Category Archives: –BERRIEN COUNTY GA–

Nashville United Methodist Church, 1900

Nashville United Methodist Church is one of Berrien County’s most historic congregations. Founded in 1858, the church likely first met in members’ homes. There isn’t much information about the first church building, but in 1871, Benjamin Sorsby sold the congregation land for a church and parsonage for $13. The facility was located across the street from the present education building. In 1898, it was destroyed when a tree fell on it and construction on the present sanctuary began. It was completed in 1900.

Berrien County Courthouse, 1898, Nashville

Designed by the W. Chamberlain Company of Knoxville, Tennessee, the Berrien County Courthouse was built for $17,000. It replaced a two-story log structure of 1858 which was also located on this site. The old courthouse was moved across the street and used as a hotel for a time but it is no longer standing.

National Register of Historic Places

Historic Storefronts, Nashville

East Marion Avenue

The historic commercial storefronts that surround the Berrien County courthouse are the heart of Nashville. They’ve been undergoing restorations in recent years.

North Davis Street

Harvey’s Supermarket, Nashville’s most famous export, maintains a presence downtown with their support center. The old headquarters south of town is something else now.

North Davis Street

Most of the structures are typical of early-20th-century commercial design.

West Washington Avenue

The standout, however, is the McLamb & Company building (1907).

South Jefferson Street

Another notable storefront is the marble jewelry store.

 

N. T. Peeples House, Circa 1904, Berrien County

According to Clinton Bailey: (This was the) N.T Peeples house. It was inside the city of Nashville, next to where the Post Office is now located. It was built around 1904. A relative of the Peeples and local Attorney, William Waugh Turner, moved the house to his property on North 129 with the plans and hopes to restore it. Peeples once served as a mayor of Nashville.

Alapaha Restaurant

I think this has been home to several restaurants over the years.

Toby’s Motel & Grill, Alapaha

Built to lure travelers off busy US Highway 82 (likely in the 1940s), Toby Powell’s Motel & Grill is still relatively intact. The eclectic architecture of the office/restaurant at first appears to be a crumbling facade, but it was built that way! For a time after the motel closed, it served as a grocery store and Virginia’s Beauty Lounge.

Below is a contemporary postcard view from the 1950s.

Five Point Grocery-Market, Nashville

This is one Nashville’s best-loved landmarks, though it’s been years since it saw service as a grocery store.

Hooded Pitcher Plants, Berrien County

Often seen in ditches and bogs, the Hooded Pitcher Plant (Sarracenia minor) is one of the most interesting and unique plants in South Georgia.

Enigma, Georgia

Founded between 1876-1880 by John A. Ball, from Raleigh, North Carolina, Enigma was incorporated in 1906.