Silver Hill Church was originally associated with the Methodists but is now independent. I spoke with a nice gentleman who had been visiting the cemetery here who said the congregation dated to the 1890s and the present structure was built circa 1911, if I’m remembering correctly. He said it was all still original other than the steeple, which is a more recent addition.
I usually find “added” steeples to be tacky or at the least not very well thought out, but this one is particularly nice. The church building itself is an example of the dominant form for rural chapels, a long rectangular box with windows, or bays, corresponding to the depth of the structure. This plain style is a pinnacle of vernacular “design” and serves its purpose so well.
When I was photographing the Mars Theatre before its restoration, about ten years ago, some of the nice folks with the City of Springfield suggested I photograph this property, as it’s considered the most historic farmstead in the county. I believe the referrer was a relative of the family. It’s not a public property but I was lucky to find the road to the farm open. As the sign says, this land was first surveyed in May 1800.
The land was first owned by David Reiser (1765-1836), a descendant of one of the early Salzburger families who came to Effingham County from Austria in 1736. Reiser received a grant of 450 acres from the State of Georgia in 1802. The farm, which grew into plantation with the addition of 150 acres, was inherited by David’s son, Christopher F. Reiser (1813-1884). Christopher and his wife had two sons and thirteen daughters.
One of Christopher’s sons, Virgil Herbert Reiser (1852-1918) purchased 100 acres of the family plantation in 1874 and developed his own farm, which became the present-day Reiser-Zoller Farm. After his marriage to Ella Gnann in 1879, they began living on the property. The small house behind the two-story house was their home originally, and all of their children were born here. The principal crop of the farm was corn but Virgil also raised cattle and hogs, which were floated on timber rafts and sold downriver in Savannah. As more crops were raised and timber cleared, the farm concurrently included a turpentine operation.
Tobacco Barn, Mid-20th century
In 1900, Virgil’s relative, Pierce Edwards, was hired to build the larger farmhouse, needed to accommodate his growing family and farm. Upon Virgil’s death, his son Herbert (1880-1970) inherited the property. He added pecan and grapes, as well as tobacco, and more livestock, to the operation. It continued to grow under his stewardship. Herbert never married, and a nephew, Walter Zoller, became the next owner, and the fifth generation of the family to own the land.
House built by Virgil Reiser in 1875
Such an intact historical farm is rare anywhere and the family’s commitment to its preservation is inspiring. It is of statewide importance as a landmark of agricultural heritage.
This general store faces the railroad tracks in what was the commercial center of the Kildare community of northern Effingham County. Following W. H. White’s death in 1930, his daughter operated the store.
It’s typical of myriad general stores in Georgia, and was built in the practical “shotgun” form, more often associated with houses. It’s quintessential rural Georgia to me, and I’d wager that every one of our 159 counties had at least one place like this in the past. It was easy to build, relatively inexpensive, and served its purpose without fuss or fanfare.
As the iconic photos taken by the WPA and FSA photographers during the Great Depression attest, most of these little stores were covered with tin signs in their heyday. When those signs became valuable, the ones not secured by their owners were stolen.
When I think of Shawnee I think of the Graham and Usher families, and I imagine one of them owned this house, which sits across from the commissary that has become the symbol of the village.
It’s a somewhat rare house type known as a double shotgun. While the lack of windows along most of the side of the house is unappealing today, this was a common practice with utilitarian dwellings. Most of them were rental properties or tenant housing “provided” to employees and since they were already viewed as an added expense by their owners, costs were cut any way they could be. Windows were expensive.
When I photographed this one, in 2015, it was still in relatively good condition. It was overgrown the last time I was in Shawnee.
One of my favorite structures in Effingham County doesn’t actually stand alone, but rather, is attached to the rear of the well-loved Graham Commissary building which stands along the rail line in what was once the Shawnee community .
It has been identified as a residence by a member of the Graham family, who owned the commissary. What’s curious is that most such attachments usually conform to the architecture of the host store, but this one is quite distinct. From Julie Graham Weddle’s comments, I think that some of the Graham grandchildren, the Andrew Ushers, were the later owners of the “cottage”. Apparently, long after the commissary was closed, it was rented out to numerous families.
