I’m not sure if this cottage originally stood here or if it was moved to the location, but other than some “modernization” it’s a fairly nice example of the Georgian Cottage form. This enduring hip-roof house type can be found all over the state, from the city to the country, and can be quite plain, or take on decorative elements, most commonly Queen Anne porches and posts. Examples that feature dormers like the one above are often associated with the Queen Anne style and date from the 1880s-1920s, though the style is still popular today.
Jones Chapel C. M. E. Church was likely a Freedmen congregation, formed in the years after the Civil War when Black Georgians were establishing their own churches away from the plantations where they had been enslaved. I have been unable to locate any history, and don’t know if it was originally associated with the Christian Methodist Episcopal movement or if it was an independent congregation. I confirmed it was a C. M. E. church through obituaries. There are a few members of a Jones family buried in its historic cemetery. Perhaps there are clues as to its origin in their stories. The church building as it stands today was likely built in the late 1800s or early 1900s.
The church survives in an idyllic setting today, beside a pond surrounded by a managed longleaf pine plantation, but the pond is a recent addition, dating to circa 2009-2010. Nonetheless, it’s not every day you see an old church with its own dock. The church isn’t part of the managed property, according to maps, but is likely an easement for the surviving family of its former members.
Situated on a ridge across from Jones Chapel, this historic cemetery is as important a resource as the church itself. It contains a nice variety of vernacular and commercial memorials, and formerly enslaved men and women, along with freedmen and their descendants, are buried here. My focus here is on the vernacular memorials.
Bessie H Jackson? (Aug 5, no year-22 July 1960 or 1961)
This vernacular memorial is topped by a cross made of shells and reads: Memory of You Forever.
Bidy Ann Talington (12 March 1900-6 January 1904)
Bidy Ann was the daughter of Sam and Hattie Talington.
Ransom Powell, Jr. (26 May 1899-6 May 1915)
This is a marble stone, likely bought as a blank and inscribed by a local craftsman.
Georgian Brinson (1870-22 February 1909)
This is a typical “stenciled” ledger stone in a common shape. It remains in relatively good condition.
Nias Gonder (4 March 1883-11 September 1923)
This is another typical stenciled stone.
Mattie B. Jones (30 September 1907-8 July 1908)
Ivy and an anchor are represented in the tympanum of this marker, and an accompanying poem reads: A little flower of love that blossomed but to die, Transplanted not above to bloom with God on high.
Little Sandra Leann Dixon (birth and death dates obscured)
This is the first Eldren Bailey headstone I’ve seen with the Blake Funeral Home identified. I’m not sure where it was located, but likely in Atlanta where Mr. Bailey lived and worked.
Newman Jackson (9 May 1910-8 August 1995)
This is one of two Jackson headstones with a distinctive dotted text. Though they were made 15 years apart, I believe the same person created both. In addition to the birth and death dates, it reads: Memories Your Children-We Still Love You
Professor Thomas Jefferson Elder (1869-1946) came to Sandersville around 1889, at the invitation of a local minister, for the purpose of improving educational opportunities for Sandersville’s Black children. According to the National Register of Historic Places nomination form, he was “the one man who had meant most to the educational, social and spiritual advancement of the colored people of the county for almost 60 years.”
Newspaper photos of Professor Thomas Jefferson Elder and Lillian Phinizy Elder, circa 1940s. Public Domain images accessed via Findagrave. No known restrictions.
A brochure from the City of Sandersville notes that Thomas Jefferson Elder was born and raised in Oconee County. His father was Blant Elder, a planter, and his mother was Sarah A. Love. He barely knew his mother as she lived in the home of her employer. A white man named John Meeks took care of Elder and his brother after their mother died. They attended the Knox Institute in Athens and graduated from Atlanta University. He taught for two years in Athens, where he met his wife, Lillian Phinizy Elder (1868-1943), a graduate of Spelman Seminary and fellow teacher. He furthered his education at Morgan Park Academy and Cook County Normal in Chicago, and Hampton Institute in Virginia.
