Category Archives: –BEN HILL COUNTY GA–

Fitzgerald High School Gymnasium, 1950s

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This rather plain mid-century gymnasium stands behind the site of the old Fitzgerald High School, whose loss is still a great pain to the community. After World War II, when the high school outgrew its original building, newer structures were added to the campus, including the gymnasium*. It replaced the much older wooden gym at Blue & Gray Park, known far and wide as “The Shell”. Basketball was at peak popularity in Fitzgerald in the 1950s, so this was a regular gathering place not just for students but for the community as a whole. The amateur wrestling circuit made many stops here over the decades, as well.

I began high school in the 8th grade and well remember Coach Gibbs’s p.e. classes meeting here, playing dodge ball and other intramural sports. I also remember the wooden bleachers that could be pushed in accordion fashion to the walls. The building seemed ancient and derelict to me then, but it was so well-built that it’s still around. I’m unsure of its present use but am hopeful it is protected.

*- I haven’t tracked down a specific date for construction of the gymnasium, but my best guess is between 1949-1958. My father graduated in 1959 and recalls attending basketball games at the old shell and in the new gym. I’ll update when I learn more.

Virginia Apartments, 1950, Fitzgerald

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Built in 1950, the Virginia Apartments are a Colonial Revival multi-unit complex made up of two identical buildings, located side by side. Many of the original elements survive in the apartments, but doors, shutters and windows have been replaced. This was the first place my parents lived after they got married in 1967. My mother said that many newlyweds lived here at the time.

The apartments were owned by John Henry “Jack” Mayes, Jr., (1914-1989), the son of British immigrant “Captain Jack” Mayes (1881-1960), who ran the Fitzgerald Cotton Mills. Jack, Jr.’s brother, Garbert (1906-1954), who was also involved in the mills, was the father of author Frances Mayes.

Westwood Shops, Circa 1906, Fitzgerald

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This is the last surviving of several massive industrial shop buildings which served the Atlanta, Birmingham & Atlantic and its successors in its Fitzgerald hub. Their presence speaks not only to the vast expansion of the railroad industry at the turn of the century, but as well to the rapid growth of Fitzgerald, scarcely 10 years old when this heavy industry brought large-scale employment to the town.

Larry Goolsby, who has done more research on the history of the Atlanta, Birmingham & Atlantic and its successor than anyone I know, wrote in his excellent history Atlanta, Birmingham & Coast, ACL & SCL Historical Society, Valrico, Florida, 2000: “The Atlanta, Birmingham & Atlantic was…busy…during 1906. Construction was proceeding on a large yard and permanent shop complex at Fitzgerald, including a 75×300-foot machine shop with and 85-ton traveling crane, blacksmith and boiler shops, engine house, coach shop, planing mill, foundry, and a power house among other buildings. These facilities, called Shops at first and renamed Westwood in 1922, would replace AB&A’s small shops at Brunswick and Waycross as the system’s major site for rebuilding, repairs, and painting. They also superseded the wooden shop buildings originally built at Fitzgerald. The scope of the undertaking could be gauged by Master Mechanic J. E. Cameron’s concern over housing for the new shops’ employees: “In 60 days from now we will bring in the neighborhood of 300 men and their families, and not a house for their accommodation.“

A majority of the railroad laborers were African-Americans, and houses were soon constructed in Westwood, an historically African-American community about a mile from the Fitzgerald yard. I had always presumed that Westwood existed because of the railroad, and it certainly grew with their presence, but at least one church in the village predates the railroad’s presence by nearly 30 years.

Over the years, the existing Westwood shop buildings began to deteriorate as the railroad transferred their operations elsewhere. A couple of the buildings, nearly identical to the one pictured here, were still standing as recently as 15-20 years ago. In the years since they were abandoned by the railroad, they have been used by various businesses.

Gottlieb-Castleberry Farm, Circa 1920s, Fitzgerald

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Gottlieb House, rear view

Martin Gottlieb (1892-1968) was a Hungarian Jewish immigrant who came to Fitzgerald in 1918. He was a merchant and tailor and an active member of the Hebrew Commercial Alliance throughout his time in Fitzgerald. He is best remembered for leaving the city a large bequest that was to be used to purchase Christmas gifts for needy children. The fund survives to this day. He also served as president of the Fitzgerald Baseball Club, the Pioneers, which were a professional farm team. The property documented here was originally Gottlieb’s farm, located just outside Fitzgerald, but now within the city limits.

Shop barn

Gottlieb eventually went into business with Ed Castleberry (1909-2003), and their Gottlieb and Castleberry Men’s Shop, located next to the Garbutt-Donovan Building on East Pine Street, outfitted generations of men in Fitzgerald. I remember visiting the small store as a youth as it was the place to order Boy and Cub Scout uniforms.

Garage

Eventually, Ed Castleberry purchased or inherited the farm from Mr. Gottlieb. Though more a “gentleman’s farm” than a commercial enterprise, pecan trees were cultivated and harvested on the property from year to year.

Volkswagen Beetle in the garage

Ed and Minnie Castleberry’s (1915-2006) son, John Ed Castleberry (1945-2023) continued to live here until his death.

Barn

The property will likely be sold for commercial use, so I was glad to have the opportunity to photograph it.

