Historic Storefronts, Nashville

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East Marion Avenue

The historic commercial storefronts that surround the Berrien County courthouse are the heart of Nashville. They’ve been undergoing restorations in recent years.

North Davis Street

Harvey’s Supermarket, Nashville’s most famous export, maintains a presence downtown with their support center. The old headquarters south of town is something else now.

North Davis Street

Most of the structures are typical of early-20th-century commercial design.

West Washington Avenue

The standout, however, is the McLamb & Company building (1907).

South Jefferson Street

Another notable storefront is the marble jewelry store.

 

N. T. Peeples House, Circa 1904, Berrien County

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According to Clinton Bailey: (This was the) N.T Peeples house. It was inside the city of Nashville, next to where the Post Office is now located. It was built around 1904. A relative of the Peeples and local Attorney, William Waugh Turner, moved the house to his property on North 129 with the plans and hopes to restore it. Peeples once served as a mayor of Nashville.

Alapaha Restaurant

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I think this has been home to several restaurants over the years.

Historic Farmstead, Irwin County

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These images were made in 2016. I last photographed this farm in 2010. In my younger days, riding all the dirt roads of Irwin County, it was a favorite landmark. Returning recently, I was amazed how much the property has deteriorated.

Above is fuller view of the house, made in 2010.

The wonderful old hay and stock barn remains, but it will soon be gone, like the sheds which stood adjacent.

The sheds were already beginning to collapse when I made this photograph in 2010.

Other barns, in varying states of ruin, are scattered around the property.

The syrup shed I photographed in 2010 is also gone.

The barn below was likely a tractor barn.

The storage barn or packhouse is holding up better than most of the other structures.

The tobacco barn is nearly gone, too.

It was a sad sight, driving away from the main yard.

And at last, the old tenant house is still intact.

Note: This updates and replaces a post made on 25 February 2010.

Dill’s Grocery, Irwin County

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Tommy Smith writes: “Jehue Dill operated the store in the late 50s and early 60s. This was Jerry Dill’s daddy. My brother and I stayed with Mrs. Edna Roberts, just down the hill towards Ocilla, while our parents worked. We would walk to the store almost every day. We would buy candy cigarettes and firecrackers with our dime. As we got older, we called it the firecracker store. The Griffins lived next to the store and did own the building.“

 

Shotgun House, Darien

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This house has been modified from its original shotgun style but retains the shotgun appearance from the front.

Vernacular Cottage, Darien

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This tiny cottage/cabin has Queen Anne posts but beyond that is wholly vernacular. It’s an interesting structure, perhaps a guest house at one time.

Jake’s Place, Darien

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Jake’s Places has been an important cultural center in Darien’s historically black Mentionville neighborhood for decades. Built by Army veteran Jake Mention and his brother Carl, along with Parker Theis, Oren Porter, and Frank Mann. It was a once a stop on the Chitlin’ Circuit and legends like Percy Sledge, The Temptations, Pigmeat Markham, The Main Ingredient, Junior Walker, and Jackie Wilson all played here. The Todd Grant High School also held their proms here for many years.

As of early 2021, this structure has been razed.

Georgian Motor Court, 1940s, Cordele

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Though I’ve never shared the location of this property and never will, I understand that many people know it well; there are numerous images of this sign all over the internet. And while it’s completely legal to stop on the side of the road and make a photograph, I would ask you to avoid this location. The owner has contacted me suggesting that people are harassing his mother, who is in her 90s, and this makes me sick. This is why I do not share locations. It’s a shame to have to say it, but do not trespass here. The owner will involve law enforcement if anyone is found to be on the property. DO NOT STOP HERE.

Southern Motel, Cordele

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I first photographed this sign in 2008. The Southern Motel was owned and managed by Mr. & Mrs. Jack Kirk. It was a modern brick motel which, judging from a 1961 postcard, was likely built in the mid to late 1950s, It’s hard to imagine that highways like U. S. 41 were the interstates before we had interstates. I’m aware that many people consider these sorts of properties and old signage nothing more than eyesores. There are others who absolutely love them. I don’t think many of them will be saved, but they’re a nice reminder of the world before interstates.