These are among the last of the mill worker’s houses in the Fitzgerald Cotton Mills that haven’t been covered with vinyl siding.
The utilitarian structures were provided to employees of the mill and many families remained in them after the mill closed.
I was born at the tail-end of the era of home milk delivery and therefore, had never tasted “fresh” milk. After reading an article by Damon Lee Fowler about Southern Swiss Dairy, I decided it was time to try it for myself.
I liked what I read about Jimmy and Ginny Franks, who during the economic downturn of the late 2000s decided to transform their cattle operation into a commercial dairy that would focus on non-homogenized low-pasteurized milk, with no use of growth hormones. They also sell butter, ice cream, beef, and fresh eggs. Southern Swiss Dairy has been in business since 2010.
They source their milk from these wonderful Brown Swiss cows, which are among the top milk-producing breeds. Besides productivity, the Brown Swiss are just happier cows than most. They’re friendly, even.
Southern Swiss Dairy wasn’t the easiest place to find, and though they sell most of their product in retail locations, I wanted to see the cows myself. I could tell that Ginny Franks was busy when we pulled up to the dairy office but she was very welcoming. This isn’t one of those “tourist farms” that source their products from all over the place and call it local, but a place where what you see is what you get. And there are a lot of those “tourist farms” around the state.
We bought some whole and chocolate milk and some fresh butter and I’m impressed with the taste, which is slightly different than what I’m used to. But more importantly, I have a new appreciation for the hard work and dedication that goes into making milk. The dairying life is a hard one and at Southern Swiss Dairy, it’s obvious that it’s a labor of love.
This was a store in addition to being a filling station. T. Mobley writes: This store was THE place for local gentlemen to gather and discuss their crops, neighbors, wives, or other important events of the day, while enjoying a cold beverage.
Update: As of 2020, this structure has been demolished.
Waynesboro Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
This may be my favorite Craftsman in Waynesboro. The second floor isn’t even visible from the sidewalk (below).
A survey for the National Register nomination found as many as 130 houses in Waynesboro with Craftsman elements, though I didn’t observe that many.
The style, while encompassing specific parameters, is quite wide ranging in execution.
The above example is a central hallway cottage transformed into an eclectic Craftsman.
Brick versions are generally less common in smaller towns.
Waynesboro Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
Our friend and favorite genealogist Kenneth Dixon writes: This house was built by James Madison Reynolds (1809-1878), the son of Thomas & Eugenia Heyser Reynolds from Maryland, who is buried at Magnolia Cemetery in Augusta. He married Mary Ann Jones (1814-1884), daughter of Thomas & Hannah Hadley Jones. My 6th great-uncle Wright Murphree (1797-1853) married Mary Ann’s sister Jane Martha Jones (1802-1843), and Wright and James were involved in many land transactions together. James was an extensive planter in Burke County and owned large tracts of land, including “Rosemary Place,” his plantation which he lived on from 1846 to 1863. He also had a summer residence in Brothersville, now called Hephzibah. When the old Carter-Munnerlyn House on Liberty Street in Waynesboro was demolished ca. 1932, which was built sometime in the late 18th-century, before or just after the Revolutionary War, the fine wood paneling from one of the rooms was salvaged and installed in the Reynolds home. George Washington and Woodrow Wilson both stayed in the Carter-Munnerlyn House. The house remained in the Reynolds family for six generations before being sold out of the family recently.
Waynesboro Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
An earlier house on this lot, owned by Mrs. Frank L. Brinson, Sr. (Martha Elizabeth Herrington Brinson), burned in 1913 shortly after the installation of electricity. This house was built soon thereafter and was the home of Frank L. Brinson, Jr. The family has remained in the house for over a century.
Waynesboro Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
This Folk Victorian landmark was built for Miss Philoclia Whitehead Sturges, a music teacher at Waynesboro Academy. Thomas J. Burton and his wife Sarah bought the home in 1883 and it has remained in the family ever since.
Waynesboro Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
This Queen Anne cottage was built circa 1891 for Judge Edward Floyd Lawson and was later owned by his niece, Mrs. Ruby Lee Davis Carswell.
Waynesboro Historic District, National Register of Historic Places