This Eclectic Victorian house was built by the Beall family of Bowen’s Mill circa 1907, then served as the parsonage of the Methodist church from 1912 until 1944. Sam P. (1902-1967) and Hazel Evans Dowlen (1912-1979) purchased it that year and their daughter, Nan Lee, lovingly maintains it to this day. Nan is very passionate about the history of the house and notes that it’s essentially in original condition.
South Main Street-South Lee Street Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
This was the home of Warren Edgar, Sr., and Ruby Walker Saunderson. Mr. Saunderson was one of the pioneer settlers of the Old Soldiers’ Colony of Fitzgerald. The form, a Folk Victorian T-Plan gable front house, was popular with immigrants to the colony from Indiana and is one of several remaining examples in Fitzgerald.
It features a patriotic Union shield in the front vent. A few homes of Confederate veterans once featured the same emblem, but turned upside down. I’m not sure if any of those survive outside the Blue & Gray Museum today. I believe the house dates to circa 1905.
Thanks to Jan Stokes for the identification. She grew up down the street and recalls: Mr. Saunderson was tall and thin and very quiet. Mrs. Saunderson was short, round, and jolly.
South Main Street-South Lee Street Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
Irwin County entrepreneur Wright Tomberlin Paulk (1873-1922) built the Aldine Hotel [pronounced al-dean] circa 1904, to capitalize on the rapid growth of the recently settled”Old Soldier’s Colony” at Fitzgerald. He named it for his daughter, who died at the age of eighteen months in 1898. In its early days it was one of the leading hotels of the city and was later modified for use as a retail space for various businesses. I recall a Fred’s Store being located here when I was a child in the late 1970s and early 1980s. As the above photograph shows, the front of the structure was sided with inappropriate concrete veneer at some point.
The original hotel was three stories; I believe this rear section was a later addition.
The structure had been abandoned and neglected for many years and in the past year or so bricks began to collapse into the adjacent alley, creating a serious liability and hazard. Sadly, this is the fate of far too many commercial structures in small towns all over Georgia.
As of October 2020, the property has been cleared.
Fitzgerald Commercial Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
West Point Missionary Baptist Church is an historic African-American congregation in the Westwood community of Fitzgerald. Westwood was populated by skilled African-American machinists, most of whom worked in the nearby Atlantic Coast Line Railroad shops. It’s interesting that the establishment of the church predates the settlement of Fitzgerald and the location of the railroad by nearly 20 years. The present structure was built in 1972.
The church, which is the center of the Westwood community today, recently lost its well-loved and long serving pastor, Reverend Willie B. Pride (1938-2020).
This barn was recently exposed after some trees were cut. Susan Sheppard Brown notes that it was built by her grandfather, Bill Sheppard, circa 1960, from pine saplings he cut on the property.
This historic home (seen here in 2014), was owned by the late George Horton Williamson (1928-2019). It was recently torn down. According to his granddaughter, Wendy Young, Mr. Williamson was born and raised in the house. I believe it was among the oldest houses remaining in Ben Hill County, possibly built in the 1870s by Mr. Williamson’s grandfather, Charles M. Williamson (1845-1920). This section of the county has long been known as Williamson’s Mill, for the family who operated a shingle mill in the area and founded Salem Baptist Church. The house was certainly an important link to the early history of this community.
Update: As of 2023 this house is no longer extant.
When word came recently that my old elementary school was being demolished, I was already expecting it but it still brought a rush of emotions. This is where I spent most of my life from the 1st through 7th grades.
Ben Hill, like many Georgia counties, had a city and county school system well into the late 20th century. Lynwood was the county school. During my lifetime, it was officially known as Ben Hill County Elementary School.
The structure has been vacant for quite a few years and has been deteriorating. There are dozens, if not hundreds, of old schoolhouses like this wasting away all over Georgia.
A few counties have successfully put theirs to use, but that’s the exception, not the rule. People always ask why a place like this is torn down and not put to good use. The answer is never simple, and can be attributed to numerous factors, including political calculations, lack of funding, and the absence of a community effort.
In the case of Lynwood, a recent explanation arose of the need for a traffic roundabout on the adjacent state highway. The roundabout was poorly planned, as it’s being built at a low point in a natural wetland, but it will be…I’ll just miss my old school on the hill.
Following are a few shots of the auditorium I made just before the deconstruction was complete.
