Rising near Buena Vista, Kinchafoonee Creek flows southeasterly for nearly 92 miles before joining the Flint River at Albany. According to Ken Krakow, the name is Creek for Bone Mortar or Mortar Nutshells, which referred to a device for cracking nuts. The creek [longer than many rivers] was such an important artery in the early settlement of the area that it gave its name to Kinchafoonee County, which was later changed to Webster County.
Driving the back roads of Long County the other day, I came across this gem and soon met Mr. Worthy, the landowner. He explained that this was an original praise house and that it was at least 80 years old. [This particular area has a long history of Black farmers and in earlier times, there was a large turpentine operation nearby. This likely explains its remote presence here]. To my knowledge, it’s the only surviving praise house in Long County.
Praise houses were tiny shelters used by Geechee-Gullah, and other African-Americans, for worship and as community gathering places. They are the rarest examples of religious architecture in Georgia, with just a few surviving in the coastal region.
The sign, reading “Thee Body of Christ”, is what initially got my attention.
Mr. Worthy noted that the sign, and other work in the yard, was done by his wife, Shelly Worthy.
Mrs. Worthy also created this small chapel as a place of worship and reflection.
Her inspired handiwork can be seen all over the property.
It is a fascinating place and an important example of a passion for history and a passion for faith coming together to protect a resource of great significance.
This gable front farmhouse is of a variety sometimes referred to as a “double shotgun”, as it is divided by a common wall in the middle with two doors for separate access.
This is a nice example of the common central hallway form, likely dating to the late 19th century.
I believe this is now the clubhouse for the Jones Creek Fox Pen, a local hunting club.
There’s an amazing Live Oak in front of the house, even if it’s “young” by Live Oak standards.
This barn likely dates to the 1930s [perhaps 1920s], when tobacco production became a larger sector of the commercial agricultural economy in Georgia. Before that time, production was scattered and more specialized. An interesting feature of several tobacco barns I’ve documented in Long County is their height, which is notably shorter than most barns found elsewhere in Georgia. I’m unsure as to the reason for this.
Rising above the pristine countryside of Talbot County, this house first caught my attention a couple of years ago. At the time, work was at an earlier phase and it didn’t look as grand as it does today. I made a mental note to check on it when I could but was still not prepared for the awesome presence of the house, viewed from the incline of the clay and gravel driveway.
I recently learned that my family’s longtime friend Mike Buckner owned the house and was restoring it. I was in the area and dropped by to purchase some books and get some of his wonderful stone-ground grits and he offered to take me on a tour. Though he wouldn’t say so, Mike is an all-around Renaissance man and serious guardian of Talbot County’s history and architecture. He has personally saved and salvaged numerous endangered structures over the years.
Mike moved this 1840s Greek Revival Cottage, which once stood near Zion Episcopal Church in Talbotton, to his property and decided to transform it into a raised cottage. The brick piers supporting the cottage were salvaged from the old Talbotton depot, proof that Mike doesn’t believe in wasting anything. The Doric columns were made to order.
The lower floor will be somewhat modern, while keeping with the style of the house, and the original section of the cottage will be sensitively restored. Historic mantels will be put back in place and the floors will be spiffed up. Plaster walls will be replaced. A widow’s walk has already been placed on top of the structure. I will definitely be visiting when all the work is done.
On the back side of the house Mike is building a porch, which will afford some of the most beautiful views from one of the highest elevations in this part of Talbot County.
It’s an amazing sight and the entire project is a testament to the value of the renewal of historic resources.
This exceptional Greek Revival cottage was built circa 1838 by Hiram Knowlton (c.1805-1875). Knowlton was a master carpenter and millwright who came to Talbot County from New York in 1836; he purchased the property on which the home is located from Chestley Pearson in 1838. The distinctive diamond panes in the transom and sidelights, as well as the diminutive dormers, are notable decorative features of the one-and-a-half story dwelling. A hand-carved molded stairway with delicate banisters dominates the main hall. William H. Davidson, in A Rockaway in Talbot: Travels in an Old Georgia County Vol. II notes that it is “..a triumph of carpentry…it is a much more sophisticated stair than usually found in Talbot County early houses…”. A second narrow stairway in the rear of the house leads to the upper floor, which may have originally housed servants. *[Due to ongoing work in the house, I was unable to get many interior shots, but I’ll be sharing more views in a future update].
After Knowlton’s death, the property passed to Luke A. Crawford, of Upson County, a son-in-law of Hiram Knowlton’s second wife. It was sold to Henry Butler in 1905. It remained in the Butler family for well over a century and was known to many as the Butler Plantation.
I am grateful to the present owners, Jim & Deborah Bruce, for welcoming me into their home, and to Mike Buckner for taking me for a visit. Jim’s extensive collection of vernacular African-American art is a wonderful complement to the interior.
This old brick mill building, with its distinctive towers, is located just beside I-75 north of Forsyth. It was a landmark on trips to and from Atlanta when I was a child. It’s an old cotton mill, perhaps the Brighton Mill, but was later part of Bibb Manufacturing Company, which built a modern mill behind it sometime after World War II. Today, it’s home to a discount furniture business. I will update when I learn more about the history.
This house, likely a tenant structure and part of a larger historic farm, is located just north of Forsyth.