Roswell’s three historic house museums cost nothing to enter, and that is easy to miss, because older listings online show other days and hours. The City of Roswell owns and runs all three houses and gives one schedule for them on its Historic House Museums page. Here it is as of Oct. 18, 2026, with the two places where the official sources disagree.
- The City says Barrington Hall, Bulloch Hall and Archibald Smith Plantation are owned and operated by the City of Roswell, and admission to all three is free. City of Roswell: Historic House Museums
- The City lists the same museum hours for all three houses: Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Sunday 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., closed Monday through Thursday. Grounds are open daily from sunrise to sunset. The same page also says the museums are closed Mondays through Wednesdays. City of Roswell: Historic House Museums
- The City recommends starting a museum visit by 3:15 p.m. because buildings close at 4 p.m., and suggests 60 to 90 minutes per site. Guided group tours are by appointment at $10 a person with a 10-person minimum. City of Roswell: Historic House Museums
When are the houses open?
- Friday: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Saturday: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Sunday: 1 to 4 p.m.
- Grounds: daily, sunrise to sunset.
- Admission: free at all three houses.
The City suggests starting a visit by 3:15 p.m., because the buildings close at 4, and allowing 60 to 90 minutes per site. Guided group tours are by appointment at $10 a person, with a 10-person minimum.
Is Thursday open or closed?
The City’s page says two things. Its hours block says the museums are closed Monday through Thursday. Its closures tab says closed Mondays through Wednesdays. If Thursday is your one free day, call the house before you go: Barrington Hall is (770) 640-3855 and Bulloch Hall is (770) 992-1731. We plan around Friday to Sunday.
What is going on at Smith Plantation?
This is the bigger conflict. Visit Roswell’s home tours page says Archibald Smith Plantation is closed until further notice for repairs, with the grounds open. The City’s museum page still lists the regular Friday to Sunday hours for it. We cannot tell you which is current. Call (770) 992-1731 before you go. The City lists that number for both Smith Plantation and Bulloch Hall, so you may reach Bulloch Hall staff.
- Visit Roswell's home tours page says Smith Plantation is closed until further notice for repairs, with the grounds open. The City's museum page lists regular hours for it. Check with the City before going. Visit Roswell (Roswell CVB): Historic Home Tours
What will I see at each house?
Bulloch Hall
The City lists Bulloch Hall at 180 Bulloch Drive; the National Register record and the Christkindlmarket organizer write Bulloch Avenue. The National Register record, NRIS 71000276, gives Greek Revival style, architect Willis Ball and a significant year of 1840. Mittie Bulloch grew up here, and the New Georgia Encyclopedia says she married Theodore Roosevelt Sr. in the house in 1853. Their son became President Theodore Roosevelt. Visit Roswell says the wedding was at Christmas time. The reconstructed service grounds include slave cabins and a carriage house, and one cabin holds exhibits on the role of African Americans in Roswell’s history.
Barrington Hall
Barrington Hall, 535 Barrington Drive, was built in 1842 by Barrington King, son of Roswell King, according to a New Georgia Encyclopedia caption. Visit Roswell says it stands on the highest point overlooking the town, with a smokehouse, ice house, barn and two wells on the grounds.
Archibald Smith Plantation
Smith Plantation is at 935 Alpharetta Street. Visit Roswell says Archibald Smith came to Roswell in 1845 with his wife, children and thirty enslaved people and built a home on a plantation of more than 300 acres. His descendants sold the home to the City of Roswell in 1986. The outbuildings include slave quarters and a spring house. If the house is closed, Visit Roswell says the grounds are still open.
- In 1853 Martha "Mittie" Bulloch and Theodore Roosevelt Sr., the parents of President Theodore Roosevelt, were married at Bulloch Hall, Mittie's childhood home in Roswell (New Georgia Encyclopedia). New Georgia Encyclopedia: Roswell (last modified Sep 4, 2019)
- Bulloch Hall is listed on the National Register as NRIS 71000276. The NPGallery record gives the date 5/27/1971, Greek Revival style, architect Willis Ball and significant year 1840. NPS NPGallery: Bulloch Hall, NRIS 71000276
- A New Georgia Encyclopedia photo caption says Barrington Hall was built in 1842 by Barrington King and is on the National Register of Historic Places. New Georgia Encyclopedia: Roswell (last modified Sep 4, 2019)
- Visit Roswell says Archibald Smith came to Roswell in 1845 with his wife, children and thirty enslaved people, built a home on a plantation of more than 300 acres, and that his descendants sold the home to the City of Roswell in 1986. Visit Roswell (Roswell CVB): Historic Home Tours
Can I see all three in one day?
