Category Archives: –TATTNALL COUNTY GA–

Solomon Hall House, Tattnall County

4 Replies
An old, dilapidated wooden house with a rusty metal roof, surrounded by tall grass and trees.

I was recently invited by Laura Potts-Wirth to photograph an old sharecropper’s house on her property near Glennville.

An abandoned wooden house with a red metal roof, showing signs of decay and overgrowth, surrounded by tall grass and trees in the background.

Though there are no plans to restore the house, it is an important example of vernacular architecture and I’m honored to have been given access.

An abandoned, dilapidated wooden house with a rusted metal roof, showing signs of wear and neglect, surrounded by overgrown grass and trees.

It is a simple gabled-ell cottage, likely built between the 1910s-1930s.

Abandoned wooden house wall with a dirty window frame, showing cobwebs and peeling paint.

The owner was Solomon R. Hall, Sr., (1902-1988). He and his wife Mollie Bee E. Hall (1905-1970) raised thirteen children and three grandchildren here, while sharecropping on the Old Anderson Place, to which this property was once attached. Records indicate that ownership passed back and forth between Mr. Hall and the Andersons over the years.

An old blue cabinet with a wooden door, standing next to a rustic table in an abandoned building, with overgrown grass visible outside.

Solomon Hall was also a turpentine laborer and would have known the woods and fields around his home as well as anyone else.

Interior view of a weathered wooden door frame with a partially open door and a wooden wall, showcasing rustic materials and textures.

Just across US 301 from the property there was once a community of African-Americans known as Hall Town. The only remaining public landmark of the community is the Old Hall Town Cemetery, which I also documented.

An abandoned interior of a room with wooden walls, a partially open door, a window showing greenery outside, and debris scattered on the floor.

The interior rooms are spare, which was characteristic of this type of housing.

Interior of an abandoned room with wooden floors, a round table, and a window showing trees outside. The walls are brown with peeling paint, and there are dust and leaves scattered on the floor.

I think it is hard for most people to imagine a dozen or more people living in such spaces, but it was much more common than one might realize.

An empty, weathered room with blue wooden walls featuring an old rocking chair and a partially open door, showcasing rustic and worn textures.

Gary Mobley, in a March 2020 oral history interview with Laura Potts-Wirth, noted, “Here, Solomon Hall and his wife, Mrs. Bea (sic)…, raised 13 children, and three grandchildren. They did work for part of the harvest. They hunted the land and also got a portion of the hog meat. The small building in the back of their house was either a smokehouse or a summer kitchen. One of the jobs the Sharecroppers had was keeping the farm rows cleared of weeds and clearing volunteer trees for three feet on either side of the fence rows. Up near the pond, there was another sharecropper’s house, where Choice Coley lived...”

An old, weathered wooden shed with missing planks and a rusted metal roof, surrounded by tall grass and trees under a cloudy sky.

Kelly and Fran Folsom spoke very highly of both Solomon Hall and Choice Coley and recalled to Laura Potts-Wirth: “…Mr.Solomon was really responsible for overseeing the farm, especially as Mr. Anderson was getting older, and also when the Dents owned the farm. Solomon Hall really had a lot to do with supervising and managing the farm, overseeing the work being done, and just being a caretaker of the farm.“

An outdoor rustic privy, or outhouse, with a corrugated metal roof, situated among trees and grass, showing signs of weathering and age.

The survival of the outbuildings adds importance to the property as a representative example of its type. Even the old privy, re-sided, is a reminder of the times.

Close-up of a vibrant red flower with long, slender petals and multiple stamens, surrounded by green grass.

Plantings by Mrs. Hall are still blooming, like this hurricane (or spider) lily.

A vibrant field of lush green plants with pink and yellow flowers under a partly cloudy sky.

There are clumps of another old favorite, lantana, in several spots around the house.

A dilapidated wooden house with a rusted metal roof, surrounded by tall grass and trees in a rural landscape.

