Kennedy House, 1911, Cuthbert

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This structure, located on the edge of Cuthbert, has always caught my eye, and if you’ve entered the town from the east, you’ve likely noticed it. A typical central hallway cottage, it was built by Harry Kennedy in 1911. His wife, Rosa Coleman Kennedy was a seamstress. According to a tour brochure for historic Cuthbert homes, the house was one of the first in Cuthbert to have a telephone. A separate kitchen and outhouse, as well as the front porch, have been lost, but the house retains much of its historic character. It was occupied by the Kennedy family until 1953 and remains a part of the estate.

Cuthbert Historic District, National Register of Historic Places

Savannah’s Last Historic African-American Theater Faces Uncertain Future

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East Side Theater, at the corner of East Broad and East Gwinnett

The old East Side Theater is the last survivor among several historic venues which once catered to African-Americans in Jim Crow-era Savannah. Others, including the Star and the Dunbar, have been lost to history, while the nearby Melody Theater was repurposed as the St. James AME Church. The 675-seat Streamline Moderne structure was designed by local architect Oscar M. Hansen and opened on 14 March 1946. It cost its owner, the Bailey Company, $100,000 to build, which was quite extravagant at the time. Over the years, it also hosted live performers, including James Brown. It closed in 1969, and other than housing Hungry World Missionary and a storage warehouse for a few years, has been empty ever since.

In recent years, there has been some talk of saving the structure but many references about that effort have mysteriously disappeared as development of the immediate area appears to be going forward. Possible renovation and re-use could come with a new residential development slated to be constructed around it, this is dependent on zoning issues involving height variances. Who knows what the future holds.

Central Hallway Cottage, 1950s, Irwinville

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I initially couldn’t determine if this structure was residential or if it was even original to this location. I was first inclined to call it a central hallway cottage or tenant house, and Clint Dowdy writes that it was indeed a residence and that his great uncle lived here. I didn’t see a chimney but Clint writes that it was at the rear of the structure. It’s a neat form.

Irwinville Farms Tobacco Barn, 1930s

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As I’ve discussed extensively over the years, the Irwinville Farms Project was one of numerous resettlement communities overseen during the Great Depression by the Farm Security Administration and the Resettlement Administration, as a means of helping rural communities much in need of outside assistance. Even though they are highly endangered, the structures related to this project are still well represented in the Irwinville area and are an invaluable resource that deserve documentation. The barns were all originally painted white but have faded in the nearly 90 years since they were built. They cost less than $200 to build and were considered very efficient. A testament to their quality is the fact that so many are still standing.

Chicken Dinner, Cuthbert

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This photograph also dates to 2010. The building is gone now, and I just call it “Chicken Dinner” because that’s what the sign says. It probably had another name. There’s a Carter’s Fried Chicken on this site now. I mostly liked the Mid-Century architectural vibe of this little restaurant, and the globe lamps inside. I don’t know if you could eat inside or if it was simply a walk-up-and-order kind of place. I do recall the place being open in the late 2000s. It was located across the street from the Piget, another local landmark that is also gone.

The Corner Kitchen, Cuthbert

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When I first photographed this location in January 2010, it looked like a busy place. That may have been due to the fact that there was an automotive detailing shop next door that only charged $8 for cars and $12 for trucks. The restaurant was once known as the Corner Kitchen and I’m not sure if it was even still open when I photographed it. I imagine it was a good soul food restaurant, a meat-and-three kind of place, and considering the lack of restaurants in Cuthbert, was probably quite popular. The building looks to have originally been a neighborhood grocery store.

Hopewell Church, Randolph County

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I’ve been fascinated by this old church since first running across it back in 2008 and have photographed it several times. It’s in a low area near Pachitla Creek and I’ve seen the surrounding lots flooded on more than one occasion. I’m guessing it was a Primitive Baptist church, considering the inclusion of a door on the side.

There’s an old precinct house located adjacent, but I now believe the church and precinct house were moved here from the nearby Martins Crossroads community for preservation purposes. First, I imagine the cinderblock piers aren’t original to a structure of this age, and second, an historic survey of Randolph County I found on Rootsweb stated that Hopewell Church was located in Martins Crossroads, and gave a different GPS location. That being said, this whole area may be considered the Martins Crossroads community and I may be incorrect. Caitlin Jones wrote, a few years ago, that the property is now owned by her grandfather, Robert Odom, and someone else noted that there was once a grist mill across the road from this location. I look forward to learning more.

Single-Pen Tenant Farmhouse, Randolph County

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I made this photograph on 17 June 2009 and the image got lost in my archives, until now. I don’t recall where in Randolph County this structure was located, but it was one of my early favorites. I believe it was somewhere between Benevolence and the now demolished Hour of Prayer Church, if that helps anyone in pinpointing its whereabouts. The single-pen style, while equally distributed among white and black laborers, is sometimes referred to as “Cracker”. It’s one of Georgia’s most widespread [and endangered] rural housing types of the late 19th and early 20th century and is often associated with tenancy, which in Georgia usually meant farming or turpentining. It was also popular in textile mill villages. As seen on this example, most single-pen cottages featured a shed room at the rear.

Bozeman Store, Mitchell County

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Here’s another photo that is a mystery to me. It dates to 2010 and was located on somewhere on or near Greenough Road. I may be wrong in my recollection, though. Someone identified it years ago, on Flickr or another photo sharing site, but I’ve lost access to that information. I do know, from that identification, that it was a general store. It looked like it was in its last days when I encountered it, so it is likely gone.

Update: Bill Blackburn writes that this was the Willy Hill Bozeman Store and that it closed in the early 1960s.

Commercial Block, Sale City

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This abandoned commercial block is located at the main crossroads of what was once “downtown” Sale City. Though it’s been derelict for many years, it’s still standing as far as I can tell. The storefront on the left side of the block was a pharmacy, and it’s hard to imagine Sale City ever being large enough to support such a business. But as with many historic towns, not everyone had their own transportation in the early 20th century, especially in rural areas, and all the business that is done at box stores today was done locally back then. I’m unsure as to what was located in the other two storefronts.