I photographed this large Queen Anne home in 2014. Since then, the trees have been removed but the fence remains. It’s an imposing presence on Main Street in tiny Georgetown. It was built by William Benjamin Hart, Sr. Mr. Hart was born in 1859, but according to Findagrave, his date of death is unknown [at least at that resource]. His wife was Anna Amanda Moore Hart (1864-1926). The house was still owned by the family as late as the 1970s, and may still be.
Jim Bledsoe writes: This Greek Revival house [the Mercer-Bledsoe House] was built by Levi Mercer for his son Dr. J. W. Mercer (1833-1893). Dr. Mercer first practiced medicine in the Cross Roads community but gave up his practice and came to Georgetown to become a business partner of Edgar C. Ellington. Mr. Ellington owned a large house next door, which was acquired by Dr. Mercer upon Ellington’s death. The house was then known as the Mercer House, though over the years it was owned by J. T. Gipson, L. G. Brannon, and R. G. Methvin. It no longer survives. The original Mercer house [pictured above] was rented out until 1911, at which time it was sold by Charles G. Mercer to William Walton Bledsoe (1874-1953). It is generally known today as the Bledsoe House.
This is the oldest house in Georgetown and is well-maintained. James Bledsoe writes: The Guerry home, now the McKenzie home, was built about the year 1848, first being constructed in Alabama for Samuel Harrison and then being torn down and moved to Georgetown where it was rebuilt by James Harrison for his daughter and her husband, T. L. Guerry. I’m not sure when the home was acquired by the McKenzie family, but Mr. Robert McKenzie raised a family and lived there until just a few years ago until age 104…
Located next to Union United Methodist Church, this historic one-room schoolhouse is now used as a social hall for the congregation.
Union Church was organized as non-denominational house of worship in 1837, about a mile from the present location. A second structure was built across the road from the present location and used until 1867 when this church was built. The exact date the church became affiliated with the Methodists is unknown.
The present courthouse replaced a two-story wooden structure which burned in 1920. Due to economic hard times, the county rented warehouse space for use as a temporary courthouse until this was built with federal relief funds during the Great Depression.
National Register of Historic Places
This structure replaced the community’s first jail, a wooden structure built in 1859. The first sheriff of Quitman County, created in December 1858 from Randolph and Stewart Counties, was Sam Guerry. Commissioners who oversaw the building of this jail were J. E. Harris, Dr. F. M. Bledsoe, J. P. Kimble, and W. A. Cumbie. James H. Guerry was Judge of the Superior Court; M. L. Albritton was Ordinary; and G. A. Whitaker was Clerk of Court.
National Register of Historic Places
There isn’t too much left of Georgetown’s historic downtown, but these structures, from the turn of the last century, remain in good condition.
During Georgetown’s early years, Methodists and Baptists shared the Community Church. This structure was built for the Methodist congregants by Albert N. Surles between 1901-1902 and has served them ever since.
Vanishing Georgia: Photographs by Brian Brown 