One of two outstanding granite-sided churches on Forest Avenue, St. Mary’s Catholic Church was built in 1941 for a growing congregation that, according to the Archdiocese of Atlanta, held Mass in private homes and at the American Legion Hall before its construction. There is no mention of the origins of the congregation, but considering that Elberton was settled in the late 18th century, I imagine there were a few Catholics around long before 1941. After the church was dedicated on 23 November 1941, Saint Mary was a mission of Saint Joseph in Athens and then Saint Joseph in Washington until administration was transferred to Sacred Heart of Jesus in Hartwell in 2014.
Forest Avenue Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
This house is a neighbor to the Mediterranean Revival example in the previous post, and is an indication that the Forest Avenue neighborhood embraced a wide variety of architectural styles in the 1910s and 1920s, as did middle- and upper-class neighborhoods throughout the country at the time. The Prairie School is most often associated with Frank Lloyd Wright and was quite modern for its time. While the shingle siding on this house is a bit unusual for the style, there are numerous interpretations of the style.
Forest Avenue Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
This is one of the most modern of Elberton’s historic homes, built during the peak of popularity of exotic architectural revivals. It has been restored in recent years but looks much as it would have when first built. While the style was most popular in California and Florida, there are scattered examples throughout Georgia, notably on Sea Island. One has to imagine that someone the builder of a house of this type in Elberton in the 1920s was quite progressive and knowledgeable of architectural styles of the era. I imagine it was met with quite a bit of disdain from its neighbors, as it would have been viewed as quite unconventional at the time.
Forest Avenue Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
I’ve been unable to locate a congregational history for Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, but it’s a great example of the use of local granite in the construction of public buildings in Elberton. The church, built in 1946, actually sits atop a sloping lot, with a lower floor incorporating Sunday School rooms and offices. This is the street view of the sanctuary.
Forest Avenue Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
Montevideo is another crossroads community of Elbert County, located just up the road from Rock Branch. While this old store is located in Elbert, most of the settlement is located in Hart County, which is just across the road. In fact, Montevideo Road itself makes up much of the southern border Hart County. Presumably named for the South American city, Montevideo may have originated as an earlier plantation or farm. A post office served the community from 1857-1903.
Rock Branch is a crossroads community in the eastern part of Elbert County, named for the nearby creek known as Rock Branch. There are a lot of little creeks in this area. To my knowledge, they never even had a post office but they had at least two stores, and there’s a newer store serving the community today. Until a few years ago, there was a two-story Masonic lodge that also housed a store in days gone by. The historic Rock Branch Baptist Church is located here, as well is this old general store and filling station. The store sported a Phillips 76 gasoline sign in an older photograph I saw, in an architectural survey. The pumps have probably been gone for many years.
This was a very common style of farmhouse at one time, essentially a working man’s interpretation of the higher Victorian styles popular in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Most of the fancier details would have been part of the porch, which has been removed at some point in its history. This example was once the center of an historic working farm and I can imagine the comfort it brought to the family who lived here. An old barn near the house has recently collapsed but as you can tell, the place is still getting the love it needs to survive another hundred-plus years. A new roof means someone cares, and I’d bet it’s someone with connection to the history of the house.
Bethel Grove Baptist is an historic African-American congregation located in the Heardmont community in eastern Elbert County. Organized by freedmen and their descendants on 20 May 1885, its early members were likely connected in some way to people formerly enslaved on the nearby Heard plantation. The present building may date to circa 1900. A small building barely visible to the right of the church has been identified as a schoolhouse related to the church, and an historic resource survey also dates it to circa 1900. Typically, rural Black congregations were often the only source of education for their communities, and surviving examples of such schools are very endangered.
Abbeville’s claim to fame used to be that Jefferson Davis spent a night in the town as he was fleeing Union forces prior to his capture and imprisonment, and that was once the focus of the town’s annual public gathering.
But times have changed and Abbeville is now known far and wide as the home of the Ocmulgee Wild Hog Festival. Ashburn gets its inspiration from fire ants. Camilla celebrates Gnat Days. So why not hogs?
They’re an invasive species, after all, and wreak havoc on our native ecosystem.
But they’re most prevalent in the South, and hunting them is a longstanding tradition. It’s very popular in the thick swamps that radiate in all directions from the Ocmulgee River near Abbeville.
Technically, the hog in question is the Eurasian or Russian Wild Boar (Sus scrofa) and it’s one of the most widely distributed mammals on the planet, due to its introduction in places not original to its range in Europe and North Africa.
Innocently enough, settlers brought them to America as soon as America was settled, for a readily available food source, but things quickly got out of hand.
Since modern science frowns on introduced and invasive species, there are no limits on hogs for hunters, as there are for most species.
There are multiple varieties in existence today because the species readily cross breeds with domesticated stock. Ironically, the wild boar is also the progenitor of the pigs we raise for pork today.
Abbeville became the de facto center of hog hunting in Georgia in 1955, the year the late Boo Addison began hosting an annual Wild Hog Bar-B-Que to kick off the state legislative session, a tradition that continues today.
The Addison family follows Boo’s footsteps today, literally and figuratively, guiding hunts in the area and teaching many newcomers the particulars of the sport.
One of the highlights of the Ocmulgee Wild Hog Festival is the baying competition, which starts early, and really shows off the skill of these specialized dogs.
Baying, or keeping the boar at bay, refers to the dog cornering and harassing the hog, barking loudly to bring in the hunters. Wayne Wilson ran this event for many years.
There is no abuse to the animals in the baying competition.
It’s actually amazing to watch a small but tenacious dog come face to face with a wild boar.
Back to Abbeville…the county seat of Wilcox County since its formation in 1857, the town was sited along the Ocmulgee River to take advantage of its bustling trade.
The Ocmulgee Wild Hog Festival is one of the biggest events in the area and the town’s population of around 2700 probably reaches 10-15,000 from the influx of visitors from all over.
It’s truly one of the most unique festivals in South Georgia and you should try to visit at least once. There are great vendors and entertainment, and you’ll probably run into someone you know. People really do come from all over to witness this fascinating event.
It’s held the Saturday before Mother’s Day every year at Lion’s Club Park in Abbeville.
Richard B. Russell Lake, called Lake Russell by locals, has the most natural appearance of the three large lakes impounded by the Army Corps of Engineers on the Savannah River along the Georgia-South Carolina border. While all the lakes serve the dual purpose of flood control and hydropower creation, Richard B. Russell has restrictive covenants that prevent the construction of homes along its shoreline, unlike Lake Hartwell to the north and Lake Strom Thurmond to the south. As a result, it is a more pristine environment and an unusual recreational location in Georgia.
Originally conceived as Trotters Shoals Lake in 1966, it was authorized by the Flood Control Act. The name was later changed to memorialize the recently deceased U. S. Senator Richard B. Russell. Historic sites ranging in time from the last Ice Age to the time of the lake’s construction were inundated during the filling process, and about 68 of the 600 identified sites were documented. This work has been covered in two books, Beneath These Waters, Archeological and Historical Studies of 11,500 Years Along the Savannah River and In Those Days: African-American Life Near the Savannah River.
The lake is approximately 26,650 acres in size and levels do not fluctuate more than five feet in optimum conditions. The average maximum depth is approximately 167 feet. This is another distinction from neighboring Lake Hartwell and Lake Strom Thurmond.
