The historic Vienna School, later known as the Jenkins School (elementary, I believe), was lost to fire this afternoon. It was most recently home to Faith Christian School.
Addison Langley just wrote: “I lived just down from this school for many years, was babysat in the kids class by my aunt and played so much on that play ground. It currently is on fire. I’m so sad to see this beautiful place burn and truly disappear.“
I’m far from an expert on insects, so I can only guess as to the identification of this bee. The best I could come up with is Green-eyed Eastern Carpenter Bee (Xylocopa virginica). But beyond that, it gets complicated. I just think it’s a fascinating creature and wanted to share.
I acquired this postcard a few years ago because I was familiar with the house from my travels. It still stands along the highway in Odum. The card was mailed in the 1910s to Brunswick, Georgia; the date is not fully readable, but the sender identified it as the home of the Bloodworth family. Though it’s identified today as the Ritch-Carter-Martin House, it must have been built by Mr. Bloodworth. It appears to have been new when this view was made. I believe Bloodworth was J. M. Bloodworth, one of the first aldermen of Odum.
Note: This replaces and updates a post originally published on 28 March 2013.
I believe the Williamson’s (Williamson) Mill precinct house was the last such structure built by Ben Hill County. The area is also known as the Salem Community, but the precinct was always known as Williamson’s Mill. If I recall correctly, all of these rural precincts have now been abandoned. Earlier examples were of wood frame construction.
The area takes it name from the Williamson family, who operated a shingle mill and founded Salem Baptist Church.
Identifying this school in my hometown has been a bit of a challenge. When I worked at the Fitzgerald-Ben Hill County Library in high school in the 1980s, I assisted on the Bookmobile and we regularly stopped beside this building and it was referred to as the Callie Garbutt School, likely due to its proximity to the church of the same name. It was not in use as a school at that time and may have been a neighborhood resource center.
It’s the fourth and final school to have been built in Fitzgerald’s cotton mill village. Two small schools originally served the area and were replaced circa 1910-1915 by a stone veneer building known simply as the Cotton Mill School. This structure, in the Mid-Century Modern or International Style, opened in 1957.
Our friend at the Georgia High School Basketball Project who knows these schools better than anyone I know did some digging and shared the following history:
This was built as Hunter Elementary. It was not an equalization school.
Closing seems to have been in 1965, or within a year or two of that. It was a Ben Hill County School. Fitzgerald still had its own city system then.
The name was previously Cotton Mill, but almost assuredly changed in 1957 when the Macon News confirmed the new building opened.
Looking at the state school directories, the building was possibly named for the Ben Hill County school superintendent, J.C. Hunter. Wouldn’t be the first time I’ve heard of one of the new school buildings named for a superintendent.
I’m shocked it was actually built.
Hunter was four classrooms. The state was normally not into building schools that small. Hunter was close enough to have gone to another county school or for the county to have made arrangements with a city school.
It was grades 1-8 in 1964-65. I can’t find any articles in available online papers on its closure, but the state would have been pressuring Ben Hill to close it at the very least because there were four teachers for eight grades.
The old Hunter building housed a Headstart program in 1980. It had been remodeled in 1972 to educate mentally challenged students.
This church in the Fitzgerald Cotton Mill was named for Callie Belle Phillips Garbutt (1869-1940), who, with her husband Moses Wadley Garbutt (1869-1937), came to Fitzgerald from Emanuel County. The Garbutt family were prominent entrepreneurs involved in many of the businesses that dominated the economic backbone of South Georgia at the turn of the last century, including timber, cotton mills, and real estate. Though I haven’t been able to locate a history of the congregation, the property was likely given to the church by the Garbutt family and therefore named for Mrs. Garbutt.
Callie Garbutt Baptist Church was established in 1907 and the first church building was of typical wood frame construction, as best I can discern. The present structure was built in 1978; it was designed by John Dennis, Jr., who was the third generation of a prominent Macon architecture firm.
When James Horton and Jamie Holland visited the Mayflower Restaurant on 12 November 2023, it would be their last visit, as this Athens landmark, the oldest restaurant in town in its original location, closed on that day. James wrote: “[We were] trying very hard to produce a smile on such a sad occasion as the last time this will ever be. Many other people were taking their last photographs that day, as well, and there was much talk inside the restaurant about memories of past times there. Rick and Lisa put out an empty notebook for customers to write their memories and thank-yous and to provide a way for customers to express their sadness about the loss. Special places like this disappearing leave a gaping hole in the lives of those who loved and appreciated them so much.“
The Mayflower Restaurant opened in 1941, “across from the arch”, and survived for 81 years. The Vaughn family purchased the business in 1963 and Rick and Lisa Vaughn operated the place for over 30 years after Rick’s parents turned over the business to him. Rick did the cooking and Lisa managed the dining room.
