Over a year ago, Melvin Newton contacted me about this church. I was amazed because it’s less than fifteen minutes from my parents’ back door and no one I knew had ever even heard of the place.
Melvin wrote, in part: There is an old church in Turner County known as Live Oak Methodist Church. It is idle now as there have been no services there for several years. I was born and raised in the Live Oak Community and attended this church from as long as I can remember until I went into the Air Force in 1957. This old church is very dear to me and it’s on its last legs and in dire need of repair.
The congregation was established on 13 September 1888, and though the exterior was sided with asbestos at some point (likely the 1950s or thereabouts), the interior remains virtually original and appears to be contemporary to the date of the founding. As you can see in this view, the middle of the structure is sagging. This is so severe that the brick pillar below the third window from the left has collapsed. It means without stabilization, gravity will cause the structure to fall in on itself at some point.
The interior is now absent its pews. I’m hoping family members of the congregation removed them and not vandals. The most striking feature remaining is the handcrafted pulpit and altar and the old piano, which I’ll share from several perspectives here.
Ultimately, I’m grateful to Melvin Newton for bringing this church to my attention. It’s a real treasure which I fear will soon be lost.
Update: Sadly, the church has collapsed as of late 2021.
I stumbled upon this classic house rambling around Turner County today. It’s one of the best examples I’ve ever seen. Amazingly, the kitchen remains intact, which is exceedingly rare with this house type.
I recently learned from Janet Brock and Joy Hobbs that this Victorian landmark, long one Ashburn’s grandest homes, is in immediate danger of being lost. They commented out of concern for the ongoing loss of local history, as many who follow this site often do and I was so alarmed that I posted an update about its status on the Vanishing South Georgia Facebook page. In just a few hours, over 16,000 people viewed the post and shared a collective sadness about its impending fate. One of the most poignant responses came from Debbie Dixon, the granddaughter of a former owner,: “This was my grandmother’s house. I spent my summers there and my mother grew up in this house. So sad they would do this.” Another comment from a county commissioner in another part of Georgia was more humorous: “Move the bank. Save the house!‘ Elaine Conner, who lived in Ashburn for thirty years wrote: “…it was used for many functions when the bank was a locally owned bank. Then a larger bank bought out Community National Bank and it now is South Georgia Bank…my heart breaks to hear it’s in jeopardy!!!” John Ingersoll notes that he knew an Emory alumnus “who was visiting the Thrashers after church Sunday afternoon when Pearl Harbor came on the radio. Oh, please do not move this historic structure.” So the history of the house is palpable and crosses generations.
The house is owned by South Georgia Bank, whose main office sits directly adjacent to the property; they desire to expand their drive-through banking facility and therefore want the structure removed. Apparently, they are open to essentially giving the house away to anyone who can afford the high cost of having it relocated. (My initial understanding of this was a bit incorrect; I don’t think they will literally give it away, but perhaps sell it low if they even can sell it. See Ben Baker’s comments elsewhere in this post). I don’t know if this implies an individual or a non-profit organization. And repairs not visible to the eye in this photograph could run upwards of $100,000. So it’s not a mission just anyone could take on. If you’re that person or organization, please contact the bank!
I spoke with Mayor Jim Hedges of Ashburn, who has been very receptive to input on similar local historical issues in the past, and he voiced his concern that he hopes it can be saved. He noted that the Downtown Development Authority doesn’t have the resources to move it and update it and that the Turner County Development Authority hasn’t shown a serious interest, either. He’s still working on possible solutions and he genuinely understands its importance to Ashburn. He’s open to serious suggestions. I have to say that Jim is unusual in that he responds to these issues quickly and honestly, something I appreciate since I’m not trying to politicize the issue to begin with. I’m just sharing information.
And here’s some valuable insight from Wiregrass-Farmer publisher Ben Baker: “This is a complicated issue. Moving the house will cost quite a bit. There’s no nearby location suitable for the house. There’s also the question of the original purchase contract signed between the people who sold the house and Community National Bank (now South Georgia Bank). Those selling the house believe part of the contract requires the bank to maintain the home. Still checking on that. The house is part of the Ashburn Historic District and doing anything to affect the exterior, or moving it, requires the approval of the Historic Preservation Commission (which I sit on.) The HPC is working VERY hard to find a way to preserve this amazing home, but absolutely does not have money to do so by itself. Moving the house, from what HPC has learned so far, means moving it in two sections. This begs another question, is the old building structurally sound enough to sustain that kind of work? Can it handle being sectioned? Can it handle being moved at all?“
And the reality is sad. There are houses like this throughout the United States in danger of being lost. Many are lost every day. They’ve been neglected in one way or another over time and the cost of renovating or stabilizing them is astronomical. Figure in higher utility bills, the constant need to repaint and other variables and it’s not any easy thing. Few people in small towns these days can afford such expenses and it’s really no one’s fault. Even the bank, whom many will want to blame, isn’t in the preservation business. I just hope that as people learn about the value of places like this there won’t be as many lost in the future.
