This mural has been altered since I made this photograph and gives a hint as to the history of the building. It was the Lyerly Cash Store in the early 1900s, selling groceries, feeds, and fresh meat. In recent years, it appears to have been the Jackson Brothers Warehouse. It’s a nice old building.
Though this building is better remembered as a garage and filling station, Derek Reynolds wrote that it was originally a sausage factory. Marie Hanna wrote that it was the Ragland gas station and was used to store old cars. Billy W. Gilliland added: The building Marie referred to as the Ragland gas station is partially correct. It was a gas station, but was officially Ragland’s garage. They worked on cars, trucks and tractors, and fixed flat tires. They also did welding and anything else you needed done. Selling gas was probably just a small part of their business. You could always count on the for quality work and reasonable prices. Prior to that it was Sitton’s garage.
This commercial block probably dates to the early 1900s. Marie Hanna shared this history: The green building is owned by Dickie Tanner. Years ago it was the Dinner Bell Cafe. The Tanners used the building for their glove mill. Later a Christian Book Store and bakery was on the right side of the building and a church was on the left side of the building.
This pressed-tin false front building appears to have been a warehouse of some kind. It’s one of several interesting false front structures in Lyerly. False front refers to a gable front structure that has had a rectangular front added. This is meant to make the building look larger and was very common in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
There’s been a post office in Lyerly since 1889. This one is of the Mid-Century Modern style that was ubiquitous between the late 1950s and early 1970s.
Between Summerville and the Alabama line on Georgia Highway 114, Lyerly is located in one of the most scenic areas of Northwest Georgia. It’s not known exactly when Lyerly was established but it has close ties to the nearby lost towns of Glenwood and Melville. The Chattanooga Rome & Columbus Railway built a depot in what would become Lyerly in 1888 and the town was incorporated in 1891. It’s thought to be named for Tennessee bank president Charles Abner Lyerly, who had investments in the area.