Simplicity and functionality, highlighted by just a touch of fancy machine-made decorative elements, are one reason these houses were so popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Pattern books served as the basis for many of the designs but this version is likely just a local interpretation. The presence of railroads in almost every small town in Georgia during this era insured the availability of materials necessary for the changing architectural tastes of the emerging middle class.
This home was the center of a small historic farm, on which a couple of outbuildings survived when I photographed it in 2017. It’s similar to the farmhouse my father and his siblings grew up in, though theirs was a bit larger and was later sided with brick and somewhat modernized. I mention this only because it was such a common house type on small farms throughout Georgia and many examples survive in various states of renovation and neglect.
I certainly hope to learn more about this extraordinary vernacular house, which has a Federal-Plantation Plain form, enhanced by a portico that would be considered somewhat uncommon in this context. 9 over 9 windows are potential hints of an early construction date, perhaps antebellum. I think the double doors are early, as well. It’s such a delightful house, from its setting to its architecture, and is obviously well-loved and cared for by its owners.
Update: Thanks to Eric Korn, I’ve learned that this was relocated here in 1947, at which time the portico, which originally ran along the entire front of the house, was reduced to its present configuration. It was originally used as a stagecoach layover/boarding house in its early days. It’s also referred to as the Shank-Strain House.
This building was on the edge of town in Hogansville, if my memory serves me correctly. It’s just a vernacular structure that I found intriguing. It may have been two houses put together, a sort of duplex, or even an office of some kind. The right side of the building has saddlebag characteristics. While it appears there was a porch on the visible side that has been removed, a shed porch runs across the back side, adding to the mystery. If anyone knows, please reach out.
Typical of Georgia’s grandest town homes, the Bailey-Heard-Dallis House evolved from a smaller and plainer space to a larger, more architecturally-inspired vision. It’s also an important survivor of gentrification, as the 1974 application for the National Register of Historic Places attests: “…the house is currently the only Greek Revival dwelling left in its block. Only a few years ago there were seven such homes on the block.“
Thought to be the oldest house in LaGrange, it was built circa 1828 by General Samuel A. Bailey, who used it as his headquarters during the Creek Indian War of 1836. It was originally a simple vernacular form, with four rooms downstairs and two up, separated by a central hallway. When George Heard bought the house in 1842, he added four rooms and the exceptional colonnade, with six fluted Doric columns on the front and two more on each side of the house.
The home was acquired by George Dallis in 1888 and has remained in his family ever since.
Broad Street Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
I’m not a “lister” but I do enjoy a quick review of the year’s most popular posts. These favorites helped add another million views this year. Thank you for traveling along with me. I wish you all a wonderful 2024!
#1.- The Alday Murders: 50 Years Later
#2- Five Points Grocery, Toombs County
#3- Miller’s Soul Food, 1955, Dublin
#4- Upatoi, Georgia
#5- Parrott-Camp-Soucy House, 1842 & 1885, Newnan
#6- Simmie King House, Circa 1900, Berrien County
#7- John Joshua Beasley, Father of 40
#8- Coca-Cola Bottling Company, Hinesville
#9- Wishbone Fried Chicken, Tifton
#10- McNeill House, 1937, Thomson
Bellevue is a grand Greek Revival mansion, originally the center of a 1200-acre plantation property, built by Benjamin Harvey Hill (1823-1882) for his wife Caroline Holt Hill (1825-1904). It’s surrounded today by one of LaGrange’s premier historic residential districts. It was donated to the LaGrange Woman’s Club by the Fuller E. Callaway Foundation in 1942 and they have been its guardians ever since.
Benjamin Hill, who was born at Hillsboro in Jasper County, has been called a political chameleon for his wavering views and various party alliances. He started his career as a Whig and then became a strong Fillmore-supporting Unionist. Ultimately, he was Southern partisan who voted in favor of secession and quickly voiced public support for Confederate President Jefferson Davis while serving in the Confederate senate. Davis was even a visitor to Bellevue. In response to Reconstruction and the governorship of Republican Rufus Bullock, Hill helped inaugurate the Ku Klux Klan in Georgia during a speech made on 23 July 1868 that supported violence against the governor and others in favor of the Reconstruction government. He was elected to the U. S. House of Representatives and to the U. S. Senate in 1877. He died in office in 1882. Ben Hill County is named for him.
National Register of Historic Places + National Historic Landmark
Victory Tabernacle takes up pretty much all of the historic center of Flovilla and their adaptive re-use of the commercial block and adjacent storefronts probably saved these places. Storefront churches are often some of the only tenants in the abandoned downtowns I’ve been documenting for years. As with businesses, I don’t endorse churches, but that doesn’t limit me from being glad they’ve kept these old buildings alive.
One of the storefronts is one of my favorites in all of Georgia. A sign on the transom reads “Gospel Singing” and that’s flanked on either side by neon versions of the words Victory Jubilee. It’s a perfect scene. When I was making these photographs, mid-day on a Friday in October 2017, the church was meeting and I could hear gospel music coming from inside, just as the sign promised. It almost felt like a movie, surreal.
Update: Kimberly Rooker recently contacted me and shared a bit of the history of this property. She wrote, in part: “My family owned and operated the General Merchandise store on that property that you photographed in Flovilla. It is still standing as of today….but the Victory Tab[ernacle] has vacated it…sadly. My great great grandfather was JT Edwards from a pioneer family of the Jasper and Butts Co. areas. I showed my daughter the store last year…..just as my dad showed me the store front in 1989. There is a ton of history on the Edwards family in Flovilla/Indian Springs that was passed down to me orally when I was a child by my grandmother...”
Besides the commercial block that is home to Victory Tabernacle, this is the only commercial building standing in “downtown” Flovilla and may have been attached to a larger structure or row at one time. It small size makes me think it was an office or bank but it serves as the backdrop for an outdoor stage for the Victory Tabernacle now, I think.
While re-editing my Butts County photographs, I stumbled across these two curious buildings. I believe they were located just outside Flovilla. Both are eclectic, with Victorian and vernacular elements. This looks like the common shotgun-type store dominant in early 20th century Georgia, but has an attached wing at the right. Such additions are uncommon with the shotgun form, so I presume it was added to this building for storage. I believe this was part of the late John Haney’s Fort Indian Springs Antique & Flea Market, so it may be something that he saved and fixed up.
The example above features hints of Victorian ornamentation but the stone columns take center stage. The concrete porch floor and layout of the facade are indicative of a commercial origin. A wing at the left would suggest an attached residence, or a later expansion for full-fledged residential use. I hope someone knows their stories.