Dixon Farmhouse, Appling County

16 Replies

This is a new edit of a photograph made in late 2010. After traveling past the place for several years without knowing the house existed, I was amazed when the property owners cleared the land and exposed it. It’s among the nicest examples of so-called Cracker style I’ve seen. Larry Dixon writes: This is the very house my father was born in. My father was Kenneth Dixon, and was born in 1926 to A. M. (Bug) and Josey Miles Dixon. The property is now owned and maintained by my father’s first cousin.

Jesse Bookhardt commented on the original version on 9 February 2012:  I was born in a share cropper’s cracker shack like this one and seeing them still evokes strong emotions. We need never forget our heritage though for many of us we have long left that world behind. Once you have South Georgia sand in your brogan shoe, it never completely leaves.

16 thoughts on “Dixon Farmhouse, Appling County”

  1. wa4hgm's avatarwa4hgm

    In the Snipesville-Denton community of Jeff Davis County, there were many of these old unpainted structures. I too was born in one very similar to this one. South Georgia was full of them. They kept you dry year-round, hot in the summer and cold in the winter, but they were homes. The old wooden “shacks” were much like what we called a turpentine house. Many didn’t have regular ceilings but had open space with rafters exposed. When you looked up all you saw were rafters and the tin roof. Jesse M. Bookhardt

    Reply ↓
  2. carol stewart's avatarcarol stewart

    Why were they called a cracker house? We lived in one for a short while when our new home was being built. I loved that little house…It has been town down now, but I wish I had a photo of it. It was much like this one, but in much better condition. I think termites got into it.

    Reply ↓
  3. John Helms's avatarJohn Helms

    Hi Brian,
    As promised, I wanted to show you one of my student’s paintings of The Dixon Farmhouse. He is a very good artist. Is there any way to upload it here so you can see it?

    John Helms

    Reply ↓
  4. John Helms's avatarJohn Helms

    My name is John Helms and I teach acrylic painting at Hobby Lobby in Memphis, Tennessee. My students want to paint a picture of an old shack and I ran across your photo on the Internet. It’s not only a wonderful photo of an old shack but it is more interesting than others that I’ve seen and I like the angle that you took of it. You are quite a good photographer. I love the interesting history of it also. May I have your permission for my class to paint it?
    Thank You,
    John Helms

    Reply ↓
    1. Brian Brown's avatarBrian Brown

      John, You are more than welcome to use the photograph for your class. I have no requirements for such usage other than perhaps sharing a few photographs of the finished work of your students. It would be wonderful to share.

      Reply ↓
      2. larry dixon's avatarlarry dixon

        John, i’m so very happy that you appreciate my grand, and great grandparents old farmhouse as much as Brian and I do. I would loved to have taken the credit for the excellent photography work that Brian has shown in this, and all of his work. He is very dedicated to is work. I’m just so pleased that my cousin has taken the time and effort, to take care of the old farmhouse. I’m so pleased that you want to paint it…God Bless!!

        Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android

  5. Larry Dixon's avatarLarry Dixon

    This is the very house my father was born in. It is located on SR-203 east of SR-15 in the Surrency, Ga.area. My father was Kenneth Dixon, and was born in 1926 to A. M. (Bug) and Josey Miles Dixon. The property is now owned and maintained by my father”s first cousin.

    Reply ↓
    1. Brian Brown's avatarBrian Brown

      Thank you, Larry. I will change the post to reflect the history you have shared. How wonderful to have a history to go along with one of my favorite houses.

      Reply ↓
  6. Keri Crosby's avatarKeri Crosby

    Where is this house? Would love to add it to some tourism information. Please contact me (Keri Crosby) at 912-367-7731 or email me at chamberdirector@baxley.org . This is great heritage to show for our community.

    Reply ↓

Leave a Reply