On a Friday or Saturday, the five open hours and the City’s 60 to 90 minutes per house make three houses possible if you keep moving. Sunday’s three hours fit two. Bulloch Hall and Barrington Hall are close: about 310 meters apart in a straight line between the map points in our places data, with Barrington Hall about 265 meters from the Town Square. Smith Plantation is farther north on Alpharetta Street, roughly 1.3 kilometers from Bulloch Hall in a straight line and about 220 meters from Heart of Roswell Park on Canton Street.
A workable Saturday: Smith Plantation at 11 a.m. if it is open, lunch on Canton Street, then Barrington Hall and Bulloch Hall in the afternoon, starting the last one by 3:15. The day planner builds an order like this for you, the restaurant guide has Canton Street hours, and our parking page covers where to leave the car.
Which dates should I check before going?
The City’s schedule has the houses open every Friday, Saturday and Sunday, which makes 31 open days from Oct. 18 to the end of 2026. It has not listed holiday closures. These dates fall on open days, so call ahead:
- Fri., Nov. 27, 2026: Day after Thanksgiving. The City has not listed a closure; check before you go.
- Fri., Dec. 25, 2026: Christmas Day falls on a Friday. The City has not listed a closure; check before you go.
- Sat., Dec. 26, 2026: Saturday after Christmas. The City has not listed a closure; check before you go.
Two dated events bring people to the houses. The City’s History Seek walking tour on Sat., Nov. 7 ends with a look inside one house; it costs $12 and registration closes Nov. 6. The Roswell Christkindlmarket sets up on the front lawn of Bulloch Hall, though its organizer has not confirmed 2026 dates; see our Christmas in Roswell guide.
Our historic homes page has a date checker that tells you whether the houses are open on any day. The history page covers the founding families, and our story of the 1864 mill workers covers the mill.
History Seek Saturdays: Walking Tour of Roswell's Historic District
Organiser date for 2026A guided walk of about 1.5 hours from the town square down Mimosa Blvd. and Bulloch Ave., covering Roswell King's planned mill town, the Presbyterian church and planters' homes, ending with a look inside one house. Register in advance.
Sat., Nov. 7, 2026 on Roswell365; registration deadline Nov. 6.
Add to calendar: Google Apple / Outlook (.ics)
$12, advance purchase Source: Roswell365: History Seek Saturdays walking tour, checked 2026-10-18
Roswell Christkindlmarket
The organiser's home page says "November 20th to December 23rd" with no year, and the same page also says "Open from November 21 through December 23" and shows an old 2024 date block. Treat 2026 dates as not yet confirmed.A German-style Christmas market with holiday vendors, a biergarten and photos with Santa, produced by Munich Event Group with the City of Roswell. Free entry. A free shuttle runs Fridays to Sundays from City Hall and Mimosa Blvd. church lots.
Free entry Source: Roswell Christkindlmarket (organiser site), checked 2026-10-18
House museum questions
What county is Roswell in?
Roswell is in Fulton County. The New Georgia Encyclopedia says the town was originally part of Cobb County and was annexed to Fulton County in 1932. The 2020 Census counted 1,066,710 people in Fulton County as a whole and 92,833 in the city of Roswell.
Source: New Georgia Encyclopedia: Roswell (last modified Sep 4, 2019)
Who founded Roswell, Georgia?
The New Georgia Encyclopedia says Roswell King came to the Cherokee gold country after 1828 and saw waterpower potential where Vickery (Big) Creek meets the Chattahoochee. In the mid-1830s he and his sons Barrington and Ralph built a textile mill complex, incorporated in 1839 as the Roswell Manufacturing Company. The town, named for him, was incorporated in 1854, ten years after his death.
Source: New Georgia Encyclopedia: Roswell (last modified Sep 4, 2019)
When was Roswell incorporated?
The New Georgia Encyclopedia says the town of Roswell was incorporated in 1854. The mill company came first: the Roswell Manufacturing Company was incorporated in 1839, in what was then Cobb County. Roswell King died in 1844, so he did not see the town named for him become official.
Source: New Georgia Encyclopedia: Roswell (last modified Sep 4, 2019)
What happened to the Roswell mills in the Civil War?
Visit Roswell's timeline says Union troops reached Roswell from Marietta on July 5, 1864, and destroyed the Roswell Manufacturing Company on July 6. The New Georgia Encyclopedia says Sherman approved destroying the mills. After the war one cotton mill and the woolen factory were rebuilt, and a second cotton mill went up in 1882.
What happened to the Roswell mill workers in 1864?
