notice, November 17, Monticello, Georgia dairy farm auction notice, January 2, Canton Services Today for Dr. Grady N. Coker, February 25, Successful Cagle Family Farm Among Last of a Dying Breed, November 30, Woodrow Denney, Community Booster, obituary, February 22, Bell, and Marcus L. Beavers, eds. Buffington and Macedonia in Days Gone By, Cherokee County, Georgia.

Cherokee County Historical Society. Brown, Melissa, and Lane O. Ely. Dairy Industry in New Georgia Encyclopedia, Accessed December at Bullock, W. P. Cherokee County, Georgia map. Athens, GA: Cherokee Map Company, Accessed December at Cherokee County Tax Assessor. Real Estate Search for Cumming Hw. Accessed December at Real Estate Search for Cumming Hw. Accessed December at NEJASCO FARMS HABS No. GA-2443 (Page 18) Real Estate Search for Cumming Hw. Accessed December at Real Estate Search for Cumming Hw. Accessed December at Denney, Joan A. Personal communications with Ms. Denney, a daughter of Woodrow and Ruth Denney, who grew up at Nejasco Farms. November 30, (email exchange) and December 7, (phone conversation).

Edwards-Pitman Environmental, Inc., Historic Resources Survey Report: GDOT Projects and Cherokee and Forsyth Counties (P.I. Nos. HP No. Prepared for Georgia Department of Transportation. Copy on file at GDOT Office of Environmental Services, Atlanta. Florida Dairy News, Guernsey News, January-February (volume 4, number 1). Accessed December at Gannon, Arthur. Georgia s Broiler Industry. The Georgia Review VI, no. 3 (Fall Georgia Department of Natural Resources. Georgia Department of Natural Resources. The American Small House. Accessed April at Georgia s Living Places: Historic Houses in Their Landscaped Settings. Atlanta: Historic Preservation Section, Division of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Sites, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Georgia Public Forums.

Statistical Survey of the Counties of the State of Georgia, Accessed December at Georgia State Department of Agriculture. Biennial Report, July 1, June 30, Accessed December at Johnston, Rebecca. Cherokee County, Georgia, a History. Cherokee County Historical Society. Marlin, Lloyd, G. The History of Cherokee County, Georgia. Atlanta, Walter W. Brown Publishing. NEJASCO FARMS HABS No. GA-2443 (Page 19) McGill, Ralph. Report from the Country: Dairy Progress in South Fulton, in Atlanta Constitution, July 8, Messick, Denise P., Joseph, and Natalie P. Adams. Tilling the Earth: Georgia s Historic Agricultural Heritage- A Context. Electronic resource accessed August and available at Netronline. Historic Aerials: Cherokee County. Electronic resource accessed September at New South Associates.

The Ranch House in Georgia: Guidelines for Evaluation. Electronic resource accessed April at Patch. Cagle's Family Farm To Leave Hickory Flat, August 17, Accessed December at NEJASCO FARMS HABS No. GA-2443 (Page 20) Part IV. Supplemental Material Figure 1: Detail view of Nejasco Farms Location Map. NEJASCO FARMS HABS No. GA-2443 (Page 21) Figure 2: Nejasco Farms Site Map. NEJASCO FARMS HABS No. GA-2443 (Page 22) Figure 3. Woodrow W. Denney, left, and Dr. Grady N. Coker, right, at Guernsey sale in Clearwater, Florida in Joseph O. Garrett, center, was the pilot of Coker s four-seat airplane, upon which the Nejasco Farms name is painted. (Image courtesy of the Cherokee County Historical Society) NEJASCO FARMS HABS No. GA-2443 (Page 23) Figure 4. Looking north at Nejasco Farms, ca.

buildings labeled at annotated lower image still stand; others, including Nejasco s red barn at far right, are no longer extant. (Images courtesy of the Cherokee County Historical Society) NEJASCO FARMS HABS No. GA-2443 (Page 24) Figure 5: Northeast portion of Dr. Coker s Nejasco Farm plat map, December 14, T- shaped building is dairy, rectangle to its north (rear) is no-longer-extant red barn, and boxes to south on opposite side of road are houses at (left) and (right) Cumming Highway. (Source: Cherokee County Plat Book 1/Page NEJASCO FARMS HABS No. GA-2443 (Page 25) Figure 6: Context view looking from the Hay Barn toward SR 20. View looking south. (Photograph by Sarah Potere, July NEJASCO FARMS HABS No.

