I believe this was built as a Plantation Plain and was later modified to its present appearance. It’s a beautiful old home and is the centerpiece of the Hendrix Farm, whose produce and Vidalia Onions are well-loved in the area.
Hiram Jones gave the land for this church along Fifteen Mile Creek in 1875. It remains a very active congregation.
In its heyday, Excelsior was the cultural center of Bulloch County (this part of old Bulloch is now located in Candler County), and Josh Everett was one of its pioneer settlers. While this house was being built, his family lived in a log cabin which was later moved for use as a servants’ dwelling. The house was originally built in the Plantation Plain style (circa 1866); the wings were added later as the family grew.
This mule & horse barn, a landmark in its own right, was built around the same time as the store across the road (1900). Mr. Everett had a nail for every mule and horse. Each one’s gear was on a different nail. There was also a sawmill beyond the barn. You know when you see it from Dutch Ford Road that it’s quite special, the sort of historic farmstead that is all too rare today.
Howard Bland and Fate DeLoach bought the property in 1940 and it remained in the DeLoach family until 1988. Thanks to the Nevil family, who recognize its historic importance, it’s still a working farm and has been given a dual purpose as Dutch Ford Farms Wedding & Event Venue. Susan Nevil gladly shared its amazing story. If you need a great location for a wedding or family reunion, get in touch with them via their Facebook page. I can’t imagine a more peaceful place for hosting an unforgettable event.
Josh Everett originally had a small commissary or farm store beside his house, but his business grew so much that he built this store in front of the house to accommodate it. Seeing it over the cotton plants, I was just sure that this was originally a Primitive Baptist Church, as the design is similar to many of them I’ve photographed, but thanks to Susan Nevil, I now know the real history.Viewed from the front, it’s more obvious that it was a country store.
It did serve briefly as a church in 1984 (though that is a small part of its story) after a tornado destroyed the Excelsior Baptist Church. That summer, the ladies of the church cleaned out the old store and put it to use while a new church was being built. The church also began a mission with the Hispanic community at that time and it has grown into today’s Iglesia Cristiana Hispana in Metter.
Near this wonderful old farmhouse, which is still the heart of a working farm, a historical marker placed by the Averitt Foundation reads: Excelsior was the cultural center of Bulloch County in the late 1800s before it became part of Candler County. It was founded in 1875 on land donated by Jimerson Kennedy, Remer Franklin, W. W. Olliff, Dr. Jeff Williams, and John G. Jones. These founders desired to build a “good and permanent school” for their children, so they funded the construction of Excelsior Academy. It was built in a place thought of as the town square, surrounded by oak and pine trees. It attracted students from nearby areas who boarded with community members during the school term. Its teachers were often affiliated with the Baptist church in town. The academy drew newcomers to Excelsior, which grew after its establishment.
The Excelsior News (1877) became the first newspaper in Bulloch County and also served people in neighboring areas. Olliff’s General Store on the outskirts of town was another community staple. After nearby areas grew due to railway construction in the early 1900s, they siphoned off the population of Excelsior. The academy became a primary school in a sparsely populated town.
As you can tell by things that I photograph, not everything I capture is literally vanishing. It’s still my focus and will remain so to document old farmhouses and barns, small town architectural landmarks, country churches and the like. But since population trends suggest that fewer people are living in rural America and more are being pulled into the cities for work, I think nearly everything that represents our rural heritage is worth recording.
At the end of my day with Cal Avery we found this old farmhouse, a central hallway form with an added wing. It was a most productive trip and Cal was the best guide, covering more territory in a few hours than I often cover in a day. This is a bit “fancier” than the average vernacular farmhouse, and though abandoned, it could still be saved. Never take these old places for granted. They’re often gone in the blink of an eye.
The eclectic nature of this house was common in the late Victorian era. The layout of the house, sans the rear addition (attached kitchen, perhaps), is very closely related to the American Foursquare style though dormers aren’t common on this stye of house. The fretwork might be called Folk Victorian or Carpenter Gothic, and is the dominant stylistic element of the structure.
The structure attached at the rear of the house was likely used as a kitchen and may have been moved closer to the house in a remodel.
Ron Weatherford remembers: The farmer who rented this property and lived in the home built a baseball field behind the barn. Players from Swainsboro and surrounding farms came to play on Sunday afternoons back in the 60s. Had many fun afternoons playing baseball. It was a complete baseball field built to specs. His two sons played at Emanuel County Institute. I’m grateful to have had access to this property, which I consider a real landmark.
An old shed still stands on the property, perhaps used as a pump house.
As to the Carpenter Gothic-Folk Victorian detail, award-winning urbanist and town planner Lew Oliver of Whole Town Solutions notes that “Many such jig sawn ornaments were actually catalogue pieces, ordered and distributed by rail. They are likely “folk” or vernacularized versions of their more sophisticated antecedents…the cast iron ornamental porches found in wealthier cities. The house form seems to be related to the two story classical box forms common in Milledgeville and vicinity to the northwest. Window pattern of 6/6 is common in earlier styles…federal and Greek Revival.“
The shake dormers are a great feature of this house.
The rooms are large and the ceilings high.
The closed fireplace and green paint contrast greatly with the room pictured below.
This room is more representative of what the house looked like for most of its history.
