One of the main objectives of my ramble through Effingham County yesterday was to photograph this church, which I think is one of the most unique in the area. I’d normally be annoyed that there were cars or other intrusions in my quest for a photograph, but I was very glad to see this work being done. And you can just imagine, from this perspective in the shade of an enormous oak beside the adjacent Helmey Cemetery, that it’s a beautiful spot. If not the founders of the congregation, Joseph Israel Helmey (1843-1914) or his son Kollock Israel Helmey (1868-1949), were instrumental in its establishment. The fact that the cemetery bears their name is evidence of that fact. The Helmey family dates back to at least 1800 in Effingham County.
Miller Chapel was a “daughter” congregation of Zion Lutheran Church, established in 1888, after Zion had become independent of Jerusalem Church in 1872. After the Miller Chapel congregation was dissolved, it served as the home of Berea Southern Methodist Church. A new sign indicates that Zion is responsible for the restoration and that it will once again be a Lutheran congregation. The Salzburger Lutherans of Effingham County are among the earliest settlers of Georgia.
This structure was built circa 1904. The twin pyramidal steeples are its most impressive architectural feature. It’s great to see boards being replaced, a new roof, and window panes being properly repaired instead of being replaced. I hope this suggests that they will not be adding vinyl siding to the building.
The I-House, or Plantation Plain, was a widely popular house type in Georgia before the Civil War, evolving from, and sometimes confused with, the Federal style. Even with utilitarian roots, the type is associated with prosperous farmers and plantation owners. The oldest surviving example of this type in Georgia, Glen Echo, is less than 20 miles from this location and dates to the 1770s. This later example is evidence of the continuing popularity of the style after the Civil War.
This house has a long one-story wing at the rear. Vinyl siding has been added, as well as new chimneys, a new door and sidelights, and a porch. A 1990 Georgia Historic Resources survey noted: Believed to be the Shearouse* Homestead. The Shearouses were among the first Salzburger families to settle in the Zion Community.
*-The survey spells the name “Shearhouse” but I believe that to be a transcription error, as I only locate the “Shearouse” spelling in a quick check of local genealogical sources.
This cottage is located in the vicinity of Eden. Eden, and all of the south end of Effingham County, is being completely transformed by new construction and a rapidly expanding presences of warehouses, some nearly a million square feet in size. The little communities that once defined the area are becoming difficult to distinguish.
A 1990 Georgia Historic Resources survey suggested that this structure may have been moved to this location but I cannot confirm that. Perhaps the newer chimneys led to that conclusion. There’s also an attached kitchen at the rear of the structure. Whatever the home’s origins, it’s a type once common in the area that is increasingly endangered.
Over the next several days, I’ll be publishing quite a few new photographs from Effingham County, while also re-editing my existing posts from the county.
Due to the growth of the Salzburger settlement at Ebenezer by the 1740s, a need arose for new churches to serve a dispersed population. Goshen Church was built about 1751, established about a mile from the present location as Goshen Lutheran Church. Oral tradition states that when a malaria outbreak threatened the health and lives of Goshen’s congregants, they sawed the church in half and moved it to this site, where they rebuilt it. Goshen remained part of the Ebenezer Parish until after the American Revolution. Goshen had always been served by Lutheran pastors who preached in German, and because of the language barrier, Pastor Bergman invited Bishop Asbury to send Methodist preachers to reach the congregation. Moravian missionaries used the church as a meetinghouse after the Lutherans moved on.
In 1820, Reverend James O. Andrew established the Methodist congregation at Goshen and the Lutherans transferred the property a few years later. The Reverend Lewis Myers began his pastorate circa 1823 and served the church for many years.
Goshen was a town long before Rincon existed and was the site of the first post office in Effingham County. Local lore maintains the George Washington once visited the church trading post.
Goshen Cemetery
The earliest identified burials in Goshen Cemetery date to around the time the Methodists assumed ownership of the church and it is the final resting place of many Effingham County pioneers. The following monuments and headstones are presented randomly and I photographed them as much for their aesthetic appeal as their historical importance.
A brick enclosure, perhaps built by enslaved men, surrounds the gravesites of many members of the Gugel family, who were prominent members of the church and community.
Tomb of Hannah Gugel Nowlan (January 1791-10 September 1833) The slab reads: To the memory of Mrs. Hannah Nowlen Who departed this life Sept 10th 1833 Aged 42 years and 9 months
Can marble tell the worth of Spirit felt Where dust here mingles with its kindred dead: Say there – the faithful friend in silence rests. The Mother whose fond heart was tenderness. The Child whose filial joy of filial love Now draw the parents hears to realms above, The sister loving constant, true, sincere The Christian meek to Zion precious one
Here rests in Hope
Mrs. Nowlan was the wife of George Galphin Nowlan, 1787-1816, Colonel in the War of 1812. Colonel Nowlan is buried in Memory Hill Cemetery, Milledgeville.
The tomb is signed by Savannah stonemasons Maxwell & Gow.
Margaret Waldhaur Gugel (8 April 1762-28 September 1844) and David Gugel(21 January 1764-24 April 1842) were the parents of Hannah Nowlan. David Gugel was a private and fifer in the Georgia Militia, enlisted in 1782. He served under General Anthony Wayne, helped build bridges and guard the Ebenezer magazine and the stores at Zubly’s Ferry.
Mary Ann Gugel Olcott (1797-24 January 1822) Mrs. Olcott was also a daughter of Margaret and David Gugel. She was married to Reverend James S. Olcott. The headstone indicates that two of her babies are buried here, as well.
Detail of headstone of Elizabeth Gugel Charlton (13 February 1793-11 July 1869) Mrs. Charlton was also a daughter of Margaret and David Gugel.
William Bandy (24 October 1799-24 May 1825) and Mary Bandy (16 October 1795-16 October 1825)
Tree of Life tympanum of Sarah Ann Black Zittrouer (14 December 1830-20 December 1899)
Tree of Life tympanum of William Josiah Zittrouer (10 September 1820-4 March 1895). Mr. Zittrouer was a Confederate veteran.
This “Salzburger Plan” Georgian Cottage is one of several in the general area. Variations of the style, while not endemic to Effingham County, were very popular here in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
This farmhouse is located on a section of 1000 acres originally granted to Samuel Neidlinger, who built a hand-hewn log house on the property in 1788. Neidlinger was a settler of New Ebenezer but left that community after the Revolutionary War. Another house on the property, built by Samuel Neidlinger’s son, Emanuel, was burned by Union troops while Emanuel was away in service. The pioneer Neidlinger’s great-grandson, Lenorian, built the present house in 1904. Lenorian was a Georgia state senator in the early 20th century.
The house is a Georgian cottage, though locally, the style is known as the Salzburger Plan.