GA-2443 (Page 26) Figure 7: Context view of paddock and open field to the east of the Big House. View looking southeast. (Photograph by Sarah Potere, July NEJASCO FARMS HABS No. GA-2443 (Page 27) Figure 8: Context view of paddock and open field to the east of the Big House. View looking southwest. (Photograph by Sarah Potere, July NEJASCO FARMS HABS No. GA-2443 (Page 28) Figure 9: Context view from SR 20 looking toward Dairy Barn. View looking west. (Photograph by Sarah Potere, July NEJASCO FARMS HABS No. GA-2443 (Page 29) Figure 10: The Dairy Barn in context with the Coker-Denney House and the Big House, as well as a modern barn (far left), from the Well House. View looking southwest. (Photograph by Rob Tucher, September NEJASCO FARMS HABS No.

GA-2443 (Page 30) Figure 11: The Dairy Barn in context with Cumming Highway, from the front stoop of the Coker- Denney House. View looking north. (Photograph by Rob Tucher, September NEJASCO FARMS HABS No. GA-2443 (Page 31) Figure 12: Oblique view of the Dairy Barn, west and south facades. View looking northwest. (Photograph by Rob Tucher, September NEJASCO FARMS HABS No. GA-2443 (Page 32) Figure 13: Oblique view of the Dairy Barn, east and north facades. View looking southwest. (Photograph by Rob Tucher, September NEJASCO FARMS HABS No. GA-2443 (Page 33) Figure 14: Interior view of the Dairy Barn milking barn. View looking northwest. (Photograph by Sarah Potere, July NEJASCO FARMS HABS No. GA-2443 (Page 34) Figure 15: Interior view of the Dairy Barn milking barn. View looking northeast.

(Photograph by Sarah Potere, July NEJASCO FARMS HABS No. GA-2443 (Page 35) Figure 16: Interior view of the Dairy Barn milking barn. View looking southeast. (Photograph by Sarah Potere, July NEJASCO FARMS HABS No. GA-2443 (Page 36) Figure 17: Interior view of the Dairy Barn milking barn. View looking south. (Photograph by Sarah Potere, July NEJASCO FARMS HABS No. GA-2443 (Page 37) Figure 18:The Big House, north (front) facade. View looking south. (Photograph by Rob Tucher, September NEJASCO FARMS HABS No. GA-2443 (Page 38) Figure 19: The Coker-Denney House, north (front) facade. View looking south. (Photograph by Rob Tucher, September NEJASCO FARMS HABS No. GA-2443 (Page 39) Figure 20: Coker-Denney Shed. View looking southeast. (Photograph by Rob Tucher, September NEJASCO FARMS HABS No.

GA-2443 (Page 40) Figure 21: The Silo at the western end of the Dairy Barn. View looking north. (Photograph by Rob Tucher, September NEJASCO FARMS HABS No. GA-2443 (Page 41) Figure 22: Oblique view of the Well House, south (front) and east facades. View looking northwest. (Photograph by Rob Tucher, September NEJASCO FARMS HABS No. GA-2443 (Page 42) Figure 23: Oblique view of the Hay Barn, south (front) and east facades. View looking northwest. (Photograph by Rob Tucher, September NEJASCO FARMS HABS No. GA-2443 (Page 43) Recommendation and Assessment of Eligibility 40 National Register Recommendation: The property is considered Eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places. National Register Criteria and Level of