Category Archives: –BROOKS COUNTY GA–

Quitman’s Historic Walker Street School Lost to Fire

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One of Quitman’s most beloved historic buildings was lost to fire around 1AM on Friday (20 June 2025). Besides being a storehouse of memories for generations of Quitman residents, the Walker Street School was the work of Valdosta architect Lloyd B. Greer (1885-1952), who trained with the influential firm of Hentz, Reid & Adler before establishing his practice in Valdosta in the early 1910s. The Ludowici Tile roof was an added touch to this particular school, which stands out among other small schools in South Georgia for its inspired design. I am not sure as to the original name; some have suggested Quitman Elementary but I cannot confirm. A friend from Quitman, who informed me of this devastating loss, noted that restoration of the school was in the works and said architects had already drawn up plans. Arson is suspected but has not been determined. The fire is presently under investigation and the Brooks County Fire Department spent hours protecting the surrounding residential neighborhood and containing the blaze, which covered around 20,000 square feet.

The Walker Street School ablaze in the early morning hours of 20 June 2025. Screen capture. Courtesy Brooks County Fire Department. [This attribution is via a television newscast. If it is not correct, please let me know and I will change it].

Quitman Historic District, National Register of Historic Places

Beyond the Headlines: The Branch Family of Quitman

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Branch House, with a a display of Hydrangea, circa 1913-1915. Vintage photograph Courtesy Paul Petersen.

Paul Petersen, the great-grandson of Lee and Jamie Snow Branch, recently shared these photos of his family in Quitman. He wrote that they were: “… passed down from my Grandmother (Lalla Branch Kirkpatrick) to my Mom.  They now reside with my sister in North Carolina. In a strange coincidence, my sister was viewing these photos just last week, which she has not done in years.“

Jamie Snow Branch (1875-1937), circa 1913-1915. Vintage photograph Courtesy Paul Petersen.

Lee and Jamie Branch met a tragic end in this house at the hands of Jamie’s brother, Livingston Snow Branch, in 1937, and the case was sensationalized by local and national media. Paul added: “My Mom passed away 5 years ago along with any direct familial memory of events.  She was not yet born when her Grandparents were killed, so she has heard the stories from her Mother.  The article you wrote matches with the description of events passed down from my Grandmother to my Mom.  From our families side we speculate that Livingstone was perhaps bi-polar or schizo affective…“

Lalla Branch Kirkpatrick (1910-1993), circa 1913-1915. Vintage photograph Courtesy Paul Petersen.

Lalla was 27 at the time of this tragedy and long gone from Quitman by then. She married Charles Cochran Kirkpatrick in 1932, and they lived in numerous locations, as her husband was a rising officer in the United States Navy. He was eventually promoted to rear admiral.

Lee Whiting Branch (1871-1937), Lalla Branch, unidentified friend, Jamie Snow Branch, circa 1913-1915. Vintage photograph Courtesy Paul Petersen.

Lalla was undoubtedly devastated by the loss of her parents and I’m sure these photographs were difficult reminders of their lives in Quitman. I’m grateful to Paul for allowing me to share them. They show the family in happy times, as a means of putting a human face on his grandmother and great-grandparents, beyond the headlines.

Hickory Head Academy + Community Club, Circa 1866, Brooks County

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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.

Hickory Head Baptist Church, Circa 1873, Brooks County

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In Folks Huxford’s The History of Brooks County (1948 ), a history of Hickory Head Baptist Church by Mrs. J. G. Stanley and Mrs. A. J. Reamy tells of the origins of the church. Members of Liberty Baptist Church, at present-day Grooverville, who lived closer to Hickory Head Academy began holding prayer meetings there in 1870. This led to the formal establishment of the church in 1872, and the construction of a permanent home in 1873. The original sanctuary, if this is indeed it, has obviously been expanded over time. The nicely manicured churchyard and cemetery are community landmarks.

Side-Gabled Tenant House, Circa 1904, Piscola

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The side-gabled cottage with two front doors is among the rarer vernacular house types in Georgia, though it was once common as mill and tenant housing. This example in the Red Hills, and the three houses that follow, all represent distinct vernacular architectural types. They’re in a community known on maps as Piscola. Though named for nearby Piscola Creek, it may have had been related to a plantation. There were three African-American churches and a school in the general area, which was presumably populated by timber and turpentine workers.

Pine Hill Christian Church, Circa 1904, Piscola

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Pine Hill Church is surrounded by beautifully maintained Longleaf Pine plantation lands in the Red Hills region. The small building is a simple vernacular form, two bays deep, with a very notable steeple, which has recently been restored.

An African-American congregation, Pine Hill members were most likely employees of the nearby lumber and turpentine operations, and some may have come from the white congregations of nearby Grooverville.

Tenant Homestead, Circa 1904, Piscola

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Shed

It’s become quite unusual to find tenant properties that retain outbuildings. A shed and privy are still standing on this property, along with the house.

Privy

The house is a classic double-pen form with an added shed room.

Tenant House

Considering the location, these tenants would have been employed in the turpentine and/or timber business.

Winged-Gable Tenant House, Circa 1924, Piscola

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This tenant house was originally a hall and parlor type with a wing added at a later date. It’s actually unusual to find a vernacular tenant house that hasn’t been modified by additions. A resource surveyor noted of the house in 2004, “Building is vacant but replacement roof evident. Facade beginning to deteriorate.” There was also a stock barn on the property when the survey was done.

Gable Front Tenant House, Circa 1909, Piscola

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This tenant house in the Red Hills region has survived amazingly intact for such an isolated setting.

New Zion Baptist Church, Circa 1947, Piscola

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There was a nearly identical church building, known as Piscola Church and built circa 1944, that was located near this church. I didn’t see it when I drove through the area, so it may have been demolished.

There’s also an historic wooden schoolhouse nearby, but it was not accessible.