Meridian GA | Vanishing Georgia: Photographs by Brian Brown

Hidden on the edge of the road by thick woods today, these utilitarian hip-roof/pyramidal cottages are some of the last surviving examples of a vernacular style that was once widespread among the African-American communities of the coastal counties, as well as many areas of the state.

Because of their isolation, there is not a good way to photograph them other than showing them in their present state. They will eventually succumb to the ravages of time, but I think they are very important examples.

The Hudson community is largely forgotten today, but in the 1870s and 1880s some of the first commercial shrimpers in McIntosh County, mostly local freedmen, made it a thriving African-American enclave. This venerable structure is among its last tangible landmarks.

A mission of the Union Brothers & Sisters was established here in 1887. The present structure, thought to date to circa 1900, was built to replace the original, which was lost to fire. It also served as a schoolhouse for a time. The last owners were the Hudson Home Society, a fraternal group who assisted local African-Americans with burial insurance.