Bowman-Pirkle House
The Bowman-Pirkle House is a two-story log home built in 1818 near Buford that features a simple plantation style with original hand-hewn logs now covered by weatherboard siding. A double porch with square posts runs along two sides, and the structure includes scalloped wood trim, interior mantels with different styles, and a rear addition from around 1870.
Built in 1818 by John Bowman, who arrived as a volunteer under General Andrew Jackson and befriended Cherokee Chief Major Ridge, the house later passed to Noah Pirkle after Bowman's death in 1890. Pirkle had served in the Confederate Army, and the property remained in the family for decades afterward.
The name reflects two families, the Bowmans and Pirkles, who shaped the property over generations and became part of the local community. The double porch design shows how early settlers used outdoor space for work and gathering with neighbors and visitors.
The house is privately owned and not open to the public on a regular basis, though it is visible from nearby Friendship Road near Buford. Those interested in early regional architecture can view it from the road and appreciate its structure from the outside.
John Bowman learned herbal medicine from Cherokee Indians and treated both Native American and white patients at the house, making it an early medical practice center. This unusual exchange of knowledge between settlers and Cherokee healers reveals a rare collaboration during a time of major territorial change.
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