William Root House, Circa 1845, Marietta

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The historic William Root House in Marietta, Georgia, surrounded by a white picket fence and landscaped garden.

The William Root House is a typical I-House form with a shed room at the rear (Plantation Plain), enhanced by a vernacular Greek Revival portico. Built circa 1845, it is one of the oldest houses in Marietta and an inspiring preservation success story. It was facing demolition when it was saved by Cobb Landmarks and now serves as a cultural and historic focal point. It was originally located two blocks east on the northeast corner of Church and Lemon streets and has been relocated twice. In 1893, the house was repositioned on its original lot. In 1989, it was relocated two blocks to its present location and restored. It is now an award-winning house museum, operated by Cobb Landmarks.

William Root (1815-1891), a native of Philadelphia, moved to Marietta in 1839, five years after the city’s founding. He began working as an assistant in William H. Kitchens’s drug store in Augusta in 1836, then relocated to Hamburg, South Carolina, in 1837. After a brief return to Philadelphia in 1838, he came back to Augusta in 1839 and then moved to Marietta to open a new drug and grocery store for Kitchens. On 15 September 1840, he married Hannah Rhemer Simpson (1807-1886).

The business grew quickly and Root became an influential pioneer citizen of Marietta. He helped establish St. James Episcopal Church. In 1844 he purchased the business from Kitchens and built this home about a year later. The Roots had five children (one son died as a toddler), and, according to the 1860 census, four enslaved people in their service. Cobb Landmarks has identified two of the enslaved by name: Lall Burge, who was likely a butler, or house servant, and Elsay Blake, also a domestic laborer.

With Atlanta and environs in the crosshairs of the Union armies, the Root family relocated to Washington, Georgia, in June 1864. They returned to a ruined Marietta on 15 July 1865, but fared better than many others, who lost everything. They were able to reoccupy their house. According to family papers, William Root noted, “Our dwelling, though damaged, was in tolerable condition.”

In 1866 William Root opened a new store on the Marietta Square, and owned the entire block bounded by Church, Ardis, Cherokee, and Lemon streets, the block on which the Root House originally stood. Marietta quickly rebuilt after the war and by the 1870s, Root’s sons joined him in business. He sold it to John R. Winters in 1884 and retired.

National Register of Historic Places

Monticello Landmark Lost to Fire

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The Jordan-Lanier House in Monticello, Georgia, featuring prominent columns, set against a clear blue sky, with landscaped greenery in the foreground.

I first published this photograph (above) of Monticello’s Jordan-Lanier House in 2015. It was a well-known landmark just off the square downtown, though I never learned much about its history. I was saddened to get a message from my friend Aubrey Newby yesterday, noting that it was lost to fire on 11 May. As you can see from Aubrey’s photograph (below), nothing survived but the chimneys and the columns which defined the house. I don’t know any details about the fire, but wanted to share this news.

Ruins of the Jordan-Lanier House in Monticello, Georgia with standing columns and a chimney, surrounded by vegetation and a yellow caution tape.
Ruins of the Jordan-Lanier House, Monticello, Georgia. © Aubrey Newby

Monticello Historic District, National Register of Historic Places

Glover-Horne-Wells House, Circa 1869, Marietta

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Glover-Horne-Wells House, a charming yellow cottage in Marietta, Georgia, with white columns and red shutters, featuring a front porch with a wooden door and a small chair. Surrounding the house are neatly trimmed bushes and a brick pathway leading up to the entrance.

I stayed next door to this neat little cottage on a recent trip. I haven’t been able to track down much history, but it was apparently built by a member of the Glover family, who were among the earliest settlers of Marietta. It appears to have originated as a simple central hallway form and has been expanded, as is common with houses of this type. The narrow door and transom and sidelights are likely original, but the porch, which gives the house a vernacular Greek Revival appearance, may have been a slightly later addition. I will update when I learn more.

Whitlock Avenue Historic District, National Register of Historic Places

Gable Front Cottage, Liberty County

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An abandoned house surrounded by overgrown grass and trees, featuring a porch with white columns and peeling paint.

This utilitarian cottage has always been a favorite of mine. I never stopped to photograph because there was always an old car parked on the side and it wasn’t a convenient stop on the highway. I’ve passed it hundreds of times and always wanted to document it. I finally did a few weeks ago. It’s located between Flemington and McIntosh (the settlement in Liberty, not the county to the south).

