Though it now serves as the Warthen Community Center, this Colonial Revival building was originally home to the Bethlehem Academy, associated with the adjacent church. It was chartered in 1832 and was integral to the social and academic life of the community well into the 20th century.
Warthen Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
Constituted in 1790, Bethlehem Baptist’s congregation is thought to be the oldest in Washington County. It was first known as the Church of Christ on Cag Creek (now Keg Creek). It later relocated and was known as Williamson Swamp Meeting House. When they finally moved to Warthen in 1795, they welcomed the members of Paley Church and the old Cag Creek Church and became Bethlehem. The old wooden church burned in 1890 and was replaced with the present structure.
Warthen Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
Tom Warthen gave the land upon which this church was built in 1886, as his new wife was Methodist and there was no such church in the area.
Warthen Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
Though the rail line was abandoned in 1933, this historic depot has remained a landmark of Warthen for over eighty years since. It’s been used as a private residence and retail space in that time. I’m not sure as to its present purpose, but it’s likely a municipal use.
Warthen Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
Warthen Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
George Gilmore, E. T. May, & G. C. Walker are listed on the cornerstone as the building committee. J. J. Chafin was the builder.
Warthen Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
Located today on private property, this structure is nonetheless accessible and widely visited. Thought to be the oldest standing jail in Georgia, it’s better known as the Aaron Burr Jail. The former Vice-president is said to have been held here overnight during transport to Richmond for his 1807 trial for treason. A granite-and-bronze marker was placed at the site by the Governor Jared Irwin Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution. However, research and evidence suggests that this story is apocryphal. A 1906 newspaper article by Col. Macon Warthen, Sr., gave a very detailed account of Burr’s movements from Fort Wilkinson (Milledgeville) to Shoals of Ogeechee in Hancock County. According to Col. Warthen’s research, Burr spent the night in Shoals of the Ogeechee, not in Warthen (then known as Wicker).
It reads: “Site of First Washington County Jail – Erected 1783 of Logs – Aaron Burr Incarcerated Here 1807, En Route to Trial for Treason“. I believe this claim is possible, but I wish there were further documentation.
Different sources list different years for the date of construction, generally ranging from 1783 – 1793. Since there’s no way of specifically dating it, my source is John Linley’s Architecture of Middle Georgia: The Oconee Area (UGA Press, 1972).
Warthen Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
Vanishing Georgia: Photographs by Brian Brown 