I went to Fitzgerald a couple of weekends ago for a birthday party and a memorial service, the kinds of gatherings that pull us back to our hometowns. While I was there, Lands Crossing was on my mind. The old store there had recently been struck by a vehicle and badly damaged, and I had a sinking feeling it wouldn’t be around much longer. In a light rain, I rode with my father out to that familiar landmark, about ten minutes from my childhood home, and carefully made a bunch of photographs. This week, I received a message that it had been demolished. In my line of work, I see these kinds of outcomes all over the state, but when a place is personal, it hits different. Henry Land’s Grocery wasn’t just a store; it was a storehouse of memories for people from all over the area, a place that quietly held pieces of many lives. It meant something not only to those who lived nearby, but also to the many who passed it over the years and folded it into their own stories. There were some painful memories, too, of families who had lost loved ones in a tragic highway accident years earlier, and those sorrows lingered there as well. Yet, for the most part, it stood as a symbol of the good neighbors who supported it and of the everyday kindness that made it the heart of a community. I’m grateful to have been able to document it over the years. Even though the building had changed a bit, it was still important to people in this neck of the woods.
Lands Crossing is a great name for a place and Henry Land’s Grocery was the heart of this little crossroads community in Irwin County. You might find it on a map, if it’s a good map, but there was never a post office or railroad here. Henry Land, Jr., (1915-2000) ran this store for over 50 years, while also working as a farmer. The precinct house, seen at left, was later moved to Rex Johnson’s property, just down the road.
Update: As of October 2026, the store has been demolished.
I’ve made many photographs of Henry Land’s Grocery over the years. My earliest photographs of the store were made when the Coca-Cola sign was still hanging over the front door and not long after the Colonial Bread (or Sunbeam) screen doors had been removed.The community around the store, known as Lands Crossing (incorrectly identified on most maps as Lands Crossroads), has always been focused on farming and the country life and Henry Land was its beloved ambassador, a local figure who kept his community alive by keeping this store open as long as he was physically able to do so. It’s been closed for a generation now, but remains a local landmark and the anchor of many good memories. One of the nicest recollections of this community came in a message from Michael Yarbrough: “My father and his brothers were raised here, about a mile north of the store on a farmplace owned by Mr. Raleigh Player. Mr. Henry Land was a fine man and I knew him well myself….I’ve been in the store when it was open, but by the time I came along, someone else was running it. My dad ( Julian Yarbrough) told me that primarily this is where all the store bought goods they used came from. They also told me that every once in a while, a traveling bunch came through with an old portable screen and they showed movies there around the store. My dad said they would sit around on buckets or crates with a Coke and watch the movies. I have also been told that way back, some members in the community may have occasionally had a church service under the old oak tree behind the store. (This was located beside the old precinct house until it was recently moved down the road). William Bishop told my dad and me that it at one time way back it was used a court house once in a case of where a fellow had stolen some corn from another. William said that Tommy Land told him that his daddy (Henry Land) was a jury member. It breaks my heart to think of all of those folks whom I knew from my dad’s raising, them being passed away now, gosh it leaves a hole in my heart. Wish we again had folks with the values and strengths of those. I am thankful to have come from a good bunch of folks and community.“
A note from Gary McDaniel (son of Joy McDaniel, author of the wonderful book Irwinville Farms Project: The Making of a Community) in November 2008 sums up the place and the man: “…in the 60’s, I would visit my grandparents nearby and my cousins and I would walk to Land’s Crossing and get an orange Nehi and a pack of peanuts from the grocery store. Henry Land was a gentle and nice man.“
In April 2010, J. W. Howell wrote: “Back in the 60’s I used to live about 3 miles from Land’s Crossing. Mr. Land who owned the grocery store was a fine man. I stopped in many a time for a Coke. There was another store across the intersection from his store, owned by Mr. George Clements. This was a great community where everybody knew everybody and everyone was a friend. I miss those days when life was so simple.“
In October 2010, Donya Land wrote this note, which gives a good idea of when the store was given its new look: “Henry Land was my great grandpa. I drive by the store every time I go to visit my family, and if I’m not mistaken the store is getting a couple coats of paint as of a few days ago!” This was around the time the old name plates from the Coca-Cola sign were removed and replaced with these stenciled versions, painted on wood.
It may look a bit different, but it’s still the heart of a community.
Update: As of October 2026, the store has been demolished.
In early spring, broomsedge (Andropogon virginicus) and coreopsis are widespread and a colorful sign of life in roadside ditches throughout South Georgia.
