Category Archives: Vesta GA

Pass Brothers General Store & Warehouse, Circa 1930s, Vesta

Vesta was formally established in the late 19th century and had a post office from 1888-1904. According to Kenneth Krakow’s Georgia Place Names: Their History and Origins, it was named for Vesta Johnson, the daughter of a local settler. Darryl James McKoon writes: [This was the] Pass Brothers General Store. The store, general merchandise, a butcher shop, and Gulf branded gasoline, was on the right, storage building on the left. It is now used for community BBQ events.There was an old multiple story wood cotton gin to the right of the store where the residence is now. Back in the day it was quite busy. Belt driven equipment by a three cylinder upright diesel engine with a two cylinder backup.Long gone, across the street to the right of the flag pole, was a large wooden structure that was also a Pass Brothers General Store. The owners were the older generation of the owners across the street.

Both structures date to the 1930s-1940s, from what I’ve been able to locate. They are examples of the use of local granite in construction throughout the area.

Vesta Baptist Church, 1912, Oglethorpe County

This congregation was established in 1906.