Tattnall Bank and Other Historic Storefronts Demolished in Reidsville

10 Replies

What do we think about progress? Last week, the historic Tattnall Bank, which was Reidsville’s most significant remaining commercial building, was slated for demolition, along with other adjacent storefronts, to make way for the construction of a Circle K convenience store. Local leadership embraced this as progress. This is really sad for Reidsville, which has very few historic commercial structures. The loss of these buildings essentially wipes out the historic downtown, after the razing of a row of buildings down the street about a decade ago.

Georgian Cottage, Collins

2 Replies
An old, abandoned house with a rusty metal roof, peeling white paint, and several broken windows, surrounded by overgrown grass and sparse trees.

This simple Georgian cottage is enhanced by a Craftsman-inspired front porch. Property records date it to circa 1940, but I believe it was built earlier.

Coates-Hughes House, Circa 1905, Glennville

1 Reply
Coates-Hughes House, Glennville, a Queen Anne cottage with multiple gables, a gray metal roof, and a front porch featuring white railings and rocking chairs, surrounded by well-maintained landscaping.

This Queen Anne cottage is one of the finest works of residential architecture in Glennville, located right in the heart of downtown. The Hughes family was prolific in the area, but I haven’t located much about the Coates family. Cemetery records indicated Charles Marion Coates (1882-1935) and Eula DeLoach Coates (1887-1951) lived in Glennville around the time this house was built.

Elder Abraham Jackson, Veteran of the United States Colored Troops

1 Reply

Elder Abraham Jackson was the patriarch of Jackson Town, a historically Black neighborhood near Collins, Georgia, and he and his family were among the earliest burials in what would become the Jackson Cemetery, still dominated by his descendants and cousins today. The cemetery is very well-maintained.

Gray granite tombstone commemorating Elder Abraham Jackson, born 1837 in Barnwell, South Carolina, died April 17, 1915, a Union Army veteran of the Civil War, with details about his military service and his wife Rilla Collins.
Elder Abraham Jackson (1837-17 April 1915) and Rilla Collins Jackson (1840-17 March 1915)

Born enslaved in Barnwell, South Carolina, Elder Jackson later served (1865-1866) in Co. C, 1st Regiment South Carolina Volunteer Infantry (Colored), which was redesignated Co. C, 33rd Regiment, United States Colored Troops. He married Rilla, whose last name remains unknown, in the 1850s.

A gravestone commemorating Anna Collins, wife of Henry Collins, who died on June 3rd, 1904, at the age of 14 years, 9 months, and 28 days, located on a grassy area.
Anna Collins, (Circa 11 October 1888-8 June 1904)

This memorial for Anna Collins, the very wife of Henry Collins, is the earliest grave I found in Jackson Cemetery. She may have been Elder Jackson’s sister-in-law.

Gravestone of Nellie Jackson, wife of George Jackson, born January 23, 1862, died June 23, 1904. The stone features an inscription addressing her husband and children.
Nellie Jackson (28 January 1862-23 June 1904)

Nellie was the wife of George Jackson. Her vernacular memorial, which has been repaired, is very similar to that of Anna Collins. It reads: Dear husbad (sic) and children. as you is now, once was I, and as I am now you must be. Remember death and follow me.

Plantation Plain House, Manassas

2 Replies

This house was a landmark in Manassas and looked to be in relatively good condition when I made this photograph in 2016. It is essentially a Plantation Plain, or I-House, and the porches are a later addition.

Oak Hill Road, Tattnall County

6 Replies

I’ve driven down this majestic canopy road many times, and having explored much of Tattnall County, would suggest that it is perhaps its most scenic route. I haven’t been out this way in a while and hope it wasn’t damaged when Hurricane Helene passed through the area.

Tobacco Barn, Tattnall County

1 Reply

The siding on this tobacco barn, hidden at the edge of the woods, suggests it was built near the end of the era of tobacco barns. Mechanical processing was prevalent by the 1970s, when interest in the crop began to wane significantly.

Gable Front Cottage, Tattnall County

Leave a reply

I believe this is the last of the gable front cottages from my Tattnall County archives, for now. These are such simple houses but were workhorses of rural housing and remain popular today.

Gable Front Cottage, Tattnall County

Leave a reply

I imagine many days were spent on this porch taking in the countryside. The camellia has obscured much of the facade but no doubt was treasured by the residents here.