In 1889, Elder established “Sandersville’s first Negro school” in the Springfield Baptist Church, with 25 students. Two years later, he purchased a nearby lot and built a two-room school, which became the Sandersville High and Industrial School. It was the first school in this part of the state to include manual training in its curriculum and in 1917 a domestic science building was constructed with the help of the Rosenwald Fund. In 1928, due largely to the fundraising efforts of Professor Elder, the present structure was built by the Rosenwald Fund and renamed the Thomas J. Elder High and Industrial School in his honor. It is in the H-Form popular among Rosenwald schools and was considered one of the finest and largest Black schools in Middle Georgia at the time. As to his administrative skill, his obituary noted: During his superintendency of the school, he maintained rigid discipline. A student breaking a window replaced it at his own expense, often working after hours to earn the money. Desks in the school, some of them over 40 years old, were unmarred by carving and whittling. Elder explained that offenders were made either to sand down and varnish the desk top or to buy a new one.
Professor Elder and his wife are buried in front of the school. An article in the 13 June 1946 edition of the Sandersville Progress recounts the following: Nearly 20 years ago, standing in the city square, the late George Warthen and the late C. B. Chapman made an agreement. “When Elder died,” said Mr. Warthen, “if one or the other of us is living he will see that Elder has white pall bearers. Agreed?” “Agreed,” said Mr. Chapman. G.S. Chapman overheard the conversation; it was he who carried out the agreement for his father.
The school became an elementary school in 1960, when a new Black high school was built, and continued in that capacity until closing in 1980. It now serves as the T. J. Elder Community Center.
Rev. J. W. Irwin (?-11 January 1948), Women Missionary Society Cemetery, aka Tennille Colored Cemetery
In an historic African-American cemetery characterized by many sunken graves and damaged markers, the headstone of Rev. J. W. Irwin stands out as a vernacular masterpiece. It’s one of the most unique handmade memorials I’ve encountered anywhere. The poured concrete stone is pierced by four holes, roughly representing the shape of a cross. Rev. Irwin’s name and date of death are handwritten on the surface. I hope to learn more about Rev. Irwin.
This has been a landmark of Tennille for well over a century, and in its present derelict state, has been a source of intrigue for many visitors and photographers over the years. The roof has been gone for a long time but the building appears to be relatively stable. I hope it isn’t left too much longer to the elements. It’s a great resource.
Other marble- or granite-front banks that I’ve photographed have generally dated to circa 1900-1920. I believe this example is granite and dates to the early 1900s; it may have only existed as a bank for a few years, as panics and mismanagement spelled doom for many Georgia financial institutions in the years before the Great Depression.
The two main streets that run through Tennille are separated by, and run parallel to, the railroad tracks. The historic storefronts on the north side, known as North Central Avenue, are pictured above. Just know if you visit Tennille, and you should, that there’s an underpass that will get you around the often-stalled trains of the busy Sandersville Railroad, aka the Kaolin Road. Tax records suggest these structures date to circa 1920, but I wonder if they could be a little older than that.
The old filling stations and garages that helped define America’s evolution into an automobile-centered culture, built from the 1920s-1950s, are getting quite scarce, though many have been repurposed in recent years. This one, with Mission Revival style details, is located right in the middle of downtown Tennille. There’s another historic station adjacent to it, but I was unable to get a photograph. I’m not sure if this was affiliated with a national franchise or just a local business.
Beech* Grove is an historic African-American church near the Irwins Crossroads community of Washington County. I haven’t located any congregational history, but it’s likely a Freedmen church. It was probably built in the early 1900s. A small adjacent cemetery indicates that the Cannida family were its most active members. The oldest member, using this method of identification, was Willie Lee Cannida (1865-1961). The church was active until at least 2011, as I found a church bulletin for a homecoming from that year.
This unusual outbuilding stands near the rear of the church, and was possibly an office or Sunday school room. I first thought it might be a privy, but I don’t think a privy would have windows. A tin-sided privy was actually located beyond this structure. It’s a neat little building, whatever its purpose.
*-Many maps and online sources spell the church “Beach” Grove, but the program I discovered inside used the “Beech” spelling, as in the tree, so I’m going with that.
I photographed this house in 2013 and have since lost the location. I would be surprised it it’s still standing. It’s included in my Lee County files, so I presume that’s where it was located. It’s a nice single-pen tenant house, which was expanded a couple of times throughout its history. Like many such uninsulated dwellings, it was later covered with tar paper to help with temperature control. If anyone knows its whereabouts or fate, please get in touch.