The Mayflower breakfast was an Athens tradition for many and the restaurant attracted people from all walks of life, students to lawyers and bankers. Tourists were always as welcome as regulars and Lisa Vaughn made sure no one felt like a stranger.
James and Jamie owned and operated the Wiregrass Restaurant in Quitman for 13 years, so James was amazed by the workspace in the Mayflower. He noted that the stainless steel food preparation counter equipped with refrigeration, a flat grill, fry station, sandwich board, coffee station, cold drink station, and soda fountain with ice cream freezer was a rare set up to still be in existence and fully functional in 2023.
A Chipotle restaurant now occupies the location. I’m sure Rick and Lisa wish them well, but it’s a bit sad to see a place like the Mayflower fade into history.
Memory: On one visit to the Mayflower, James Horton saw a lady come out from the back kitchen with flour all over her apron and he knew she was the biscuit lady – he stood up from his table and announced “Hey everybody, it’s the biscuit lady” and the whole restaurant cheered and clapped for her – she loved it. That lady could make some big, fluffy, hot, steamy biscuits that couldn’t be found anywhere else – this is the real Georgia way.
Though it isn’t a new story, I’m so grateful to James for sharing these photos and memories. I, too, was a big fan of the Mayflower and am sad to see it gone.
Paul Petersen, the great-grandson of Lee and Jamie Snow Branch, recently shared these photos of his family in Quitman. He wrote that they were: “… passed down from my Grandmother (Lalla Branch Kirkpatrick) to my Mom. They now reside with my sister in North Carolina. In a strange coincidence, my sister was viewing these photos just last week, which she has not done in years.“
Lee and Jamie Branch met a tragic end in this house at the hands of Jamie’s brother, Livingston Snow Branch, in 1937, and the case was sensationalized by local and national media. Paul added: “My Mom passed away 5 years ago along with any direct familial memory of events. She was not yet born when her Grandparents were killed, so she has heard the stories from her Mother. The article you wrote matches with the description of events passed down from my Grandmother to my Mom. From our families side we speculate that Livingstone was perhaps bi-polar or schizo affective…“
Lalla was 27 at the time of this tragedy and long gone from Quitman by then. She married Charles Cochran Kirkpatrick in 1932, and they lived in numerous locations, as her husband was a rising officer in the United States Navy. He was eventually promoted to rear admiral.
Lalla was undoubtedly devastated by the loss of her parents and I’m sure these photographs were difficult reminders of their lives in Quitman. I’m grateful to Paul for allowing me to share them. They show the family in happy times, as a means of putting a human face on his grandmother and great-grandparents, beyond the headlines.
Savannah’s Catholic Cemetery was established by Bishop Francis Xavier Gartland (1805-1854) in 1853 when local politicians denied the congregation’s request for a specially consecrated section in Laurel Grove. An eight-acre purchase on the grounds of the former Rhinehart Plantation was the genesis of this large park-like necropolis. Many remains first buried in Colonial Park were re-interred here, which explains the memorials which predate the existence of the Catholic Cemetery. Surprisingly, this property is not listed on the National Register of Historic Places. While Bonaventure, Colonial Park, and the Laurel Grove cemeteries get scores of visitors, the Catholic Cemetery is often overlooked.
After the surrender of Savannah to General Sherman’s troops on 23 November 1864, Union soldiers encamped here for a time and are known to have desecrated graves. Some of these were restored in 1867 after pleas by Bishop Augustin Verot to President Andrew Johnson and Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton. Several additions have expanded the cemetery over the years.
The memorials and monuments depicted here are presented in no particular order, and I will add more images in the future.
It’s rare to see pets buried in human cemeteries. Prince, a beloved companion of Patrick Hagan (1843-1912), is one of the most sought-out and photographed monuments in the Catholic Cemetery.
This depiction of a welcoming Christ graces a Buttimer family plot and is located near the cemetery entrance.
This is one of two memorials for Joseph Truchelut, a native of Rehon, France. He was originally buried in Colonial Park and re-interred here in the 1850s.
This grotto, the only vernacular memorial I found in the Catholic Cemetery, is located beside the grave of Frank Kennedy.
