As someone who’s traveled the backroads of all 159 counties in Georgia pursuing what is left of our historic architecture, I have been amazed at how much has actually vanished in the 16+ years that I’ve been looking for old houses. Finding a gem like this is what still motivates me to hit the road. This house is a perfect example of the vernacular architecture that characterizes our collective rural history and its setting in a pecan orchard, with spring wildflowers blooming in the foreground, takes one back in time, to lives lived around manual labor and hardship, but also of simpler ways. The red paint is a bonus.

Like many single-pen houses, this one has a shed room across the back. One of the great aspects of utilitarian housing, to me, is its ability to evolve to fit the needs of those who call it home. Also notable in this example are the handmade bricks. I’d guess it was built sometime between 1890-1910.