In The History of Brooks County, Georgia (1948) Folks Huxford notes that area around Hickory Head was settled long before the Civil War by families from Bulloch, Jones, and Houston Counties. The families were comprised of hard-working farmers who valued their faith and strongly embraced education. They were members of Liberty Baptist Church, which was established in 1841. A. W. Groover donated land for the establishment of a school in 1866, and in either 1867 or 1869, it was built with funds raised through subscription. Mr. Groover, alongside W. H. Stanley and C. A. Davis, served as the first trustees of the Hickory Head Academy. Edwin B. Carroll, who would later serve as pastor at Hickory Head Baptist Church, was the first schoolmaster.

A plaque on the building notes that it was used as a school until 1925. Just a handful of rural academies like Hickory Head survive today, so that alone is an important part of its story, but its association with the Hickory Head Agricultural Club is quite extraordinary, as well. Folks Huxford suggests the club was established circa 1885 and met in the schoolhouse. Member farmers became widely known for shipping ham and bacon at a time when most of the South was importing meat from the Northwest. Brooks County pork, raised largely on peanuts, was in great demand. Hickory Head farmers were also among the first in the region to use ice in the cooling of meat, coming from Maine by way of Savannah. With modern innovations, the club faded over the years, but was revived as the Hickory Head Farm Club in 1946.

The building has also served as a voting precinct and is still used by the community for special events. It’s had a long and productive history.