The only information I can presently locate about Machen is that it was once a stop on the Central of Georgia Railway line that ran through here, along the Eatonton-Covington route. It’s essentially part of Shady Dale today, but a railroad marker near this house (and a few good maps) still proclaims it to be Machen. I hope to learn more. This American Foursquare house was built in 1915.
I’m Will Bullard. I own the house in the photo. Any pictures of the old store?
I don’t have any, Will. Wish I did. The house is great, by the way.
In the early 1950s there was a train depot in matching and also a very nice little general store with the post office inside. The store was Mr. Wills and he always had a big hoop cheese in there that you can buy whatever portion you wanted and he also had a very wonderful candy counter. To my memory, most of the items in the candy counter with about 1 cent each and I can go in there with a dime or so and have a really good time trying to decide how to spend it. Grandparents had a farm down the road a little ways and raised cattle. They had several pastures and a couple of the old tenant homes.
We used to walk to Machen with my two cousins during summer vacation. Being from Cleveland, Ohio it was the smallest town I can remember. I remember the railroad station.
Thank you for sharing.
Machen was a part of Sherman’s March to the Sea. The two flanks split just outside of Covington (I think). See the book about Dolly Lunt Burge/Burge Plantation, Newton County, GA, a historical documentary.
There is also a Historical Marker.