UPDATE: As of 25 April 2017, I’m told that demolition is imminent.
UPDATE: As of 16-17 January 2019, the Thrasher House is being moved to another location. Thank you Chris NeSmith for valuing local history and saving this Ashburn landmark!
This congregation was established in 1871 and appears to be all that remains of the enigmatic settlement of Sibley, located just south of present-day Arabi off Georgia Highway 41. It probably grew around the railroad line that passed nearby and was never much more than a siding and perhaps a large plantation or working farm. I’d appreciate any information about Sibley.
This is one of the landmarks in my travels between Fitzgerald and points north on Highway 41. Vegetation sometimes shields it from view.
Dakota native Cindy Jones Hauesler recalls: Mother would bring us by in the afternoons for RC Colas. Mallie Hobbs would give us the peanuts to go with them. Oh how I wish I could go just one more time…Scott Robinson notes that before it was a store, this was a freight depot for the Georgia Southern & Florida Railway. It was likely built between 1889-94.
David Baldwin writes: The house was built by John Samuel Betts. He and Mr. W. W. Ashburn starting buying property over here in June 1888, before the railroad connected north of Ashburn in late October, 1888. First Mr. Betts had a house at Wanee Lake, but later moved to Ashburn. I can’t recall the exact date he built this house, likely 1890’s but well before 1900. He was mayor of Ashburn for twenty years and ran a saw mill that employed 100 people, 60 black and 40 whites. He was a great Christian but the saw mill went broke in 1912 due to over supply in the industry. He once told someone that the only thing he hated about being broke was that he was not able to help people as he had always done before. He died in 1918 and four town leaders spoke for him at his funeral at the Methodist Church. He was from Clayton, Georgia originally but they ran out of logs there and came to Eastman, starting his new mill six miles north of Eastman at a spot called Dempsey. He lost a son when the son was 20 years old. He knew Mr. Ashburn, J.S. Shingler, D.H Davis, Mr. Evans and all the town founders very well.
Betts, whose sawmill was the reason Ashburn came into being, was also the first mayor of the town. He commissioned a prominent architect, Peter E. Dennis, to design this home in 1897.
Jerry Shealy Powell adds: My grandfather, Lawrence Bunyon Shealy, was in the lumber business. He moved his family to Turner County between 1925-1929. Prior to moving to Turner County he owned a sawmill in Florida and others in Adrian, Camilla and Ellenton, Georgia. He purchased the Ashburn Lumber Company and managed a naval stores operation. In the middle 1940’s he bought the John Samuel Betts home and restored it. My father said he hand picked all the pine for the floors. For more than forty plus years the home remained in our family and was known as the “L.B. Shealy Home”. My grandmother, Ruby Clyde, outlived her husband and children.
Subsequent owners have done a nice job of maintaining the house.
Shingler Heights Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
This church appears to have been built around the turn of the last century. The front vestibule looks like a later addition. James Dean notes that it was formerly the Pleasant Hill Primitive Baptist Church.
To me, there’s nothing more patriotic than a small town flying flags in honor of Freedom. Downtown Rebecca is lined with flags and they look wonderful. And what better to remind us of the best in America than this group of boys walking down a local street, having fun outside. One even has a watermelon.
My paternal grandmother, Nettie Mae Pate Brown, was born near Amboy. I’ve never known a whole lot about the family history, or which Pates in the area I’m related to, but I was very excited to find this old landmark. It’s amazing that in all the miles I’ve covered with Vanishing South Georgia that I had never been to Amboy proper before. It’s just a few miles from Rebecca; it goes to show how some of the nicest places can be right under your nose and it can take you forever to find them.
Tim Wise writes: …The Pate store is a blast from the past. I grew up at the church you listed and remember Mrs. Pate, the owner, as one of the nicest country people you will meet. Full of “sugars” and “oh honey” types of language. I plundered around this store a great deal and it’s very interesting on the inside. It used to house jeans and boots. It served as a polling place for a long while. James Dean notes: I am pretty sure that the ‘Amboy’ sign above the store was the sign on the Amboy railroad depot. Many years ago (late 1950’s or early 1960’s) the Amboy depot was moved across Georgia Highway 159 from the store.
