I’ve seen these structures described as barns, and perhaps they’ve been used for that purpose for many years, but their design indicates an earlier commercial use. The obelisk is the Reverend Daniel Marshall memorial, placed in 1903 to commemorate the founder of Kiokee Baptist Church.
John Roy writes: I married into the Morris Family. My wife’s father, John Morris, was the last to operate the J.D. Howell Store, located just outside of town, which closed in about 1994. We sold the property to a man who then immediately sold it to another man, who subsequently donated the old store and land to Kiokee Baptist Church. His Grandfather and Great Uncle (both Howells) owned many of the businesses in Appling, Georgia, during the 1920s-1940s; other family members inherited them upon their deaths. They were a J.D. Howell and Walter Howell, both from New Jersey (I was told). John had a heart attack in the green store in 2001; he died a few days later. His sister owned the two buildings at that time. He had an antiques store there with his sister Margaret Buhl; I think it closed upon his death. Previously, that particular store had sold at least automotive parts and tires in the 1920s since I found a plaque from Good Year, addressed to a Walter Howell, in a 1930s house’s attic which stated as much. The other two story structure located in town was the Appling Hotel, also owned by Walter J.D. Howell opened the “J.D. Howell General Store” further down the road in 1923. I think that both of the businesses operated by Walter Howell in town were also probably opened in the 1920s, too. A woman with the last name of Tankersley told me that she worked in a sandwich shop in the back of the green store in the 1940s. That is all I know about those buildings…thought it would help you a bit more with the history. All buildings have been sold at this point to others…
Vanishing Georgia: Photographs by Brian Brown 