Mary Raffial was born in St. Augustine and died in Savannah in 1859. The willow seen on her headstone was a common theme in Victorian funerary art, representing sorrow and the acceptance of loss.
This was the Hugh Cullens family vault. Cullens was a native of Ireland. Brick mausoleums of this design were popular in mid-19th century Savannah.
John Cass was an Irish immigrant. His obituary in the Savannah Morning News noted: “…Mr. Cass was, at the time of his death, the proprietor of the City Hotel, and Vice President of the Hibernian Society. His remains were followed to the grave…by the Chatham Artillery, members of the Hibernian Society, and a large concourse of citizens.”
This is another typical 19th-century mausoleum design found in various Savannah cemeteries, with stacked granite and marble trim. Mr. Monahan was a private in Olmstead’s 1st Georgia Infantry during the Civil War.
This mausoleum was installed in 1906. William Doody was an Irish immigrant.
This Gothic Steeple monument is unique in the Catholic Cemetery, though the style can be found in other historic Savannah locations.
John Rourke, Sr., immigrated to America from County Wicklow, Ireland. His wife, Johanna Reedy Rourke (1845-1940), was from County Limerick.
A cherub and cross mark the final resting place of two of John and Johanna Rourke’s children.
John Flannery was an Irish immigrant, born in Nenagh, County Tipperary, who became one of the most prominent citizens of Savannah. The captain of the Irish Jasper Greens, he was beloved by his fellow soldiers and remained active in commemorations and parades honoring their service well into old age. He organized and served as president of the Southern Bank, which later merged with the Citizens Bank to become the Citizens and Southern Bank (C&S).
His monumental memorial, featuring a depiction of the crucified Christ, is among the most notable in the Catholic Cemetery.
This Confederate soldier, standing atop a much taller base, memorializes the 28 members of the Irish Jasper Greens who died during the Civil War. It was erected in 1910.
These cross memorials are quite impressive, and larger than they appear in the photograph.
This Celtic cross features the name “Frank” at the center.
A memorial published on the anniversary of Mrs. Johnston’s death in the Savannah Morning News on 15 March 1909 noted: “…Mrs. Johnston worked as a trained nurse under Dr. James B. Read for twenty-four years and, before the era of the professional trained nurse, was considered the best nurse that Savannah could boast of. She was noted for her many deeds of charity and cared as tenderly for those who could give no reward as if they were the wealthiest in the land…” Mrs. Johnston was a native of Charleston.
The lamb is a typical symbol on the graves of children. This memorial was created by Savannah’s most accomplished monument maker, John Walz.
This sarcophagus-style memorial features elements of the Egyptian Revival.
Mrs. Maggioni was a Swiss immigrant of Italian ancestry. Her memorial is quite beautiful.
Those familiar with Savannah cemeteries are likely aware of the work of John Walz. He is perhaps best known for his cherubs.
These cherubs are often located at the corners of small pillar stones and are quite distinctive.
They survive in various conditions.
This memorial features a depiction of the Pietà.
Christ depicted with the Crown of Thorns is but a small part of this memorial, but quite poignant.
The angel in a grotto adorning the gravesite of Lula Margaret Smith was created by John Walz.
The Sacred Heart of Jesus is one of the most common symbols in Catholic iconography and is often depicted as pierced or flaming, surrounded by thorns.
This Greek-Revival Georgian home was the center of large plantation owned by Josephus Hillman (c.1827-1880), who was one of the wealthiest men in what would eventually become McDuffie County. Though 1860 is generally accepted as the date of construction, there is no official documentation of this date. Typical of his time, Hillman was an enslaver, and the success of his agricultural operations was dependent on this fact. He became a Baptist minister during the Civil War and served as pastor of Thomson First Baptist Church in 1870-1871. Though his fortunes were greatly reduced by the end of the Civil War, he was able to continue his operation with tenant farmers and sharecroppers, including 11 of his former slaves. Failing health led Hillman to sell his plantation to Methodist minister Felix P. Brown in 1879.
Brown sold the farm to the Pylant brothers in 1897 and the property again changed hands in 1905, when it was purchased by William K. Miller as an investment. Paul Akers Bowden (1876-1968) ) bought the farm in 1916. Bowden, nor its next owner, Lucille Bowden Johnson (1903-1994), never lived full-time in the house, but Lucille undertook major renovations in the 1950s. After Lucille’s death, it was owned for a time by the Wrightsboro Quaker Community Foundation, but I believe it is once again a private residence.
National Register of Historic Places