Architecturally, it’s a saddlebag house. The old window shutters lead me to believe the cottage was there before the commissary, or was moved and attached at some point. It’s one of the nicest vernacular houses in Effingham County on its own merit. This photo dates to 2012. It’s in rapidly deteriorating condition as of this writing.
A post office was established at Meldrim in 1890, and is still operating today. It’s located about 18 miles from Savannah and grew as a railroad junction because of its proximity to Georgia’s first city and busiest port.
The city is thought to have been named for Peter Meldrim (1848-1933) or his family. Meldrim was a member of a prominent Irish-American family in Savannah. He served as a colonel in the 1st Georgia Cavalry in the defense of the city against Union troops when he was sixteen, became a respected attorney who served as president of the Georgia Bar Association, served in the state senate, was mayor of Savannah, and a brigadier general in the Georgia National Guard, among many other civic activities. He was also an early and outspoken champion of the education of African-Americans in Georgia. He lived in the National Historic Landmark Green-Meldrim House until his death.
*-Some might identify this as a Georgian Cottage, but the depth of the house and the fact that it has a central hallway make it a shotgun house, in my opinion. It’s one of my favorite houses in Meldrim, plain as it is, and I chose it to represent Meldrim because it’s likely one of the oldest houses still standing in the city.
Though it features Queen Anne fretwork along the top of the porch, this house should be considered Folk Victorian. The bay wing on the right side of the house and the diagonal placement of the front door and steps is quite eclectic. I haven’t been able to locate any history.
Other than the name and date, I know no history of this house. My observation is that it is two rooms deep and laid out like an I-house. It’s situated away from the road on a large lot.
Guyton Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
This house stands at the busiest intersection in Guyton, nearly hidden today by shrubbery and trees. It was built the same year as The Rabbi, a few blocks away, and both are excellent examples of the Carpenter Italianate style. I wouldn’t be surprised if they were the work of the same local builder. I don’t know much about the house, other than the owners’ names and year built, but did learn that its last residents, Quitman D. “Dale” (1933-2012) & Marjorie Lee Jackson (1942-2016), were dedicated to its preservation.
Marjorie’s obituary is a heartwarming portrait of a Southern lady, albeit one who adopted the South as her home: Marjorie was known to friends and family as “Margie” and earlier as a young girl as “Little Margie”. Margie spent her early years growing up in Los Angeles, CA where she met husband, Quitman D. Jackson (Dale), her husband of 54 years while he was serving in the US Navy. Married in 1959, they both yearned for the tranquility of the South and in 1977, they found their own lifelong dream home, much like the historic houses she loved and researched, in Guyton, GA. She spent her life as a wonderful wife and amazing mother to 3 children, whom she devoted her creative talents to teach them everything she knew. She tended and loved her life in Guyton for nearly 40 years.
An avid believer in historic preservation, she was a member of the Guyton Historic Society in the early years and loved to invite folks in for the Annual Tour of Homes, dressed in her Southern Belle finery. She was an artist that saw the importance of music and visual beauty and a refined decorator in her home for each season. She loved to learn about travel through study and reading and mastered her skills of creating international meals to bring to her family table. She would often come back to her country roots cooking up her world renowned (according to her children) Sunday fried chicken dinners with skillet fried potatoes & okra and corn bread along with the sweetest tea you ever had the pleasure to enjoy.
Margie painted, drew portraits, made her kid’s clothes, sang and played the piano. Her favorite time was Christmas, when she would decorate every room in varying themes of the holiday, including several Christmas trees. She was once featured in Southern Living Magazine and was so proud of the distinguished honor. She was an incredible gardener and grew hundreds of varieties of flowers in her yard in Guyton including Japanese and English gardens, which her husband built for her to tend.
After years as a homemaker, once the children left the nest, she worked for many years at Thompson’s IGA, enjoying the socializing on a daily basis. She was loved by many customers and had many stories to tell from her time there.
Surveys date this gabled-ell house to 1887 but I’m going to go out on a limb and say it was likely built earlier than that. Perhaps the left hand side of the house was built before the wing was added and it could even have antebellum origins. It really gives a Plantation Plain vibe. The entry door has a transom and sidelight and the window pediments are notable. It’s a hidden gem in Guyton and wish I knew more about it.
Guyton Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
