Thanks to Don King, former police chief of Leary, I can confirm that this was the old jail/calaboose. Mr. King writes: This is the old jail. It was once located where the library is now. The old jail was purchased by the peanut mill and moved there. The library (block building) was once the jail that replaced the wooden jail structure.
Leary, Circa 1950, Photographer Unknown. Courtesy John McKinney
Leary is one of my favorite little towns to explore in Southwest Georgia and in the past decade I’ve seen most of these structures vanish from Main Street. John McKinney shared this photo, circa 1950, to help put things into perspective. The Boyd monument, which is now in a green space at the end of the street, is seen here in its original location.
While reviewing images for a manuscript, I came across this house in Leary and realized I’d never posted it before. The reason I’m posting it now is because on a recent trip I noticed it had been torn down. It was a large house, across from the Jordan houses.
I found several shotgun houses in Leary. I’ve always liked them and find them increasingly difficult to locate in authentic condition. The tiny house and sustainable architecture movements have been responsible for new versions popping up all over the place, but the originals have a character all their own.
Even with such a simple style there’s variation and that’s what I like about the Leary examples.
Sadly, Leary’s small commercial core on Main Street is greatly endangered. The only building that appears to be in really good condition is the Masonic Lodge (brick building with arched windows).
As of late 2016, I understand the building on the left has been razed. Bob Kemerait shared this photo.
The Mission Revival style saw its greatest popularity between 1890-1915. Once relatively popular in South Georgia, few examples survive in good condition. I don’t know if this was always a hardware store; the Ace sign likely dates to the 1970s, indicating it was open until at least that time.
I believe this was razed in late 2016.
Though it’s barely discernible, this old Coca-Cola mural, like many others around Georgia, can still be made out if you look closely enough. The building it once brightly adorned was likely a general store.
These old 32-ounce soda bottles were in the window.
Viewed in perspective, these are the Jordan houses seen in the previous two posts.
Like it’s neighbor on the other side of the block, this house has been painted since I last photographed it in 2010 (below). These houses are quite popular with photographers.
Vanishing Georgia: Photographs by Brian Brown 