Dennis Perry: ‘The Man No One Believed’

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Dennis and Brenda Perry standing together in a library with bookshelves in the background. The man has short gray hair and glasses, wearing a striped shirt, while the woman has short gray hair, glasses, and is wearing a yellow blouse.
Dennis and Brenda Perry – Wayne County Library, Jesup

On 9 September 2025 I had the opportunity to meet Joshua Sharpe and Dennis Perry in Jesup. Sherna Spearman Lott of the Wayne County Library served as the moderator for a discussion about Sharpe’s new book, The Man No One Believed: The Untold Story of the Georgia Church Murders. Dennis Perry was that man. His long incarceration came with high personal costs. His wife divorced him and he lost both his parents. One bright spot of that time was reconnecting with Brenda, who he’d known years earlier. She believed in his innocence and they married while he was still in prison. Brenda was there, too. You’d never know the ordeal they’d been through. They weren’t bitter or occupied with the past. They were humble and optimistic.

The Man No One Believed begins with the murder of Harold and Thelma Swain at Rising Daughter Baptist Church in Camden County in 1985, and bravely makes its way through predictable roadblocks of institutional racism, corrupt cops, and elected officials. The Georgia Innocence Project reported on one of those roadblocks “...Sheriff William Smith offered $40,000 of seized drug-related civil forfeiture money to a friend and former sheriff’s deputy to solve the murders. Within a week, the deputy had determined that Dennis Perry was the lead suspect, almost entirely due to information generated by a single informant who was seeking a $25,000 reward.” With those forces working against justice, it’s no wonder it was so long coming. To Dennis Perry and, especially, the Swains.

Sherna Spearman Lott, Joshua Sharpe, and Dennis Perry at the Wayne County Library in Jesup, Georgia, holding a book titled 'The Man No One Believed.' They are smiling and appear to be celebrating an event.
(l-r) Sherna Spearman Lott, Joshua Sharpe, Dennis Perry – Wayne County Library, Jesup

In the year 2000, an election year, Perry was convicted of the crime and received a double life sentence. In The Man No One Believed, Joshua Sharpe reveals flaws in the justice system, while tracking down leads that were purposely obfuscated in the initial investigation. He had doors slammed in his face and drew the ire of locals who knew more than they were saying, if they were saying anything at all. A native of Waycross, he knew the area and he knew when he was getting the silent treatment. He focused on a local White supremacist who was said to have bragged about committing the murders. The suspicious death of a key figure in the case drew concerns for Sharpe’s safety from his editors and sources. Jackie Johnson, the same district attorney who refused to prosecute the men who killed Ahmaud Arbery fought to keep Perry in prison and re-open the 35-year-old case. The work of the Georgia Innocence Project and volunteer attorneys from King & Spalding, reported by Sharpe, helped ensure Dennis Perry’s 2020 release.

Joshua Sharpe and Dennis Perry at the Wayne County Library in Jesup, Georgia, smiling and posing for the camera. Sharpe is holding his book, 'The Man No One Believed'. Bookshelves filled with books are in the background, along with colorful decorations on the windows.
Joshua Sharpe (l) and Dennis Perry – Wayne County Library, Jesup

Erik Sparre of Waynesville was arrested without incident and charged with the murders of Harold and Thelma Swain in 2024. Dennis and Brenda Perry have gotten on with their lives and hopefully, justice will be done for the loved ones of Harold and Thelma Swain.

Hendrix High School, Dodge County

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Abandoned brick school house in Dodge County, Georgia, surrounded by overgrown vegetation and trees under a clear blue sky.

Someone from Dodge County recently reached out to me about documenting this historic school, located east of Eastman on Georgia Highway 46, and I was able to get a photograph of the side of the building. They identified it as the old Hendrix High School and stated it closed in 1957 when the Dodge County High School was built. It was possibly a comprehensive school, with all grades. That’s all I know for now. Rural schools were the norm until school consolidation in the 1950s and 1960s and many survive throughout the state.

Lovely Grove Baptist Church, Dodge County

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A view of Lovely Grove Baptist church with a tall steeple, situated beside a curved road surrounded by greenery and blue sky.

Lovely Grove Baptist Church is a historic congregation in Dodge County. I haven’t been able to locate a history, but the earliest burial I found in the cemetery was circa 1866.

Tempest Storm: Burlesque Legend

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A memorial stone featuring an inscription that reads: 'She left here a poor little girl, chased her dreams and came back a STAR. Ladies and Gentlemen, the Queen of Burlesque, Tempest Storm.' The stone is adorned with a silhouette of a woman holding a palm leaf.
Detail of Tempest Storm’s grave, Lovely Grove Baptist Church

Thomas Wolfe titled his posthumous final novel “You Can’t Go Home Again” and the phrase has come to represent those who leave their small hometowns and go on to bigger things. Tempest Storm did come back to her roots in Dodge County, to the Lovely Grove Baptist Church graveyard.

