I always heard that this was the Red Chimneys Inn and that it was built in the late 1850s. Though local lore also claims that Confederate President Jefferson Davis had a leisurely visit on the front porch the night before he was captured by Union forces nearby, this is not the case. According to Mrs. Willie Mae Smith, who wrote historical articles, both accurate and nostalgic, for the Ocilla Star in the 1970s and 1980s: “Irwinville Hotel stood across the road west from the courthouse, but as to its age, have found no one who knows. I know it was here in 1907….Professor Royal at one time was manager of this hotel, then, in 1907 W. J. Willingham assumed management. [Rooms were rented at the rate of $1 per day!]…The hotel was run by several different families: Murrays, Walkers, and Whiteheads.

Mrs. Smith also went on to say that the building was of log construction, hidden beneath the boards, and that it was used as a supply station in the Civil War. I believe this to be apocryphal, though I won’t completely rule it out without further investigation. Its most likely date of construction is the 1880s.

Update: The Irwinville Hotel was demolished in 2017. A Dollar General store was built on the lot .