Category Archives: –TURNER COUNTY GA–

Edwin Smith House, 1888, Sycamore

I received sad news this morning (2 May 2016) that this house, a longtime favorite of mine and a Sycamore landmark, burned last night.

Bay Window (Detail), Edwin Smith House

According to owner Chris NeSmith, it was built in 1888 by Edwin and Marianna Smith.

Entryway, Edwin Smith House

They came to Sycamore from Somerton, Virginia,  when the railroad was connecting here.

sycamore ga edwin smith family home vintage photo courtesy chris nesmith
Vintage photograph Courtesy Chris NeSmith

The house was built from timbers harvested nearby to resemble their home in Virginia. The modifications to the front were made in the late 1950s or early 1960s. The photo above is the Smith family in front of the house as it originally appeared.  Below are the ruins of the house as of this morning. Both photos are courtesy of Chris NeSmith.

sycamore ga ruins of edwin smith house photograph copyright chris nesmith 2016
Ruins of Edwin Smith House after fire, Courtesy Chris NeSmith

For more about the fire, click here.

 

Sycamore Gin, 1952, Turner County

Grady Moore Sconyers, a successful local entrepreneur, built this gin in 1952, after establishing Turner County Frozen Foods a few years earlier.

Bill Adams writes: When I was approximately 14 years old I spent the summer with Aunt Bert (Henderson) & Cortez and Grady Sconyers. Grady was in the process of building this new Continental Gin. It was powered by a water cooled two cylinder vertical diesel engine in the South end of the building. The engine stood approx. 8 ft high with a ladder to a catwalk at the top. A water vat outside the SE corner of the building cooled the water. North of the engine room were three gins in a row, the overflow room, and two baling presses. Power from the engine was supplied by overhead shafts and belt pulleys. The original building had a shed type roof across the front of the building. The suction tube to unload the trucks was under this roof. There was a concrete loading ramp on the North end by the baling presses. At the start up, I drove a wagon with a pair of mules hauling bales from the ramp around to Gradys’ warehouse at the NE corner of Railroad and Willis Street where they were weighed, and samples taken. In back of the gin was a cotton seed storage building(the seed was blown from the gin to the building). This was considered “state of the art” in the 1940′s.

Sycamore United Methodist Church, 1938

A group of members of Prospect Methodist in Chamblee moved to South Georgia in 1907 and soon thereafter established this church. The first church was built in 1908, but was destroyed by wind in 1925.  The Bethel school served as the church home in the interim. The present structure was completed in 1938, under the leadership of Rev. E. J. Nottingham.

Central Hallway Farmhouse, Turner County

As of 2023, this house is still standing.

Eclectic Victorian Cottage, 1905, Ashburn

Typical of many early-20th-century houses, this features both Queen Anne and Neoclassical elements. Eclecticism was rampant during this time.

Ashburn Heights-Hudson-College Avenue Historic District, National Register of Historic Places

Samuel Bell Hudson House, Circa 1910, Ashburn

With its Eastlake-inspired gable ornaments, this house is representative of the evolving late Victorian ideal which appreciated some decoration but sought a less intricate, more functional style. David Baldwin writes: This house was built by Samuel Bell Hudson and Hudson Street in front is named for him. He is from Centre, Alabama and moved over to Dempsey, Ga. to work as a clerk with the Betts Saw Mill there. When the saw mill came to what now is the site of Ashburn shortly after November, 1888, he was one who came with it. He also started a phone company for Ashburn in November 1897, prior to the Huckabee phone company, started by Walter Huckabee’s father. Mr. Hudson also started the newspaper, The Turner County Banner, in 1906. His son Porter Hudson was a popular mail carrier in Ashburn. His son Davis Hudson was sheriff of Worth County in the 1940’s. He had another son Vivian Hudson. His grandson, Russell Hudson, was involved in the Nixon grain deals in the 1970’s that greatly benefited farmers.

Ashburn Heights-Hudson-College Avenue Historic District, National Register of Historic Places

Thomas John Shingler House, 1906, Ashburn

Thomas John Shingler (1864-1934) was the brother of James Simon Shingler, for whom the neighborhood was named. Mr. Shingler gave then-adjacent land in 1907 for the future construction of the Methodist Church. I understand that this house, like most in this district, were designed by famed architect Peter Dennis, a family friend.

Shingler Heights Historic District, National Register of Historic Places

General Store, Sycamore

My guess is that this was a grocery or general store at one time.

Shingler Building, Ashburn

The Shingler Building, constructed in the first decade of the 20th century, is the two-story brick commercial block on the right. It’s one of the nicest such structures in Ashburn.

Ashburn Commercial Historic District, National Register of Historic Places

Folk Victorian Cottage, 1903, Ashburn

This central hallway Folk Victorian cottage is located next door to the post office. It’s presently being used as a food pantry.