A gravestone honoring Tempest Storm, featuring a decorative design, a heart shape, and a photograph of her, with the inscription 'The American Beauty Forever' and her birth and death dates: February 29, 1928 - April 20, 2021.
Tempest Storm (29 February 1928-20 April 2021)

Tempest Storm, born Annie Blanche Banks on Leap Day 1928, lived a remarkable life far from her Baptist roots in Dodge County. She quit school in seventh grade, survived sexual abuse, and was married to a Marine in Columbus, Georgia, at age 14. This was an act of defiance, a way of liberating herself from her parents. She then married a shoe salesman, but left that marriage after six months, with a dream of stardom in Hollywood. At age 17, she landed a job in a Los Angeles burlesque review, making more money in a month than she could in a year back home, and changed her name to Tempest Storm.

Known as “The Queen of Burlesque,” she captivated audiences with her stunning performances that blended beauty, talent, and flair. Over her expansive career, she was a regular dancer in numerous western cities and went from seedy postwar strip clubs to mingling with celebrities like Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley, leaving an indelible mark on the entertainment industry. Storm’s vibrant personality and unique style not only set her apart from her contemporaries but also earned her a loyal fan base that cherished her artistry. Married four times, she embraced the complexities of love and relationships while continuing to grace the stage with her presence. Even as the years went by, she never truly retired from burlesque, choosing instead to adapt and evolve with the changing times, maintaining a connection to her roots. Her legendary career came to a close with her passing in Las Vegas in 2021 at age 93, leaving behind a legacy that continues to inspire dancers and performers worldwide.

Saint Paul Missionary Baptist Church, Tift County

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A white church building with a steeple, set against a clear blue sky and surrounded by trees. The entrance features a set of stairs and a ramp, with a small grassy area in front.

This church is located near the Brighton community. I haven’t been able to locate any history, but this is obviously a newer structure. The earliest burial I found in the adjacent cemetery was 1908. The Tabor brothers, who died in the tragic Tift County bus crash of 1959, are also interred here.

The Tift County School Bus Crash of 1959

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A gravestone engraved with the name 'Leroy Tabor' and the years '1953 - 1959'.
Memorial for Leroy Tabor (1953-1959), St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church Cemetery, Tift County

The Tift County School Bus Crash of 1959 happened nearly 70 years ago, but is still remembered by many as the county’s worst tragedy. Nine children lost their lives. Becky Taylor’s 2019 Tifton Gazette article about the anniversary of the crash highlighted survivors who still had vivid memories of the day. Two siblings who died that day, Leroy and Billy Tabor, are buried at St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church.

Leroy Tabor, victim of school bus crash of 1959, Tift County, Georgia.
Leroy Tabor, public domain image via Find a Grave.

On the morning of 3 March 1959, a school bus carrying Black students to the segregated Tift County Industrial (now J. T. Reddick) and Wilson High and Elementary schools, plunged into the cold waters of a farm pond on Lower Brookfield Road, which was in the process of being paved at the time. The fact that the bus was overcrowded didn’t cause the wreck, but got significant attention in the press. Estimates ranged from 60-100 students on the bus. No one knows for sure, but it was definitely overcrowded, according to survivors. Driver Doyle Jones, “who had been making the bus route rounds for 23 years, said his bus hit two bumps in succession on the dirt road, causing him to lose control. The bus turned over on its right side and plunged into the water The vehicle was about two-thirds submerged.”

Per the Associated Press: “Fortunately, the bus was not alone on the road. Carl Lowry and Charles Ahrens were in a car behind the vehicle. Jack Withers saw the accident as he drove by. Ambulances and authorities were telephoned…” The driver had kicked out the windshield and with the help of students began pulling people out of the wreckage.

Gravestone of Billy Tabor, engraved with his name and dates 1950 - 1959, situated on grassy ground.
Memorial for Billy Tabor (1950-1959), St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church Cemetery, Tift County

Those whose lives were lost were: Gloria Jean Davis, Age 7; Leroy Tabor, Age 7; Rufus Harrell Greene, Age 8; Henry Edward Johnson, Age 8; Bobby King, Age 8; Billy Tabor, Age 9; Bernice Henderson, Age 14; Artie Lee Simmons, Age 14; and Erlene Wilcox, Age 14.

Billy Tabor, victim of school bus crash of 1959, Tift County, Georgia.
Billy Tabor, public domain image via Find a Grave .