I made this photograph in 2009 and have been looking for it for a few years. This pyramidal cottage was one of my favorite vernacular houses in Fitzgerald, but not long after I made this shot, the house was stripped down in a what appeared to be a renovation. Fast forward to 2025 and the house was returned to this appearance, with some unobtrusive updates. I’ll get a shot of the updated version next time I’m in town.
Westwood Cemetery is perhaps the oldest and largest Black cemetery in Fitzgerald.
Though the earliest burial I could locate was in 1918, the cemetery may have been established earlier, in the heyday of the Westwood community and the AB&A Railroad shops, circa 1900-1910.
The usual variety of memorials is present, ranging from handmade vernacular headstones to stenciled and commercial examples. As always, I’m sharing only a representative sampling of what I found and was able to photograph.
Interestingly, some of the earliest memorials in the cemetery are commercially made marble headstones.
Hattie Allen’s memorial is one of the finest in Westwood Cemetery. It notes that she was born in Houston County, Georgia, and that she was a member of Bethel AME Church, one of Fitzgerald’s oldest Black congregations.
The gravestone of Mr. King illustrates the difficulty in the identification of some burials, especially those using hand writing. Some of the inscription has eroded over time. As a result, the photographic documentation of such memorials is an important step in recording their lives.
The vernacular memorials are always my favorites. Ms. Jones’s was difficult to read.
This simple vernacular memorial was painted white, as were a good number in Westwood Cemetery at one time.
The marker for Mr. Anderson was cracked, a common issue with handmade memorials.
I presume this was the son of Walter Anderson. If so, his father outlived him by a decade. Both of their memorials were likely made by the same person.
This is one of four handmade posts marking the plot of the Mathis Family. This one bears the name K. C. Mathis, who died in 1952.
A broader view of the Mathis Family plot, with the handmade boundary posts visible at the corners.
This headstone is handmade, but of a shape commonly found in commercial memorials of the Victorian era.
I love unusual names and am always happy to find them when rambling around old cemeteries. Rev. Owens may have been associated with one of the local congregations in Westwood, but I have been unable to located anything about him.
The lamb is a common symbol in cemeteries.
The government supplies headstones to all veterans who choose to be remembered for their service. This memorial indicates that Mr. Medler served in the army in World War II.
John Medler was likely the brother of J. C. Medler (previous photograph). Both served the United States in the army in World War II.
This memorial is of a vernacular style common in the last century.
This small cross is one of the finer commercial memorials in Westwood Cemetery.
Though not fully visible in this photograph, the name at the bottom of this memorial is ‘Cummings’. Cummings was one of the two leading Black funeral homes in Fitzgerald for the latter half of the 20th century.
The graves of Mr. and Mrs. Stewart are decorated with flower pots.
This marker has no identification.
The Lyons family plot is interesting for its placement of small Christmas trees near each grave.
The cemetery is not neglected but rather in a more natural state, with native grasses and wildflowers abundant throughout.
Fairview Missionary Baptist is a historic Black congregation in eastern Ben Hill County. It was established in 1912 by Rev. W. C. Tucker. The present structure was built between 1994-1999.
A small cemetery is located across the road from the church and contains stenciled concrete headstones alongside a few commercial examples. The following are meant to be representative and in no way a complete documentation. I believe some have been lost to vegetation in the surrounding woods.
Find-a-Grave is in error in noting that this is also known as Old Field Cemetery. The two are off the same road but several miles apart, and Old Field is a White cemetery.
Among legible headstones, A. J. and Laura Brown’s indicate they were among the oldest members. They were likely born enslaved and were in their early 60s when Fairview was established.
No specific birthdate for Laura is given, though the memorial notes that she was 50 when she died.
Mr. Jackson was a veteran, but details were not readable on his memorial. The date of his death may indicate that he was a casualty of World War II.
Mr. Shepherd was a Staff Sergeant in World War II. No other service details are given on the memorial.
The shoes and figurines are a tribute.
This is one of the more modern commercial stones in the cemetery.
From beloved homes and family histories to lost landmarks, 2025 was an interesting year. Advances in technology have brought challenges, and though we’ll be exploring new formats in 2026, Vanishing Georgia is still here. Thanks for coming along for the ride, and have a safe and happy New Year.
#1- Dr. Leroy Dorminy House, Ocilla
#2- Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church Cemetery, Hancock County
3- Wildwood Court Apartments, 1927, Columbus
4- Johnston House Demolished in Ludowici
5- Farewell to the Mayflower: The Last Call at the Oldest Restaurant in Athens
6- Historic Vienna School Lost to Fire
7- Family History: The House on 1st Avenue in Eastman
8- Five Points Grocery, Macon County
9- Beyond the Headlines: The Branch Family of Quitman
10- The Asa Chandler House, One of Elberton’s Oldest, Is Being Demolished
Following is a random gallery of some of my favorite photographs of Youngs Chapel Methodist Church in Ben Hill County. Since its no longer with us, I thought I’d share. I’ve made around a thousand photographs over the years, so it was difficult to pick just a few. I hope you enjoy them as much I enjoyed making them.
When I first photographed Youngs Chapel, in 1999, I was just beginning to appreciate historic architecture around my hometown of Fitzgerald.
I was nearly 30 at the time, and though I had spent far too much time rambling the back roads of the area, Young’s Chapel was new to me. It was proof that even in a small county, there was always something new to discover.
