A user on Vanishing South Georgia wrote: The Pine Mountain Gas Station used to be here but burned down sometime in the 1980s. There was an alligator out back they called Old Joe. If you called him you had better have a burger for him. He would sit and sun himself in front of Jack Shuman’s station next door. The DNR finally moved him.
This store isn’t really that old but the story of Old Joe is too good not to share.
Organized as Bethany in 1854, this congregation built their first church around 1860 about a mile from the present location. In 1900, during the pastorate of Reverend J. H. Frisbee, Bethany agreed to move into the town of Ellabell to increase membership. They built this church in 1904, using much of the material from the old location, and David Hess notes that this material was rolled on logs. The interior finishings of the church were done by Reverend Frisbee, who was also a contractor. I’m not exactly sure when the name was changed to Ellabell Methodist, but it was likely around this time.
Many of the early records of the church have been lost and if anyone has pertinent information, please share it here.
Faye Morris Sanders writes: This was the home of Rossie Shuman Adams. A very sweet lady who is missed by all the loved ones. I’ve been in the house a few times with my sister, Kaye Morris Shuman who used to married to Ms. Rossie’s son, Ashley Shuman. I can tell you that its a sweet little country home and everything always so neat and so pretty. I loved to walk in her kitchen; she always had something good to eat, whether country foods or home baked goodies! That woman could cook!
Though its most noticeable feature may be the Victorian scalloping around the porch, this is most properly a vernacular Greek Revival cottage. It’s perhaps the most iconic structure in Ellabell and is very endangered. I don’t know if it was a house or a store or office, but it’s one of my all-time favorites.
Though the following account isn’t related to this house, I’m placing it here because this is the most popular of the Ellabell posts. I’m grateful to Lawrence Hyde for sharing.
Origins of Ellabell, Georgia – by Lawrence Hyde
If you have ever wondered how the community of Ellabell got it’s name – Here is the story.
My Great-Great Grandfather, John Morrison, set up a Turpentine Operation in Bryan County and named it for his daughter, Ella Bell, my Great Grandmother. Originally spelled “Ella Bell” somewhere over the years the words got mushed together into “Ellabell”. Here on out – to avoid confusion – I will refer to her by the family nickname “BG”.
When John Morrison married his wife, Iola Bell (Seriously – I can’t make these names up!), a young minister fresh out of seminary performed the ceremony. His name was Henry Van Dyke. He would become a prominent author and speaker later in life with his inspirational books and poetry. My favorite of his books is THE STORY OF THE OTHER WISEMAN. He also wrote the lyrics to Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee.
When BG was about 4 or 5 years old, the French Actress, Sarah Bernhardt played Savannah. With a reputation for being a Huntswoman, John Morrison invited her out to hunt on the Turpentine Plantation. Family Lore has it that her private railcar was brought out to Ella Bell for a day or so. Iola Bell sent BG down with a pitcher of Sweet Milk. Sarah Bernhardt pulled her up on her lap and spoke to her in French while her maid translated. One of the family treasure is the milk pitcher that Sarah Bernhardt used.
BG graduated from the Lucy Cobb Institute in Athens. She was a talented artist and we still have a number of her paintings spread out among the family. This is my painting from her and it is the only one that she added LCI under her signature.
BG met and married my G Grandfather, John Carlton of Elberton when he took a job as the telegraph operator at Ella Bell. Thus the old joke – he married the boss’s daughter.
Plans for a real town – churches, fountain in the square, etc etc – were drawn up but the town never took off.
While John Morrison set up a few Turpentine Operations around the South, after Ella Bell – he set up another operation in Moultrie, where He and Iola Bell, John Carlton and BG, and my own grandparents are buried. I always crack the joke with roots so deep in Moultrie – that I am related to 1/2 the town by birth and the other 1/2 by marriage.
This photograph was made in 2010. It’s one of the nicest patriotic displays I’ve seen and I hope they’re still doing it every year.
Maxine Todd writes: I love that street. It holds many memories for me. It’s where I stood as a young teenager and waved and shot peace signs to all the soldiers going to Fort Stewart.
Pembroke Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
Pembroke is one of the newest county seats in Georgia, having been chosen for this distinction when the construction of Fort Stewart cut off the previous county seat, Clyde, from public access. Though it has not been formally documented, the courthouse, designed by Savannah architect Walter P. Marshall, was likely funded by the Department of Defense.
National Register of Historic Places
This mural was uncovered in 2011 when the City of Pembroke was working on revitalizing its downtown area. A new mural was planned for this wall, but when workers uncovered this one, it was decided that it was an important asset to the history of the community and was left intact. It was a great save on Pembroke’s part, as I’ve seen several historic murals painted over in towns all over South Georgia in the past few years. There’s a similar mural in Ochlocknee, though its condition is not as good.
Pembroke Historic District, National Register of Historic Places