Castleberry House

Dixon Cemetery, Ben Hill County

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Dixon Cemetery in Ben Hill County is notable, due to its large number of extant fieldstone grave markers and gravesites that incorporate commercial sculpted stone elements.

It is identified on Findagrave as Dixon Cemetery #1, to distinguish it from another Dixon Cemetery (#2) in the Queensland community. There is also a Dickson Cemetery, near Ashton.

Fieldstones and other available natural stones are among the earliest forms of grave marking throughout the world and are quite common in Georgia.

It’s less common, however, to find them in great numbers in any one cemetery and in more modern cemeteries they often get pushed over and lost among newer markers.

The markers at Dixon Cemetery are sandstone, or a similar soft stone, and therefore are most threatened by erosion. Marble and granite markers in North Georgia have a greater likelihood of long-term survival.

Since the stones lack any identifying elements of the decedents they memorialize, they present a real challenge to genealogists and family members trying to locate burials. The decedent may be associated with a particular stone from one generation to the next, but this information is usually lost to later generations.

In addition to the fieldstones, there are three other gravesites which make use of commercial sculpted stone. This stand-alone marker was probably co-opted from the coping used around the gravesite seen in the next photograph.

Rev. W. M. Bailey (1835-1903)

Though they are dependent on manufactured material, the effect is vernacular.

The “white bronze” Taylor grave marker, better known as a “zinky”, seems out of place in Dixon Cemetery, though these were sold nationally through agents of the Monumental Bronze Company of Bridgeport, Connecticut and can be found throughout America. This particular example has rusted over the years.

George W. Taylor grave marker.

Commercial markers are present, as well.

Of the identified burials in this cemetery (the earliest dating to 1900), there are a few more Walkers than Dixons, but I believe the earliest burials are those marked by fieldstones, which likely have a connection to the Dixon family. The Walker and Dixon families were also related.

Pump House, Ben Hill County

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It’s strange how an otherwise nondescript structure can become a landmark, but that’s just what this little shed, sided with blue shingles, was for me. Located at the Mobley Bluff Road, just off the Ocmulgee River, it appears to have been a pump house or shed of some sort. I drove past it hundreds of times over the years. It was recently lost to Hurricane Helene. This photograph was made circa 2008.

Davis Farm Tobacco Barn, Ben Hill County

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This tobacco barn is located on the farm adjoining my family’s farm and my father remembers working in the packhouse across Evergreen Road when he was a boy. Tobacco was a labor intensive crop that required lots of hands and skilled workers who knew how to navigate the steps and who could stand the hot sticky atmosphere of the barns.


This replaces a post originally published on 19 December 2008.

Hall and Parlor Cottage, Ben Hill County

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This house was located in western Ben Hill County in the Aster or Sunflower Road area, near Arp. The photograph was made in 2004 and the house was razed soon thereafter. Unfortunately, this is the best quality file I’ve been able to locate. I’m re-editing my Ben Hill County images now and am republishing this (a different version was originally published in 2008) with the hope that someone will know more about the house. It was one of the special places that inspired the work I do now.

Montford Point Marine C. C. Hall: A Lifetime of Service & Leadership

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Mr. C. C. Hall at Fitzgerald’s 2024 Veterans Day Remembrance. Photo Courtesy and © William E. Brown

Charles Cargile “C. C.” Hall was born in Madison, Georgia in 1925. He was drafted in 1943 and enlisted with the Marines at Camp Montford Point in Jacksonville, North Carolina, among the first African-Americans to serve in the Corps. His World War II service included stints at Guam and Hawaii and he was honorably discharged in 1946. After the war, he received a degree from Savannah State and went on to receive a Masters Degree from Columbia University in New York.

He came to Fitzgerald to teach at Monitor High School after completing his education, and he never left. Working a side job at Riggs Funeral Home to supplement his teaching salary, he eventually became a partner. When Mr. Riggs died in 1959, Hall became the sole owner and renamed it Hall’s Funeral Home. The business remains successful today, though at 99 years old Mr. Hall isn’t involved in day to day operations. Throughout the years, he has also been actively involved in civil rights issues.

In 2012 Mr. Hall and other surviving Montford Point Marines received the Congressional Gold Medal from President Obama. He has been a respected businessman in Fitzgerald for over 65 years and has received numerous honors for his service. Part of Monitor Drive was even renamed C. C. Hall Honorary Drive in tribute.

Thanks to my father for getting this photograph.

Hurricane Helene in Ben Hill County

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With so much devastation in the path of Hurricane/Tropical Storm Helene, I wanted to share just a few images of what I saw while driving between Fitzgerald and the coast on Friday. There are far better images by photojournalists who have been on the ground in the effected areas. And the stories are heartbreaking. I was fortunate to get power back about 18 hours after the storm, but went to my parents’ house for a few days to use their WiFi. The devastation I saw in Telfair, Jeff Davis, and some of Appling County was something I never hope to see again in my lifetime.


This old cinderblock church, Union Methodist, was built in 1946 if I recall correctly, and is located near the Ben Hill County Landing and the Ocmulgee River. It’s been an inactive congregation for quite some time, and likely won’t be rebuilt. I have an earlier photograph of the church but can’t locate it at this time. As soon as I do, I’ll add it to this post.