I haven’t been able to track down this house, but since it’s in my Sumter County files, I believe it to be located in the Americus Historic District. It’s a great Carpenter Gothic Victorian, with an altered porch. –Thanks to Maureen McKinney for confirming the location.
Americus Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
This was made near Americus in 2008. The house is still standing but I haven’t rephotographed it. It’s truly one of the nicest Queen Anne houses in this part of Georgia, and due to its location, I’ve identified it as a farmhouse. Of course, with a house of this style, it’s hard to imagine it as a farmhouse. I hope to update the image soon.
Leslie was established by J. W. Bailey in 1884. Bailey was a timber operator with financial interests in the area. The post office opened in 1889 and the town was incorporated by the Georgia General Assembly in 1892. According to Ken Krakow, “Bailey first named the town Jeb, the initials of his father, J. E. Bailey, but the post office was erroneously given the name of JOB. Bailey disliked the name “Job” so he circulated a petition to rename the town Leslie for his younger daughter, Leslie Vestell Bailey.”
Leslie is also the home of the Georgia Rural Telephone Museum, which boasts one of the world’s largest collection of antique telephones. It is presently closed to the public, however.
Note: This post replaces “Commerce Street, Leslie”, which was published, with slightly different photographs, on 15 June 2010.
I made this photograph a few years ago. The house has since been repainted but is still a good example of the Queen Anne style. The only real exterior modification is the use of square porch posts, which most likely replaced spindle posts. Real estate listings date the house to circa 1920, though it appears to date to the 1870s or 1880s.
Americus Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
This utilitarian cottage has been expanded over time, as were so many of these popular house types.
Americus Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
This handsome cottage is thought to be antebellum, according to a marker on the property, though other sources, including tax digests and real estate listings, variously date it to 1880 and 1900. I agree with the mid-19th century date, focusing on the transom and sidelights, as well as the higher ceiling and 6-over-9 windows. It’s an excellent design, utilitarian and dressed up all at the same time, and has been expanded over time.
Americus Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
This historic general store on the corner of Lamar and Forrest Streets has been well-maintained and is a great example of commercial architecture in late-19th-century Georgia. It is virtually unchanged from its original appearance. The sign notes that the business traded in stoves and crockery. Selling hardware, groceries, and sundries, J. W. Harris & Co. would have been the equivalent of a big box store today.
Americus Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
The Empire Bank Building is the most spectacular Neoclassical Revival structure in the vibrant commercial historic district of Americus, and a landmark of the form. It was built on the site of George Oliver’s store and completed in 1911. I’m still trying to identify the architect. From 1950-1989, it was home to the First Federal Savings and Loan Association. It is presently home to the River Valley Regional Commission and is a great adaptive re-use for an important historic building.
Americus Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
New Corinth Baptist Church is an historic Freedmen’s congregation and perhaps the oldest Black church standing in Sumter County. According to the National Register of Historic Places, it was built by William Hooks in 1870, using lumber from his own mill, for his African-American laborers and their families. Though such a largesse wasn’t unique, it was nonetheless quite unusual at the time. This was just five years after the Civil War. The congregation grew into one of the largest in Southwest Georgia, with nearly 300 members by 1894. A school on the grounds, which is no longer extant, served children of the community until the 1940s.
National Register of Historic Places
I made this photograph in 2008 and rediscovered it when I began re-editing my Sumter County images. The historic, largely forgotten New Era community holds a special place for me as a photographer of rural subjects. Its owners have allowed it to stand, long after it was abandoned, and in doing so they preserved a living museum of a certain place and time. They appreciated what it represented. Letting it go back to the elements is just part of that process.
This was a huge building, almost certainly serving an agricultural purpose. The front section at right was probably an office, while the remainder was a gin and/or warehouse. As best I can tell, the structure has since collapsed or was razed.