I made the first photograph about three years ago. The truck driver just stopped his truck in the road and waited for his meal. The food is that good.
The restaurant is still here, but is just known as the Hen House now. It does, however, still have great fried chicken and lots of other local favorites.
Built by Martha E. Mann, this house was sold to Claude Dixon in 1924.
This beautiful school is well-maintained and is used by Southeastern Technical College and the Glennville Tattnall Museum.
This was previously identified as the J. B. Caswell House, but I cannot locate a J. B. Caswell in any Tattnall County references. There was a James William Caswell (1855-1948) and his son, James Marvin Caswell, Sr. (1896-1977), but those are the only Caswell names I could find.
I made these photographs at last year’s (2011) 35th Annual Glennville Sweet Onion Festival. Tattnall County grows more Vidalia Sweet Onions than any other county, accounting for nearly half of the state’s crop every year.
After Glennville’s Hughes Hotel burned to the ground on Christmas Eve night 1920, business leaders under the auspices of the Kiwanis Club began the process of building a new one. A few years later, this was constructed with forty rooms as one of the most modern hotels in the area. It featured electric light, hot and cold running water, and steam heat. Dr. & Mrs. J. M. Hughes were the first operators. Roxanne Hughes came up with the name Glennwanis, as part of a contest. It combined the name of Glennville with Kiwanis. Over the years the property has had numerous owners and served many purposes but today is owned by the Glennville Downtown Development Authority, who are in the process of restoring its interior.
National Register of Historic Places
Over the years, it has been suggested that this was a Phillips 66 or a Pure Oil filling station. I tend to believe it was Pure Oil, but cannot confirm. The Tudor Revival style was used by several petroleum retailers during the golden age of roadside travel in the 1930s and 1940s, including Phillips 66 and Pure Oil. This building has obviously been modified, and likely has had a chimney removed. I assigned it a date circa 1940 as an average, since the style was popular in the 1930s and 1940s.
Bill Kicklighter writes: This building was owned by my uncle, he made his living selling boiled peanuts & fresh produce in the summer & homemade sausage, liver pudding, hoghead cheese, winter produce like mustard, turnips, collards & sweet potatoes, he also bootlegged 1/2 pints & pints of cheap government whiskey, That was the good ole days ! The vet clinic was formed after his death by other people.
Update: As of 2021, I believe this structure has been razed.
This is one of the most interesting businesses I’ve come across in my travels, a combination bar and wrecker service. Tim Whitesides wrote that D. J.’s was his late Uncle Danny John’s business. He said “It was a quiet place, like Cheers. The same people came every day. Very relaxing place . My uncle did not drink; he only ran the bar and tow service.”