The saddlebag house is an enduring vernacular form and was common throughout the state in the first half of the 20th century. A practical utilitarian design, it is often associated with tenant properties.
I couldn’t find a name for this business, but they obviously bought, sold, and stored farm seed, in addition to growing and processing.
This early-20th-century home is located near Lake Seminole.
Desser is a crossroads community south of Donalsonville, on the way to Lake Seminole. This old store looks to have been abandoned for many years.
No matter where I’m traveling, I always try to make at least one stop at a public park or natural area for a moment of decompression. There are many such places in Georgia just waiting to be seen. If you love water, you’ll love Georgia’s “Other Coast”. Sure, there are other big lakes in Georgia, but Lake Seminole lies near farmlands dotted with oaks as big as you’ll find on the actual coast. In your drive to get there, you’ll most likely see them. It’s just beautiful country.
Reynoldsville Landing is located on a finger of Lake Seminole. It’s a public landing and day-use park overseen by the Army Corps of Engineers.
Olive Grove is one of the oldest congregations in Seminole County, dating to 1842. It was originally known as Rock Pond. Its large cemetery is filled with a number of fine Victorian monuments, perhaps the finest in Seminole County.
The white marble angel in Olive Grove Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery marking the grave of Joseph James Spooner (19 July 1848-31 March 1929) and his first wife, Mary Jane Lane Spooner (2 March 1850-2 December 1914), is one of the finest examples of Victorian funerary art in rural Georgia. Mr. Spooner’s parents’ memorials in Union Primitive Baptist (aka Primitive Union Cemetery) in Miller County are also landmarks of statuary. [I’ll be sharing photos of them soon].
My presumption is that the angel was placed in 1914, after Mary Spooner’s death, to signify Mr. Spooner’s profound sadness over her loss. The monument is life-sized and makes quite the statement.
I can’t locate anything about Lela other than the fact it had a post office between 1904-1928. This was possibly a general store or commissary for the community, which was likely centered around a large working farm. It’s possible that it was a schoolhouse, but the architecture leads me to believe it was a store. It’s one of the most perfectly restored and maintained structures of this type that I’ve found in Georgia.
Vanishing Georgia: Photographs by Brian Brown 