The New Georgia Encyclopedia says more than 400 mill workers, mostly women, were charged with treason and sent north with their children. They went by wagon to Marietta and then by train toward Louisville, Kentucky, and many were sent on to Indiana. Visit Roswell says they were held overnight on the town square, and a monument to them stands in the park on Sloan Street.
Source: New Georgia Encyclopedia: Roswell (last modified Sep 4, 2019)
Can you see the old Roswell mill ruins?
Yes. Visit Roswell says the ruins of the Roswell Manufacturing Company mills lie along the Old Mill Trail on Vickery Creek, near a 30-foot dam and millrace. An interpretive trail beside the Machine Shop at Old Mill Park, 95 Mill Street, leads to the ruins and the waterfall. The National Park Service also protects the Ivy Mill ruins near the mouth of Big Creek.
What is Roswell Gray?
The National Park Service says the Ivy Mill, part of the Roswell Mill group on Big Creek, made cotton and wool, including a blend known as Roswell Gray that was used to make Confederate uniforms during the Civil War. The Ivy Mill ruins stand near the mouth of Big Creek in the Vickery Creek Unit of the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area.
Is downtown Roswell on the National Register of Historic Places?
Yes. The Roswell Historic District is listed as NRIS 74000682. The National Park Service's NPGallery record gives the date as May 2, 1974, and describes the area as roughly bounded by Big Creek, King and Dam Streets, and southwest along New Marietta Highway. Bulloch Hall has its own listing, NRIS 71000276, dated May 27, 1971.
Source: NPS NPGallery: Roswell Historic District, NRIS 74000682
Which historic houses can I tour in Roswell?
The City owns and runs three house museums: Barrington Hall at 535 Barrington Drive, Bulloch Hall at 180 Bulloch Drive and Archibald Smith Plantation at 935 Alpharetta Street. Admission is free. The City lists hours of Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday 1 to 4 p.m. Visit Roswell says Smith Plantation is closed for repairs, so check first.
Is Bulloch Hall free, and when is it open?
The City says admission to Bulloch Hall is free. Museum hours are Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday 1 to 4 p.m., and the grounds are open daily from sunrise to sunset. The City suggests arriving by 3:15 p.m. because buildings close at 4 p.m. Its page also says closed Monday through Wednesday in one place, so check closures.
What is the Theodore Roosevelt connection to Roswell?
Bulloch Hall was the childhood home of Martha "Mittie" Bulloch. The New Georgia Encyclopedia says she married Theodore Roosevelt Sr. there in 1853; their son became President Theodore Roosevelt. Visit Roswell says the wedding was at Christmas time and that the president later visited the town square and his mother's childhood home.
Source: New Georgia Encyclopedia: Roswell (last modified Sep 4, 2019)
Who built Barrington Hall?
A New Georgia Encyclopedia caption says Barrington King, son of Roswell King, built Barrington Hall in 1842, and that it is on the National Register. Visit Roswell says the house stands on the highest point overlooking the town, with a smokehouse, ice house, barn and two wells on the grounds. The City runs it as a free house museum.
Source: New Georgia Encyclopedia: Roswell (last modified Sep 4, 2019)
What is the Archibald Smith Plantation?
Visit Roswell says Archibald Smith moved to Roswell in 1845 with his wife, children and thirty enslaved people and built a home on a plantation of more than 300 acres. His descendants sold the home to the City in 1986. The City lists it at 935 Alpharetta Street; Visit Roswell currently says the house is closed for repairs while the grounds stay open.
What is the oldest public building in Roswell?
Visit Roswell says the historic sanctuary of Roswell Presbyterian Church, 755 Mimosa Boulevard, was built in 1840 and calls it the oldest public building in Roswell. It also says the church served as a hospital for Union soldiers during the Civil War. Visit Roswell lists it with the other historic district sites, including the town square and the mill ruins.
How long has the Roswell Farmers Market been running?
The market says it started in 2007 as a small effort at Riverside Park. It later moved to the Hill Street side of City Hall, then to a lower lot near the bridge, then to the Roswell Presbyterian Church driveway, before returning to City Hall. Its site dates the return to 2025, while a Visit Roswell interview says 2024. It runs as a nonprofit.
What is Roswell Youth Day?
The City's listing says Youth Day began in 1950 when parents organised a parade and activities to honor the city's youth, and that in 1951 Mayor Ford Rucker proclaimed the second Saturday in October as Roswell Youth Day. The 2026 celebration was held Saturday, October 3, with the Frances McGahee Parade from 10 to 11 a.m.
Source: Youth Day Celebration 2026, hosted by City of Roswell (Eventeny listing)
Written by the Downtown Roswell Editorial Team. AI tools help us draft; people check every fact before it publishes.
Dates, rules and hours can change. The organisers have the final word: City of Roswell
