Burroughs was a community of formerly enslaved people in southwestern Chatham County who, in the 1870’s and 1880’s, were given the opportunity to buy the land they were living on from their former enslavers. Today, St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church and New Ogeechee Missionary Baptist Church are the tangible links to that past. Simple vernacular housing, such as the example pictured here, were once common in the community, but are rapidly vanishing.
The St. Barholomew’s Day School was constructed in 1897. It was operated by the St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church until 1916, at which time Chatham County rented the building and took over its operation. It was closed as a school in 1951 and has since served as the parish hall.
National Register of Historic Places
This is a relatively young tree, by Live Oak (Quercus virginiana) standards, but it’s a treasured memory of my visit to the island. It’s located on the site of Middle Place Plantation, which was home to the Genesis Project.
This tree, known to most visitors to Ossabaw Island and not much beyond, is called the “Angel Oak”, for its shape, which mimics raised arms or wings. It can be presumed that it was damaged or deformed early in its growth, but from this damage came a beautiful living work of art.
The free-roaming miniature Sicilian Donkeys that have become a symbol of Ossabaw Island were introduced by Sandy West as a gift for her son in 1965.
With no natural predators on the island, the donkey herd grew to over a hundred individuals by the late 1990s.
In the year 2000, a state management plan declared the donkeys an invasive species and the majority of the herd was relocated through adoption to locations on the mainland.
Today, only about eight donkeys remain on the island. They have been sterilized to prevent future expansion of the herd, but the survivors are loved by all who are lucky enough to visit Ossabaw. They are usually very curious and greet visitors soon after their arrival. They often seek shade in the old tabby smokehouse.
You can help support the herd by adopting one of the donkeys, through the Ossabaw Island Foundation.
This house, which likely has several other names, was built circa 1870 when the property was under the trusteeship of George Noble. The Isle of Hope Historical Association does not indicate that Noble ever lived here. The first known residents were the Burroughs family, in the late 1800s. The next owner was Miss Mamie Jackson, who lived here for 36 years. Numerous owners have followed. It is one of the best loved houses in the neighborhood and is always well maintained. It was used as a set location for the 1974 movie, The Last of the Belles and the 1994 move, Camilla.
Isle of Hope Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
The Isle of Hope Historical Association notes that this property, on the site of an old horse car station, was purchased by Alexander Perry Solomon (1857-1933) in 1875 from Dr. Stephen F. Dupon (1822-1893). When Solomon built the house he named it Liberty Hall. The Solomon family were prominent Jewish merchants and wholesale grocers in Savannah. Alexander was a director of Liberty National Bank and Trust Company, and helped organize the Metropolitan Savings and Loan Company, which later merged with Citizens Loan Company to become Citizens Bank. He was also the president of the Tybee Artesian Water, Ice, and Lighting Company.
The original facade of the house featured a projected second floor porch. Later owners added the front steps, reconfigured the porch, and added the dormers.
Note: This replaces and updates a post originally published on 13 March 2019.
Isle of Hope Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
This Italianate-inspired Victorian is located across from the Isle of Hope Marina. It was once owned by Alexander M. Barbee, of Barbee’s Pavilion fame, and later by his daughter, Gertrude Barbee Brady and her husband, Bill Brady. Mr. Brady owned Brady’s Boat Works, which eventually became the Isle of Hope Marina.
Isle of Hope Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
Lax Holiness Church, as it is known today, dates to the mid-1890s, contemporary to the establishment of Lax and the growth of the Holiness Baptist movement. (It is located in Coffee County, about 500 yards from the Irwin County line). The cemetery suggests the congregation is older, however. It was in use as early as the 1840s and saw a slow but steady number of burials in the decades between the 1840s and 1890s. Most of these early burials were connected to the Harper family, and the earliest burial I could identify was Leonard Harper (1788-1845). He and his wife, Susanna Brothers Harper (1792-1870), were pioneers of the area and their nine children were central to its growth. Leonard, a native of Liberty County, married Susanna, from South Carolina, in 1804, and they established their family in McIntosh County before relocating to the area of present-day Lax in the 1820s. Unless the cemetery began as a plantation or family cemetery, it was likely associated with a church, and that church eventually became Lax Holiness.
The Holiness Baptists of Georgia were formed by two congregations who were removed from the Little River Baptist Association in Wilcox County over doctrinal divisions.
This long-abandoned barn is part of a group of tin-sided structures in “downtown” Lax that were part of the Wingate family’s turpentine and farming operations in the 20th century. This particular structure served as the mule barn, and as this view of the loft would indicate, is in its final days. Thanks to Quint Wingate for the historical background and to Jerry Youghn for suggesting I document it. I’ll share more of these structures soon.
