While Sharon’s commercial core may be nearly gone, the bright colors and public art adorning its old storefronts certainly make a nice impression.
Historic Storefronts, Sharon
Leave a reply
Category Archives: –TALIAFERRO COUNTY GA–
Liberty Presbyterian Church, 1855, Sharon
Founded as South Liberty Presbyterian in Wilkes County in 1820, this historic congregation first built a log church about four miles from the present location in 1828. This structure was built in 1855 and moved here in 1877.
It’s a simple but beautiful church.
Gothic Revival Cottage, Sharon
Sharon Methodist Church, Circa 1902, Taliaferro County
Though the congregation at Sharon Methodist dates to around 1886, the community that organized this church came from the nearby Raytown Methodist Church. It’s one of the most unique church buildings in all of Georgia and its Victorian design is more reminiscent of a house than a church. It was built by a local carpenter from Crawfordville.
Antioch Baptist Church, 1899 & 1923, Taliaferro County
This is one of the most-photographed old churches in Georgia, even though it’s far off the beaten path.
An historic Black congregation, it was founded in 1886. Most of the original 1889 structure was rebuilt in 1923 after a fire. Today, it’s in serious danger of being lost without stabilization.
There is definitely a desire by descendants of church members to save it but I’m unsure where those efforts stand at this time.
Bonner’s Cafe, Crawfordville
This location has been featured in several Hollywood movies, including Sweet Home Alabama. It was about the only place to get a good home-cooked meal in Crawfordville for nearly sixty years, and Mrs. Annie Lou Bonner was a well-loved local fixture throughout her long life. It closed in1997, but has since been reopened with another name.
Crawfordville Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
Liberty Hall, 1872, Crawfordville
Liberty Hall was the home of Confederate Vice-President and Georgia Governor Alexander Hamilton Stephens, known as Little Aleck for his small stature. Though often associated with the Civil War, the historic house you see today was actually built after the war. The rear ell of the house, partly visible in the next photo, dates to circa 1858.
Stephens moved to the property in 1834 to board with his stepmother’s sister and her husband in the predecessor to this house. They died in 1842 and the never-married Stephens purchased the property in 1845, naming it Bachelor’s Hall. It was later named Liberty Hall.
An extensive renovation was completed in the 1990s by Georgia State Parks and Historic Sites, painstakingly replacing period textiles, wallpapers and paints.
Sculptor Gutzon Borglum‘s imposing marble statue of the statesman, installed by contractor T. Markwalter of Augusta in 1893, keeps guard from the front lawn of the estate. Stephens is buried adjacent to the monument.
National Historic Landmark, National Register of Historic Places
Mural, Crawfordville
A Dixie Welcome to Crawfordville, Ga.
Crawfordville Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
Crawfordville Baptist Church, 1889
Taliaferro County Courthouse, 1902, Crawfordville
Augusta architect Lewis F. (L. F.) Goodrich‘s High Victorian design for this courthouse was built by J. H. McKenzie. The site was the location of the first Taliaferro county courthouse, built in 1828.
National Register of Historic Places