Elim and Jones Creek are the two oldest churches in Long County, and after the Civil War, freedmen from both congregations formed their own churches. St. Thomas Missionary Baptist grew out of Jones Creek and I understand that the Greater Elem Historical Missionary Baptist Church was connected to Elim Baptist. It was established in 1873.
The house pictured below is thought to be one of the last surviving* employee cottages built by the Ludowici Celadon Company when they operated a factory in the community that took its name. There was likely a row or two of these houses near the Celadon plant, and some have referred to this area as the “White Line” because the segregated housing of the time had its boundaries nearby.
Though it appears to be of the saddlebag form, it is actually a hall-and-parlor cottage, with two rooms, a shed room, and preacher room, and is typical of factory housing of the era.
*- The location of the house is the primary reason for the identification as factory housing. It is possible that another of the factory structures survives on a nearby property not visible from the street. The postcard, mailed on 18 March 1915 to Ruth Potter of Lawton Station, New York, also contains a message that “…This is the roofing plant at lower end of this town. There is housing for workers…”
The Rimes Brothers Department Store building is the last surviving historic commercial retail structure in Ludowici, and was once the anchor of the town’s commercial row on McQueen Street, across from the depot. Neighboring buildings were destroyed by fire in 1970 and never rebuilt. They included the old Ludowici Hotel, Smiley’s General Merchandise, Branch’s Pharmacy, the Suwannee Store, and Collette’s Beauty Shop, among others.
The Rimes brothers [Henry P. (1872-1940), Eugene Booth (1868-1953), and Morgan T. (1856-1914)] came to Ludowici (then known as Johnston Station) in the 1880s from nearby Willie, Georgia, and began a mercantile business. The department store was a culmination of their earlier success and opened circa 1911. It was advertised as the largest store between Savannah and Waycross at the time, and, like many department stores of the era which sold everything from cribs to caskets, was true to its slogan: “We feed you, clothe you, and bury you.”
This was the home of Henry P. Rimes (1872-1940) and Helen Weaver Rimes (1882-1968). Mr. Rimes was a native of Willie, a vanished town located on what is today Fort Stewart Army Base. He and two of his brothers began a mercantile business in Johnston Station and were already well-established when the community was renamed Ludowici. He also served on the city council and was a steward of the Ludowici Methodist Church.
At one time, this was the home of Ludowici High School principal J. C. Cato. It is a typical central hallway cottage with an added shed room and features a Ludowici tile roof. Dates for the house vary in different sources, most landing between 1945-1952. The house is much older than that, likely circa 1910-1920.
This house, which has been identified as the Allen Johnston House, was razed in the past few days. Debate continues as to the date and early ownership of the house, which local sources cite as circa 1858. While a few hand-hewn beams were visible in the ruins, most of the carpentry appears to be later than 1858. Even if the house as it appeared before demolition dated to the 1890s, as some have suggested, it would be one of the oldest in Ludowici.
The chimneys are all that remain.
Like all of South Georgia, Long County saw what was likely record snowfall from Winter Storm Enzo. Amazingly, similar snowfall occurred in the area in 2018. Some random landmarks from throughout the week are shared below, most of which are in Ludowici. I’ll also be sharing some nature-based images from Griffin Ridge.
Ludowici Well Pavilion, Ludowici
Speed Trap Shake Shop, Ludowici
Ludowici Depot
Box cars crossing Main Street, Ludowici
Royal Inn, Ludowici
Long County Public Library, Ludowici
Oak Street, Ludowici
Johnston House, Ludowici
Godfrey House, Ludowici
Gerald Nobles House, Ludowici
Shopping Center, Ludowici
Storm Responders on US 84, Ludowici
The First Bank, Ludowici
3rd Street, Ludowici
McClelland House, Ludowici
Parker’s, Ludowici
Circle K, Ludowici
Ludowici Drugs
Howard Funeral Home, Ludowici
Bullard House, Ludowici
Lloyd Chapman House, Ludowici
Tobacco Barn, Long County
Jones Creek, Long County
Jones Creek Baptist Church Cemetery, Long County
Jones Creek Baptist Church, Long County
In 2013, I shared a post about this house, and identified it as the Allen Johnston House. The identification was made by people in Ludowici and there is some debate as to whether that is correct; nonetheless, it’s likely the oldest house in Ludowici and a recent clearing of the property is concerning.
Though parts of the house appear to be structurally sound, the eastern section is collapsing from the second floor down. According to previous comments, the house was still occupied in the early 1990s.
I believe this was originally the rear of the house but the entrance may have been switched to this side at some point in its history. There is more Ludowici Tile on this structure than on any other, to my knowledge, in Long County. Since the tile factory was in operation in the earliest part of the 20th century, the roof would have been a later addition, like the porches.
The kitchen was also attached to the house, as seen here.
I am unsure of the early history of this house, built circa 1870, but it is best remembered today as the home of the late Jake Godfrey, who served for a time as the mayor of Ludowici. It predates the establishment of the town by at least 30 years and was built when the community was known as Johnston Station.
The Ludowici Roof Tile Company opened a factory in Johnston Station, Georgia in 1904. This large structure was its de facto community center and also provided lodging for traveling executives, salesmen and contractors.
The tiny settlement of Johnston Station was renamed in honor of William Ludowici, who donated most of the money required to build a schoolhouse in the overnight boomtown . The economic impact of the factory was massive and during its ten years in operation, it provided over 2 million square feet of roofing materials for government buildings in the Panama Canal Zone. After Ludowici Roof Tile left town in 1914, the Club House was generally used as residential housing.
John A. Brown, who made this photograph circa 1965 and graciously shared it with me, recalls that his Brown grandparents lived here during World War I, when it was owned by a Lang (Laing?) family. He also remembers a spring-fed pool on the property. His grandfather and a partner were in a cross-tie business known as Kendricks & Brown who had a government contract during World War I. I believe it was used as a boarding house but it may have also been rented to single families. I’m not sure when it was torn down, either, but it was likely not too long after this photograph was made.