It might surprise some that the name Air Line was applied to this community in 1856. It seems way ahead of its time. But “air line” actually referred to a type of railroad with straighter routes and therefore, in theory, quicker travel times. The Georgia Air Line Railroad was established in 1856 and ran through this section of Hart County, where a village and post office were established to support the enterprise. It was a modern innovation by 1850s standards and a vast improvement over earlier less consistent lines. Today, a busy store still serves the area, and this freight warehouse and the old elementary school survive as reminders of an earlier era.
According to Aubrey Sims, via Facebook, there have been four school buildings at Air Line. He states that two burned to the ground and this is the only one still standing. Air Line Academy was the first, and built circa 1889 near this location. In 1925, a new school was built, which consolidated Union Hill (Bethany) and Cross Roads and was renamed Air Line Consolidated School. It was destroyed by fire in November 1938. A new school, thanks to the New Deal Works Progress Administration (WPA) agency, was completed and opened in 1940. It originally housed all grades but after another round of consolidation, was reduced to grades 1-8. An arson fire claimed the school in 1968, and the present structure was built in 1969. It remained in use until at least the 1990s. I believe the gymnasium also dates to 1969.
Owner or overseer’s home. There are several lightning rods on this pyramidal Georgian cottage.
Driving through the bucolic countryside of Hart County, I came upon this farm near Bowersville. As I slowly passed each structure and took in the scope of the property, I realized what an amazing place it was.
I’m identifying this is a commissary, for its store-like layout. It appears to be used as a barn today.
It has become rare to find this many structures still standing that were once the center of a vibrant working farm. I always appreciate the fact that there owners who recognize their importance and allow them to stand long past their original purpose has been fulfilled.
Barn
The farm looked much the same when photographed for an historic survey over 30 years ago, though the white paint was a bit brighter and one building has been lost.
Barn, which may have served another purpose at one time. Windows aren’t generally associated with barns.
Farms like these are the ones most people think of when they get nostalgic about our agrarian past. This may have been an larger operation than some, but it wasn’t a corporate farm running on government subsidies.
Double shotgun house, most likely used a tenant residence
These buildings have been empty for many years, yet they’re still maintained as part of a larger property today. There’s still a farm here and the landscape is really something to behold.
This store, or commissary, was likely built around the same time as the Craftsman house located behind it. Because the community is known as Maretts (for the Marett family), it’s a good bet there is an association. It’s one of at least three stores or commissaries in the general area, indicating a thriving agricultural community at the time they were built. Places like this were the convenience stores of their day, and since few people owned cars, they served an immediate local need.
This vernacular Craftsman home may be associated with the general store or commissary that stands along the highway directly in front of it; it was common for store owners to live in or near their businesses in the early 1900s.
This general store is located just around the corner from New Harmony Methodist Church, on Mt. Olivet Road. It may have once had gas pumps out front. The general area is now referred to as the Reed Creek community. It’s a very pastoral area, characterized by well-maintained farms and yards. I hope someone will recognize this place and help with its identification.
There is very little history to be found in regards to New Harmony Methodist Church. Our friends at Historic Rural Churches of Georgia date the structure to 1890, tentatively, but two local surveys I’ve consulted date it to 1870. Both dates are believable, since this style church was the most common in Georgia in the last half of the 19th century. These surveys also point out that it rests on a newer foundation, which is obvious.
The cemetery is quite interesting, as many of the graves are reburials, moved here when the Mt. Zion Cemetery was inundated by the creation of Lake Hartwell in May 1961.
Peter Albert “Lee” Fleming (1862-1898). Fleming’s wife and children’s names are also present on the modern stone which marks it.
There are more historic interments at New Harmony, perhaps, but the most fascinating marker is this yellow brick structure. It’s not quite a crypt and not quite a grave house. The brick is probably local to the area.
Decedent unknown
As a fan of vernacular monuments, I really liked this cross.
This central hallway cottage was built by Jackson Morrison circa 1902 as the anchor of his four-acre property in the historically Black Hartwell neighborhood known as Rome. Mr. Morrison, a well-respected community leader, was a skilled carpenter, farmer, and real estate entrepreneur, purchasing at least ten lots in the Rome community between 1920-1928. The land, originally owned by white residents, was subdivided and the transactions handled by Mr. Morrison, allowing many Blacks who otherwise would not have been able to own land to buy parcels. On his own four acres, Morrison raised vegetables, wheat, cotton, and corn, and farmed additional land in Hart County. Morrison and his wife both died in the 1960s but the home remains in the ownership of the family, who no longer live in Georgia.
This extraordinary vernacular Queen Anne/Folk Victorian cottage is a great example of local craftsmanship being applied to a simple central hallway form. That it has survived so largely intact is a testament to the work, in my opinion. [The photograph dates to 2015 but the house was still standing when I went through Bowersville a couple of years ago].
Bowersville Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
This place had some of the best homemade biscuits I’ve eaten anywhere. I was here in 2017 and think it may still be open but under another name. I just hope it’s still as good as it was when I visited.
The building is located near Hartwell Dam, hence the unusual name.
