The three gins at Portal represent one of the largest intact ginning sites I’ve found in my travels. Two are Lummus gins and one is a Centennial. This Lummus gin, with the International truck in front, belonged to F. N. Carter & Son [Freeman Noah Carter, Sr. (1887-1974)], which became E. C. Carter Farms [Ernest Cicero Carter, Sr. (1910-2000)]. This complex, handling everything from turpentine to general agriculture, was central to life in Portal for many years.

The Lummus system originated in New York during the Civil War, but relocated to Juniper, then Columbus, Georgia, during Reconstruction. Donna Bird Williams notes that one of the gins and the nearby storage buildings are owned by LeRoy T. Bird [Leroy Thelma Bird (1897-1982)] and Son. Donna is the granddaughter of LeRoy and the daughter of Richard E. Bird [Richard Erastus Bird (1930-2009)]. The Bird family ginning business dates to circa 1845.

This structure is smaller than the two Lummus gins contained in the same complex. It was built for F. N. Carter & Son by Centennial Cotton Gin Company of Columbus, Georgia. A local name for the street, Mullet Roe, can be seen on the sign above. Mullet Roe, of course, is really a form of Southern caviar but I like the tongue-in-cheek usage on the sign.

The actual name for this once-busy thoroughfare is Railroad Street.

This view looks toward the gins from the old freight warehouse.

One of several antique work trucks is parked under the shed beside the gin.

This is a close-up of the International R-190 seen in the first photograph. This line of classic work trucks was manufactured during the 1950s-1960s. I believe this is an early model.

Various storage buildings remain on the property, as well. A small office building (not pictured) also survives.

I can’t over-emphasize how important it is to see all these structures intact. They are a veritable living museum and symbolize a time when agriculture was dominant, and often the only industry, in rural Georgia.