Woodland Dependencies, Wheeler County

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This impressive stock barn at Woodland [it may have been used as a dairy] is one of the largest of its type in this section of South Georgia. Several other smaller barns are scattered on the property but many have been lost over the years. The other two structures depicted are the most important surviving dependencies; my identifications are educated guesses and if I’m incorrect, I’ll update.

This was likely a commissary or warehouse.

This may have been the plantation schoolhouse. Its architecture suggests that it is somewhat contemporary to the main house.

Woodland Tenant Houses, Wheeler County

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These tenant properties were part of Woodland Plantation. I believe most were demolished by 2020.

They provide an interesting example of the evolution of tenant housing in the early 20th century.

The Folk Victorian/Queen Anne example may have been an overseers house.  (Interior view)

It’s a nice vernacular interpretation and features board-and-batten walls.

Wyley J. Byrd House, Circa 1860, Jeff Davis County

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Though its appearance has been altered by the addition of shed rooms and vinyl siding, this is among the oldest houses in Jeff Davis County. The date of construction is unclear but is thought to be just prior to or just after the Civil War.

Wyley J. Byrd Family, Circa 1890s, Courtesy Michael Ellis

Wyley J. Byrd (1825-1908) was a pioneer settler in the section of Coffee County that is now the Snipesville community of Jeff Davis County. He was the patriarch of a huge family [he had 20 children with two wives] who were very involved in the community, donating land for construction of the nearby Mount Pleasant Baptist Church in 1878.

Thanks to Michael Ellis for sharing the location and the vintage photograph of Mr. Byrd and some of his children. The photo probably dates to the 1890s and shows Victorian porch posts, a common “improvement” to Plantation Plain houses in that era. Mr. Ellis writes: ...this was “The Home Place” in my early childhood. My maternal grandparents lived there from sometime in the late 1930s until 1956-1957. I had a ball around there as a young child, until we relocated to Opa Locka, Florida.

Mount Pleasant Baptist Church, Jeff Davis County

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Mount Pleasant was organized in 1820 and is among the oldest congregations in Jeff Davis County. This structure, built on land given by the Byrd family circa 1878, was used until a newer structure was built next door in 1989. It is sometimes referred to as Byrd Church.

Stubbs-Register House, Ashburn

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Thanks to Chris NeSmith for the identification. Neal Wynn notes that it was designed by architect Peter Dennis. It likely dates to circa 1897-1900.

Post Office, 1939, Ashburn

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Ashburn Commercial Historic District, National Register of Historic Places

Patterson-Brown House, Circa 1870, The Ridge

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William Henry Patterson came to Darien after the Civil War and purchased the land on which he built this house from the Blount family. The neighborhood on the Old Shell Road (Georgia Highway 99), known as The Ridge, was an exclusive retreat for river pilots and timber brokers who worked in Darien, three miles to the south. Captain Patterson was a successful bar pilot who guided timber in and out of Darien.

The house was originally a Georgian cottage with a central hallway, two rooms deep, and featured a detached kitchen and shed veranda porch. Captain Patterson lived here for just two years before building a more formal house across the street.

The Redding family later owned the home and “modernized” it in 1938, adding the bay windows, an attached kitchen, front and rear foyers within  the central hallway, and hardwood flooring over the heart pine. Hannah deSoto Brown and Andy Tostensen purchased it in 1973 and restored many of the original features, including the hallway, high ceilings, and rough plaster walls. It’s a very welcoming space and I’m grateful to Hannah for sharing the history.

The Ridge Historic District, National Register of Historic Places

Mitchell J. Green Plantation, 1878, Evans County

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A classic two-story house with a metal roof, surrounded by trees and bushes, showcasing a traditional architectural style.

Intact historic farms survive only through the care of generations of families; the Mitchell J. Green plantation in Evans County is an excellent example. In 1868, after service in the Confederacy, Mr. Green built a log cabin  on the property and commenced farming. The thriving operation became the center of a small community known as Green and had its own post office from 1882-1904. Mr. Green served as postmaster. A Plantation Plain farmhouse with Victorian accents, built in 1878, anchors the property. Numerous dependencies remain.

A wooden, rustic house with a metal roof, partially surrounded by trees and green grass, under a cloudy blue sky.

Commissaries are iconic components of Georgia’s plantations and many remained in use on larger farms until World War II. The Green Commissary appears to be in excellent condition; the shed protrusion is likely a later addition.

An old wooden barn with a red roof, surrounded by green grass and trees, under a partly cloudy sky.

The stock/hay barn is the largest outbuilding on the property.

A large two-story house with a porch, surrounded by trees and greenery.

National Register of Historic Places

Roberts-Scott House, Circa 1910, Claxton

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A weathered, two-story house with a metal roof and front porch, surrounded by greenery and under a partly cloudy sky.

This home was built by Gilliard Roberts, an early African-American entrepreneur who had businesses in Savannah and Claxton. It was later owned by Walter & Mattie Scott, Julius Caesar Banks, and served as a boarding house and apartment house for teachers.

Clara Varnedoe House, Claxton

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A charming yellow house with a metal roof, featuring a white porch with rocking chairs and an American flag, surrounded by lush greenery and palm trees under a partly cloudy sky.

Built by Aaron Strickland, this late Queen Anne cottage is the oldest house in Claxton. I’m unable to confirm a date, but it likely dates to the late 1890s or early 1900s. Clara Varnedoe (1884-1978),  who served as Evans County School Superintendent from 1929-1940, lived here for many years.