Category Archives: Millerville GA

Stonewall J. Williams Plantation, 1880s, Screven County

7 Replies

This massive Folk Victorian house sits at the end of a row of majestic cedars, which appear to be well over a century old.

Cedar lanes were once a popular landscaping choice but most of the old ones are long gone, lost to disease or storms over the years. These have somehow miraculously survived.

The house appears to date to the late 19th century.

An historic commissary stands at the front of the property, confirming that this was once a very busy plantation. It is still part of a large working farm. I walked up the lane to try to find someone to tell me about the place, to no avail. I imagine they were out in the fields busy with the cotton harvest.

This is one of the most pristine historic plantation properties I’ve ever seen and the owners have done a wonderful service in their efforts to preserve it. Thanks to Dale Reddick, and other members of the Screven County history group on Facebook, for the identification.

Advertisement

W. S. Miller Merchandise, Millerville

4 Replies

This is one of the most important vernacular landmarks in Screven County, no doubt maintained for generations by the builder’s descendants and those with a keen interest in local history. Amazingly there are similar resources nearby. It represents a time when small farm communities were dependent on nearby stores for basic items. It likely dates to the 1920s or 1930s, when many families still didn’t own automobiles and did not have the luxury of time to travel to larger towns. Such resources, in original condition like this one, are increasingly rare today.

Wes Krulic notes that his grandfather, Richardson Sealy Parker, operated the store before the Miller family purchased it circa 1925. It may have been owned by Augustus Milton Arnold, prior to 1925, per Cail Collins.