I haven’t located the identity of the builder of this historic Craftsman cottage; it was purchased by local musical legend Rugh Boggs (1928-2020) in 1977.
Boggs House, Circa 1929, Hahira
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Category Archives: –LOWNDES COUNTY GA–
Post Office, 1960s, Hahira
For a long time, I didn’t appreciate the simple aesthetics of the Mid-Century Modern and Modernist architecture that defined the post offices of the 1950s and 1960s, but as I’ve gotten older I’ve changed my mind. The longer I look at the simple lines, the more I like them. Many have been decommissioned to make way for larger post offices in growing communities and original examples are getting scarcer.
Smith House, 1945, Hahira
So far, I’ve been unable to locate any history for this building, which is used as a quadraplex apartment house today. It may have originated as a boarding house, or even a private residence. It has likely been expanded and therefore overlooked by historic surveys.
Gold Leaf Hotel, Circa 1940, Hahira
This imposing structure at the crossroads of US Highway 41 and Main Street in downtown Hahira was built circa 1940-1941 to replace an earlier hotel lost to fire circa 1939. Dr. E. J. Smith was an early owner, and many of the rooms were initially rented to local teachers. Dr. Smith’s daughter, Dorothy Salter, later operated this hotel, and another property known as the Wal-Dot, which may have been a motel, with her husband. The old hotel was converted to apartments in the 1990s.
John Nelson Deming House, 1898, Valdosta
In their 2020 Places in Peril designation of this house, also known as the Deming-McDonald House, the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation notes: In the latter half of the nineteenth century, carpenter John Deming moved from Canada to Georgia, where he would establish himself as the preeminent master builder in the rapidly growing city of Valdosta. Deming was responsible for many of the city’s most ornate and imposing houses constructed between the late 1800s until the 1920s, most notable among them The Crescent, completed in 1899 for Colonel W. S. West, who later became a U.S. senator. Deming built his own two-story, eclectically styled home on a corner of North Oak Street in 1898 using leftover materials donated by Col. West from his own soon-to-be-completed property.
The Trust goes on to point out that the house has been unoccupied for a long time and that it is deteriorating rapidly. Without intervention, it will likely be condemned at some point, opening the door for commercial development of the property.
Sunset Hill Cemetery, 1861, Valdosta
Sunset Hill is the oldest public cemetery in Valdosta. It was established in 1861 with a gift of 30 acres by Charles Ogden Force, a former Valdosta postmaster. Like the vast majority of Victorian cemeteries, Sunset Hill has a park-like layout. It is well-maintained by the city. I only had time to document a few monuments, so the examples here are shared for their general aesthetic appeal.
This fascinating relief is one of four which adorn the sides of the monument of Dr. Oscar Samuel Cummings, a native of New Hampshire who practiced medicine and was an active Mason in Valdosta before his death. It is the work of the Monumental Bronze Company of Bridgeport, Connecticut. Monumental Bronze marketed their memorials as “white bronze”, though they were neither white nor bronze. Instead, they were cast of zinc and were quite popular, and expensive, during the 1880s and 1890s.
The Last Voyage was designed by sculptor Archibald McKellar for the Monumental Bronze Company in 1881. It was based on A Gentle Wafting to Immortal Life, a marble sculpture by Felix M. Miller, and an engraving by William Roffe. Miller chose his title from a line in Milton’s Paradise Lost: “A death, like Sleep, A gentle wafting to immortal life.”
National Register of Historic Places
Ousley Baptist Church, 1881, Lowndes County
Ousley Baptist Church was established in 1850 but didn’t construct their first permanent home until 1874. It was replaced by this structure, which has been in continual use since 1881 . It is one of the landmark churches of Lowndes County.
Henrietta Plantation, Circa 1857, Lowndes County
This is one of the oldest surviving houses in Lowndes County. Built circa 1857 by Mills Murphree Brinson (1812-1860), it was later purchased by his son-in-law, Remer Young Lane (1826-1917). Lane was married to Brinson’s daughter, Henrietta (1836-1918). Remer Lane was a successful banker and in the 1890s was a principal investor in the Strickland Cotton Mill in Valdosta. When it opened in 1899, the surrounding mill village was named Remerton in his honor.
Lane’s son, Mills Bee Lane, Sr. (1860-1945) was the next owner of the plantation, which he named Henrietta for his mother. He was instrumental in the establishment of the Citizens and Southern (C&S) Bank and under his leadership it became one of the most profitable financial institutions in the nation.
Naylor School, Lowndes County
I would estimate that this structure, which likely served all grades, was built in the 1910s or 1920s.
Harris House, 1904, Naylor
This is a nice example of the evolution of vernacular architecture at the turn of the last century and illustrates the complications of choosing an architectural identification. Various surveyors might call it a cottage or a house, with such qualifiers as hip-roof, pyramidal, Georgian Cottage, Folk Victorian, and perhaps more. Thanks to Mercy Yates for bringing it to my attention.