This Victorian jail and sheriff’s residence has been restored and is now home to the Old Jail Museum & Genealogy Research Center. It’s popular with paranormal researchers, who seek the ghost of Essie, who is said to inhabit the home portion of the structure.
Sandersville Commercial & Industrial District, National Register of Historic Places
The building at left is the old WPA Post Office.
Sandersville Commercial & Industrial District, National Register of Historic Places
Designed by Charles Edward Choate, this downtown landmark once housed a bank and other commercial offices. Today, it’s used for retail purposes.
National Register of Historic Places
This Greek Revival gem has a fascinating history. There is some confusion as to its date of construction. Some sources suggest that it’s antebellum (which wouldn’t surprise me) while prominent architectural historian John Linley put its construction shortly after the Civil War. Ray Irwin, whose husband is a descendant of Warthen, shared this, which should clear it up: It was built before the Civil War. There is a partially burned book formally owned by R. L. Warthen with the inscription in the front that states the book was scorched by a fire set in his office in November 1864 by General Wm. T. Sherman of the U.S. Army. It is signed by RLW. It is believed that his office fire was a result of the burning of the Wash. Co. Courthouse. The book is in the Brown House Museum.
Colonel Richard Lee Warthen built this as his home and law office. In 1925, the Transylvania Club moved here. The club was founded in 1908 by Mrs. C. B. Chapman and soon thereafter, at the suggestion of President Mary Tarbutton, set about establishing a public library for Sandersville. They opened to the public, with over 7,000 volumes, in the Masonic Hall in 1909. That structure was lost to fire in 1921. The ladies of the Transylvania Club moved forward and acquired enough books to reopen the library here in 1925 where it remained until 1998. It’s still home to the Transylvania Club. They’re perhaps best known for their Wedgwood series of Georgia Historical Plates.
Sandersville Commercial & Industrial District, National Register of Historic Places
This unassuming building is home to one of the most successful restaurants in Georgia. Hudson “Hut” Avant opened Dairy Lane as a summer-only business in 1953, after twice being turned down for a Dairy Queen franchise in Sandersville. It became a year-round business in 1957 and hasn’t slowed down a bit ever since.
Though it changed hands in 1995, it never lost site of its mission to be a gathering place for its community. It serves the standard fare: hamburgers, hot dogs, shakes, barbeque and fountain drinks, but that’s where it’s similarity to almost anywhere else in the region ends.
To someone who’s never been, it’s almost hard to believe how busy this place can be, especially on weekends. A number of people have commented that it’s a must-stop for people traveling through Sandersville en route to Georgia games from all over South Georgia, and there’s a good bit of football memorabilia displayed throughout the restaurant.
If you’re in Sandersville, you really don’t want to miss the Dairy Lane.