Americus Colored Hospital, 1923

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The first facility in South Georgia where black doctors, nurses, and pharmacists could train, practice, and serve people of color, the Americus Colored Hospital was established by Dr. William Stuart Prather (1868-1941), a white physician who was well aware of the health care needs of this under-served community. He bought the property and built this state-of-the-art facility, with the cooperation and contributions of the Americus Negro Business League and the Americus Junior Welfare League.

According to the Americus-Sumter County Movement Remembered Committee (ASMRC), 33 doctors, 2 dentists, 2 pharmacists, 6 registered nurses, and 18 nursing professionals were associated with the hospital. The resulting black middle class that grew out of this experiment was one of the most vibrant in the state; in fact, Americus-Sumter County had more black professionals and landowners than anywhere else in Georgia from the 1920s-1942.

Though it faced numerous difficulties, it was an important resource for the African-American community until it closed in 1953. At that time, Sumter Regional Hospital opened its doors, and because it used federal funds via the Hill-Burton Act, couldn’t discriminate by race. The act didn’t mandate desegregation, however, and Sumter Regional was racially compartmentalized. Since no black doctors were hired, much of the black middle class left Americus, resulting in a negative economic impact. The Americus Chapter of the City Federation of Colored Women’s Clubs, purchased the Colored Hospital building and used it as a nursery and youth center. During the Civil Rights Movement, it also served as a Freedom School and Training Center.

Presently, it is being restored for use as the Americus Civil Rights and Cultural Center.

Pine Needle Bathing Suits Helped Promote Georgia Turpentine

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Eliza Peeples*, Spirit of Turpentine, Circa 1936, from an Atlanta newspaper

Eliza Peeples must not have been too bothered by the sharp pine needles that made up the bulk of her bathing suit, but she was wearing the outfit to help promote turpentine. As part of its promotional push, the American Turpentine Farmers Association (ATFA) began holding an annual Miss Spirits of Turpentine beauty pageant in 1940, where this costume, as well as a pine needle tiara, were part of the show. This photograph is scanned from a newspaper article published in one of the Atlanta papers soon after the association was formed, so I think Eliza was more of a mascot than an official “queen”. I can’t locate the paper in my archives at the moment, so I don’t have an exact date. I don’t know when the pageant was phased out, but the last “turpentine queen” was crowned in 1995, long after the disbanding of the group.

Harley Langdale of Valdosta formed ATFA as a cooperative of naval stores producers in 1936. They came from the “Turpentine Belt” states of Georgia, Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas. And Georgia was usually the leading producer. Judge Langdale led the organization for 29 years, but the industry, which boomed during World War II, reached its peak by the late 1940s. Innovations such as fire breaks and controlled burns were adopted early by ATFA members, and their benefits are still integral to forestry today. For a time, turpentine was one of the biggest employers in the rural South. Numerous factors, primarily modernization and competition from the chemicals industry, as well as the loss of labor due to the Great Migration, spelled the end of ATFA, and broad scale production, by 1975. Memories of the industry are fading from the collective consciousness but a few of the old turpentine shacks, commissaries, and stills can be found scattered throughout Georgia.

*- I was able to learn that Eliza Peeples McLemore (1920-2011) lived in Griffin, Georgia, for most of her adult life, and that she had a twin sister, Louie Peeples White (1920-2009). They were the daughters of Russell Alexander Peeples and Ethel Orr Peeples.

Historic Farmstead, Long County

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This historic farmstead is located near the Broad Level community of northern Long County, an area that was once a center of turpentine production and timber cultivation. There are several surviving barns and outbuildings, including one roofed with Ludowici Tile. I’m not sure about its history, but chances are it was connected in some way to the turpentine industry. It has been relatively well preserved, a great example of a “middle class” working farm from the early years of the 20th century.

Folk Victorian Farmhouse, Long County

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This home is obviously still well-loved by the family who call it home. It’s a central hallway with Queen Anne porch posts and a half story above the main floor. A shed room at the rear of the house and an attached kitchen complete the scene, a classic of vernacular architecture and rural Georgia.

Gable Front House, Long County

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It’s sad to see an old house like this barely standing but I hope the beautiful grove of oaks which surround it can be saved.

Victoria Nephew, Long County

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Victorian Scott Nephew (4 May 1913-3 April 2019)

I regret that I never got to meet Mrs. Sarah Victoria Scott Nephew (Vicky to her friends and loved ones), the longest-lived person in Long County. As someone who was raised around older people and had a great-grandmother and great-uncle who both lived over 100 years, I always loved their stories and wisdom. Centenarians have always fascinated me.

Mrs. Nephew’s great-grandmother Sarah was born enslaved in 1840 in South Carolina. She was subject to repeated assaults by her enslaver and bore him five children. She eventually married Benjamin Scott, and she named one of the children born of her enslaver Marcus Scott, Sr. His son, Marcus “Big Bubba” Scott, Jr., (1890-1977) was the father of Victoria. Her mother was Maggie Williams Scott. The Scotts moved from Spartanburg to Burke County in 1895, and to Liberty County in 1908. They owned and operated a turpentine and timber farm in the Broad Level community, in what is now Long County. Maggie died in 1926 and Bubba married Lena Rountree (1906-1972), of Savannah. I got the impression that Victoria was not very fond of Lena. Big Bubba was a member of Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church and served as its clerk. He was ordained to the ministry in 1949 and was an assistant pastor at Mt. Zion Baptist Church.

