Larry Ingram writes: This home was the home of a son of Abner Ward. The home was constructed around 1880. The son’s wife, Nettie Keese, was the daughter of Elijah and Henrietta Keese, who settled in the area in the 1840’s. Mr. Ward was one of the most prosperous citizens of Benevolence, and owned, among other things, a gristmill with an overshot water wheel, which was highly unusual for the area. My great-grandmother, Robert Ellen Keese Crozier, and Nettie Keese Ward, were sisters.
Larry Ingram writes: This house in Benevolence, Georgia, was constructed by my great-grandmother’s brother, Monsh (sic) Keese, around 1880. It was purchased by my maternal grandparents, Crisp Charles Jones and Kathleen Crozier Jones, around 1943, and remained their home until my grandfather died in 1955. I have an abstract-of-title for the property from the late 1800’s to the time my grandparents purchased the home from a Mr. DeVane. The house and approximately 40 acres are still owned by the man who purchased the home and 40 acres from my grandmother for some $8,000 in 1956.
Charles Robinett writes: I recall in the early and mid 1960’s going to Pittman’s Machine Shop in Benevolence with my father Dean Robinett to have machine work done for equipment used in the furniture factory in Shellman. After all these years I can see Mr. Wyatt now working a turn lathe and actually hear the voice as he and Daddy talked. What a walk down memory lane this is.
Founded in 1831 as the seat of the newly created Randolph County, Cuthbert is one of the most architecturally interesting towns in South Georgia. From antebellum office buildings to Greek Revival houses, there’s something for nearly every taste. The public square is a beautiful green space where you can sit back and take it all in or if you’re more history-minded visit Greenwood and Eastview cemeteries, where many Confederate veterans and notables are buried.
Cuthbert Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
Cuthbert Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
This is one of the most beautiful and unique homes in Cuthbert and has recently been restored. Thanks to James Webb for the identification of this, and several other houses here. Corp. Charles Neal Simpson (1843-1922) was a member of Co. E., 31st Reg. “Bartow Guards” Stewart County, Jr.; 4th Corp. 13 November 1861; appointed Color Corp. 15 December 1861; hospital steward 13 May 1862. Surrendered at Appomattox 9 April 1865.
Cuthbert Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
Variously known locally as the Muse-Dews-Gay-Martin-Blaskow House, this structure, has been enlarged and improved during its long history. It was originally built by Baptist minister Thomas “Uncle Tommy” Muse for use as the dormitory of the Bethel Baptist Female College of Southwest Georgia. Rev. Muse was instrumental in establishing over 50 Baptist congregations in southwest Georgia. The school was also known as the Cuthbert Female College. It operated until 1863 and was briefly reopened a few times into the 1870s. By the 1880s the property was given to the state and from then on was used for private residences.
The three vintage photographs were shared by Kathy Wagoner.
They were made during the 1960s and 1970s, while her uncle, George Blaskow, lived here.
It’s nice to see how it looked as a residence.
The red clay frames it nicely.
National Register of Historic Places
This congregation was organized in 1850 and first known as Berea. The present church was built in 1900.
Cuthbert Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
Thanks to owner James Webb for identifying the house. One of the best-known in Cuthbert, it was built by John McKenzie Gunn for his new bride, Sarah Douglass. It was later owned by the Brown family.
On a trip to Cuthbert in August 2018 I had the pleasure of meeting James and getting a tour of the house.
James has been restoring this treasure, room by room, for several years.
The impressive scale of the house is evident in the 9 over 9 windows.
I enjoyed the wonderful view of the recently restored Randolph County Courthouse from the courtyard.
One last note about the house, from the late John McKenzie Gunn: My thanks to Mr. Webb for restoring my childhood home to a condition I judge to be better than it ever was before. It was a cold, drafty old house, with wide pine floor boards over no subfloor and no basement, the underside of the house not enclosed. The ceilings on the first floor were 16 feet high, and windows did not fit tightly. My grandfather, John Douglass Gunn, was born and died in the same room in that house. My father, another John McK., was born there. My grandmother called it “a woman killer.” My mother hated it. My siblings and I were the fifth generation to live in that house, my great-great grandmother having joined her son and his family there after she was widowed. The house was sold out of the family in 1941 or 1942, after my parents and my siblings and I moved to Montgomery. We have no close relatives still living in Cuthbert. I loved Cuthbert as a child, and my memories of life in that house are only of the warmest kind. I have lived most of my adult life in Lexington, Virginia.
The John McKenzie Gunn (1924-2021) who left the comment was the great-great grandson of the builder. He was a longtime professor of Economics at Washington & Lee University and shared many memories of Cuthbert before his death.
National Register of Historic Places
This Queen Anne-style courthouse was designed by the Altanta architectural firm of Kimball, Wheeler & Parkins. Since being designated as a “Place in Peril” by the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation, it has undergone extensive restoration.
Cuthbert Historic District, National Register of Historic Places