Category Archives: –HARRIS COUNTY GA–

Shimmy Burt House, Waverly Hall

From a visitor named Lynn: A black man Called Shimmy aka Mr. Burt lived here. He lived here alone & his family lived about 2 miles away. He was my dad’s best friend. They both served in the Korean War together. My dad lived at 7038 GA Highway 208, two houses down from here. I spent a lot of my childhood in the front room by the wood heater. In the late 90s Mr Burt accidentally fell on the heater, burning his legs so bad they had to be removed. He moved into The Nursing Home in Waverly Hall. My dad passed away in 1997 & Mr Burt passed away 2000. They were lifelong friends!

Pyramidal Cottage, Harris County

Shady Grove Baptist Church, 1907, Harris County

Founded by Harris County pioneer settlers in 1832, the congregation of Shady Grove has survived for nearly two centuries. After loss of members and years of inactivity, the church has been given new life with a new membership and regular services. The present structure replaced an earlier church building that burned in 1907.

General Elias Beall House, 1847, Hamilton

This Greek Revival landmark was originally the home of General Elias H. Beall (c.1783-1866), who helped established a trading post that became the city of Columbus for Governor John Forsyth. Beall, a native of Guilford County, North Carolina, migrated to Georgia with his parents in the 1790s. He and his first wife, Mary “Polly” Beall, moved to Oglethorpe County in 1808 and by 1824 were residing in Monroe County, where Beall was a Presidential Elector. In the 1830s, they were living in Macon. At some point Beall moved to present-day Hamilton, Georgia, where he built this house circa 1847. He moved to Texas within just a few years of building this house.

After the Civil War, the house was purchased by James Monroe Mobley. It is also known as the Beall-Mobley-Williams House.

Curiously, a portion of the house is used today as a Subway restaurant. An architect was used to do the modification and I presume he was sensitive to preserving the historical importance of the house.

Hudson Cotton Warehouse, 1877, Hamilton

I believe my identification of this building to be correct, but if not, I’ll update. It most recently served as an optometrist’s office, but was originally the cotton warehouse of William I. Hudson (1822-1877). Hudson was a county commissioner, state representative, and state senator.

Harris County Courthouse, 1908, Hamilton

The architect of this courthouse, Edward Columbus Hosford (1883-1939), was a native of Eastman. He designed numerous courthouses and public buildings in Florida, as well as the Dodge County courthouse in his hometown. He was also responsible for the major renovations done to the Bulloch County Courthouse in Statesboro.

National Register of Historic Places

Switzer-Ingram-Hudson House, 1830s, Hamilton

This marvelous structure originated as a Federal I-House and was likely begun much earlier than the given date of circa 1830. Some have suggested that it was the second house ever built in Hamilton, but that needs further substantiation. Its earliest known owner was Williamson Switzer, Judge of the Inferior Court of Harris County from 1833-37. Switzer was among the most prominent citizens of Harris County in his day and was instrumental in the establishment of the poor asylum in the county in 1835. Later owners were Porter Ingram and William Irby Hudson, a Georgia state legislator and senator.

Hamilton’s 1865 Masonic Lodge Slated for Demolition

Built just after the Civil War, in December 1865, this structure was originally home to Hamilton Lodge #16, Chapter #30, Free & Accepted Masons. Numerous commercial tenants occupied it throughout its history. Lou Brackett sent me an email yesterday and a copy of an article from the Harris County Journal detailing the impending demolition* of the building. According to the article, part of the roof has collapsed, as well as a section of the interior second floor and the city sees it as a potential liability. Once again, demolition by neglect has begotten actual demolition, and history goes with it.

*As of 20 September 2019, the building is being dismantled.