Victoria attended school, through sixth grade, in Sandfly, and told Margie Love, in a 2017 interview, that her teacher at the Sandfly School, Professor Read, and her great-grandfather, were slaves together. She said through their attending the white children on the plantation, they “picked up a little education there.” [Please follow the link above, and read all of Margie’s wonderful interview. There are some great stories there.]

As a young woman, Victoria was sent to Ossabaw Island to babysit for a Mr. Strouffer, the English gardener of the Torrey Family, who owned the island. While there she married her first husband, Sandy Jackson, whose mother was from Ossabaw and father was from Liberty County. Sandy died during World War II, when a tree fell on him while cutting timber for war ships. They had no children.

Around 1947, Vicky married John Nephew, a Darien native. They lived in the Broad Level community, with John working in turpentine, and were regular members of Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church. They had four children. John died in a car crash in 1968.

She told Margie Love that she had been dipping Navy Snuff for about 90 years and that she didn’t take store-bought medicine, preferring local medicinal plants, especially life everlasting (Hylotelephium telephium). There must be something to it, as Mrs. Nephew lived a long and rich life, passing away just a month before her 106th birthday.

Civil Rights Pioneer Horace Clinton Boyd

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Macedonia Cemetery, Broad Level community, Long County

The Rev. Dr. Horace Clinton Boyd (1926-2016) was born in Long County, the son of Ernest Franklin Boyd and Eula Wright Boyd. His father was a Deacon at Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church. After service in World War II, Horace attended Morehouse College and earned a doctorate degree in Divinity. He began preaching at Schofield Barracks in Oahu, in 1946, but went on to pastor numerous congregations, including: Mill Creek Missionary Baptist Church of Ellabell; Baconton Missionary Baptist Church of Allenhurst; St. John Missionary Baptist Church of Waycross; St. John Missionary Baptist Church of Douglas; Pleasant Grove Missionary Baptist of Ocilla; and Mother Easter Baptist Church of Moultrie. His longest association, however, was with Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church in Albany. He began preaching there in 1959 and actively served for 57 years, until his death at age 89 in 2016.

He was a seminal figure in the burgeoning Albany Movement, a significant Georgia branch of the larger national movement. At the time, he was the first in Albany to open his doors to outside activists, and is considered the spiritual father of the Albany Movement for his welcoming stance. Shiloh hosted mass meetings throughout the 1960s, working closely with Old Mt. Zion Baptist Church, across the street. Rev. Martin Luther King drew crowds of over 1500 to the two congregations when he spoke to their members in 1961, at the invitation of Rev. Boyd.

He received many honors for this work during his lifetime and was also involved in leadership in the Albany Ministerial Brotherhood, the General Missionary Baptist Convention of Georgia, the Albany Seminary Extension, and the Hopewell Missionary Baptist Association. He also served on the board of Dougherty County Family and Children Services for 27 years.

Reverend Dr. Horace Clinton Boyd. Public domain photograph via Findagrave.

His daughter Dolores Boyd McCrary writes: Rev. Boyd was married to Mrs. Barbara M. Riles Boyd for 60 years, ten months before her death in 2010. Mrs. Boyd was an educator in the Albany Dougherty County School System for over 30 years. She worked and walked diligently beside her husband supporting him as a faithful, stalwart, loving, and dutiful wife. Her numerous contributions to their marriage, spiritual endeavors and community helped make the path less rough than it might have been without her. She was what some call the First Lady at the churches he pastored and much beloved. Together they raised their two children to adulthood.

Pyramidal Cottage, Griffin

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I’ve always documented Georgia’s finest homes alongside its more common dwellings, and this is a great example of the latter. I maintain that the living spaces of the working classes are more important in a broader historical sense than the “grand old ladies” that have always gotten the most coverage from historians and photographers, because they represent the familiar. The simplicity of this pyramidal cottage is what I admire most about it. It probably dates from the 1920s-1940s.

Folk Victorian House, Griffin

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The recent photographs I’ve shared from Griffin were made in 2017. I’ve recently recovered them after thinking they were lost. Griffin is growing but still feels like a small town to me, at least in its historic core neighborhoods. Many of its homes have been converted for various commercial uses. I’ve identified this house as a “Folk Victorian” mainly because it’s been modified beyond what I believe was its original Queen Anne appearance. The ornamentation that remains, in the eaves, suggests it was more elaborate at one time, but it’s still quite substantial.

Sacred Heart Church, 1910, Griffin

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It took some detective work, but I finally identified this old church. A recent sign indicated it was the New Life United Holy Church, but I knew it was an older church. The mission-inspired belfry led me to believe it was a Catholic church, and it turns out it was Sacred Heart Church.

Their parish history notes that the first Mass took place in Griffin in 1879, with just five people in attendance. From this small group the church grew to the point over the next three decades that a permanent home was needed. This chapel was dedicated on 2 May 1910 to serve that purpose, with Reverend Harry Clark of Saint Joseph Church in Athens serving the congregation on a monthly basis. The Redemptorist Fathers took over the mission in 1942, and Sacred Heart became a parish in 1943, with Reverend John Walsh serving as the first resident pastor.

​The congregation outgrew this structure and services were last held here in 1973. After meeting in their parochial school for nearly a decade, Sacred Heart dedicated their present home on MacArthur Drive in 1982.