At the time, the church still had a wooden sign on the front porch, the roof was still intact, and most of the wall boards were intact. The pews were also still present, before being removed by a family member for safe keeping.
I learned of the existence of the church through an article in our local paper, and armed with a good county road map (this was before our phones became our navigators), I easily located it.
Over time, Youngs Chapel became an anchor in my travels around Georgia. Even after I had documented all 159 of the state’s counties, it held a special place in my heart.
On visits home to Ben Hill County, I usually made the 18 mile trek out to its northwestern corner to “check on the church”.
For me, it was a symbol of everything I wanted to photograph, the forgotten simple places people built to serve immediate and utilitarian needs.
When I went to check on the church at Thanksgiving, I had a heightened sense of worry. When I turned onto Youngs Chapel Road off the Lower Rebecca Road, I had a strange feeling, and as I got closer, I couldn’t see the familiar roofline in the distance.
Upon my approach, my worst fears were confirmed. Youngs Chapel, already weakened by a tornado and long abandoned, had collapsed sometime earlier. Somehow, I knew before I arrived that it was gone.
And so ends the long history of just another country church, lost not to lack of concern but to the elements.
The place wasn’t just an anchor for my travels and discoveries. It was also the center of a long lost community and held a special place in the hearts of the families who sustained it for over a century.
People moved away but their descendants still came and kept its grounds manicured and its cemetery free of weeds and brambles as long as they could.
Youngs Chapel was built in the waning years of the 1800s and was the heart of the long forgotten Ashley community.
Congregants first met in a brush arbor circa 1875.
They built this church, but moved it to its present location about three miles from its first home, circa 1890.
The land was donated by John Thomas Young, an area pioneer, and may have been named for him. It possibly had another name when it was organized.
The congregation dwindled over time, as older members died and younger generations moved away.
The last renovations to Youngs Chapel were made in 1971 and by 1974, the church was closed.
I like to think that the members would be shocked by all the interest in this little building that was their church home, but I think they would be proud of what they built and how long it lasted.
I am sad for the building and bemoan its loss, but I’m thankful that I was able to document it and share it with the wider world.
Fleming (not to be confused with Flemington) is one of two communities in Liberty County named for the pioneer William Fleming family, who owned large area plantations. Fleming proper is actually a bit off GA-196 (Leroy Coffer Highway) on Fleming Loop, but since so many people take this shortcut between Hinesville and Savannah, this was a good place to put the name of this little-known community out there for everyone to see. This newer store and a fruit stand stay fairly busy, and no doubt the Coca-Cola mural, done in the old style, still draws people off the road.
And a brief message to those of you who have sent me messages recently. Thanks for your concern, and yes, I’m still around. I will do my best to answer as many of you as possible. Year’s end has found me getting the gamut of mid-life medical tests and all the fun that entails, and planning some new directions for Vanishing Georgia. I just wanted check in and will keep you all posted.
Five Points Grocery is located at a busy curve on Georgia Highway 26, and though I had passed it many time on earlier travels, I had never stopped until a recent trip to Columbus. As Mike McCall and I were photographing the little shotgun building, one of the co-owners, Naomi Weaver, waved and invited us inside. The store was closed that day for the preparations for a community wedding, but she was a gracious host, not rushed or bothered by all our questions.
Naomi related that she didn’t know a lot of the specific history of the building, but I gathered it was likely built in the 1920s or 1930s. It would have likely been the retail anchor of the nearby Flint River Farms, a New Deal resettlement project that helped area farmers build homes and buy property in the darkest days of the Great Depression.
It’s rare to find stores like this today, and even rarer to find them vibrant and still at the heart of their communities. While the owners have added a storage area at the back of the building, which Naomi was rightfully proud of, the interior of the store itself is largely unchanged from what it would have looked like over half a century ago.
Naomi noted that Mom’s Kitchen, which serves early breakfasts to scores of busy farmers and farmhands, was one of the biggest draws at Five Points Grocery.
This part of the store is reserved for anyone who just wants to sit around and shoot the breeze. In that way, it’s as authentic as any country store I’ve found. With the instantly gratified and hurried world that technology and mass market retail have wrought, it really is rewarding to come across places like Five Points Grocery and people like Naomi Weaver.
This is deep in Macon County Mennonite country, and if you aren’t familiar, the Mennonites of Macon County have been known for their hospitality and good food for a couple of generations. Alva and Sara Yoder opened the landmark Yoder’s Deitsch House and Bakery just up the road toward Montezuma in July 1984 and its been a destination for people from all over the region since then. On the day we visited with Naomi, we also stopped at Yoder’s and it was packed as usual.
This is one of numerous structures that make up the Golden Peanut facility in Dawson. Georgia is the leading peanut producer in the nation, and Terrell County is one of the leading counties for production. Dawson is also home to the National Peanut Research Laboratory, a project of the United States Department of Agriculture.
This has been identified in tax records as a garage, and may had an earlier use. Note the hearse, from the last post, parked beside the building.
This classic Miller Meteor Hearse served Albritten’s Funeral Service in Dawson for many years. Robert L. Albritten opened Albritten’s Funeral Service, with Bobby E. Glover, at 527 Lemon Street in 1966, and they are still in business.
The Miller-Meteor line of Cadillac hearses was made famous in the movie Ghostbusters, and as a result is one of the most recognized funeral cars ever produced. In that movie, the Ecto-1 was a 1959 custom; this hearse was likely made in the early 1970s.
