Tag Archives: Collection of Brian Brown

Calf Barn & Maternity Ward, Butler Island Plantation, 1935

1 Reply
Butler Island Plantation, Real Photo Postcard, 1935. Collection of Brian Brown.

After many years of decline, the historic lands and waterways of Butler Island, just south of Darien, were purchased and modernized by Col. Tillinghast L’Hommedieu (T. L.) Huston, in 1926. A dairy was part of the Butler Island Plantation enterprise before it was converted to an iceberg lettuce farm, and some of the dairy structures were maintained throughout Huston’s ownership. This barn and other related buildings have been gone for decades, but may have still been in use when R. J. Reynolds purchased the property after Huston’s death in 1938.

This real photo postcard, dated Tues. Apr. 16, 1935 wasn’t mailed, but features a somewhat exaggerated, tongue-in-cheek message on the reverse: “Near border of Georgia & Florida. Air fresh & fragrant with blossoms. Cattle have free range in this state & receive excellent attention, as card shows. Autos barely escape colliding with hogs, cows, chickens, dogs, turtles, etc. on the highways.” It isn’t signed.

The House by the Road, 1915, Ashburn

7 Replies

Various postcards over the years advertised this charming Craftsman bungalow as “The House by the Road”, dubbing it a “Modern Tourist Home” and a “Beautiful Private Estate Open to Guests”. Other enticements included locked garages, porter service, steam heat with automatic stoker control, electric fans, hot water, shower baths, and Beautyrest box springs. Known as a boarding house, it was also the home of Mrs. Robert R. Shingler, who took great pride in maintaining a hospitable stop for travelers along US 41, a primary north-south route in the days before interstate highways. It is now a private residence.

In renovation, it has been slightly altered, though retains its overall original appearance.

Shingler Heights Historic District, National Register of Historic Places

Crystal Lake, Irwin County: July, 1940

6 Replies
Pavilion

These snapshots were made by Frances Trammell McCormick in July 1940. The image quality is not the best, but they give you an idea of how popular this place was, even before World War II. This early pavilion (above) was quite different from the two that followed. It was an open-air shelter and likely held a concession stand.

The edge of the pavilion is visible at the extreme left of this photograph, made from the lake. A small wooden structure, likely a diving platform, is also visible. There are cars parked near the shoreline.

Boaters passing a wooden slide

Water skier

A couple walking on the beach, with the slide visible to the left

Riley Spear Fender & Body Works, Columbus

2 Replies
Riley Spear Fender & Body Works, Circa 1939. Collection of Brian Brown.

This photograph of Riley Spear’s garage was made circa 1939. Cathy Fussell notes this was a well-known business in Columbus for many years.

Fairhope, Georgia, 1916

Leave a reply

On a Bullock Wagon at Fairhope, Real Photo Postcard, Photographer Unknown, 20 March 1916. Collection of Brian Brown*

A group of businessmen from Akron, Ohio, purchased 7000 acres on the Sapelo River at the site of the old Mallow Plantation in 1911 and planned a community known as Fairhope. According to Buddy Sullivan (Early Days on the Georgia Tidewater), the Fairhope Land Company built a three-story hotel at the site in 1915, though “it never turned a profit and the Fairhope plan struggled to stay afloat.” By early appearances it had a promising future. In addition to the hotel, a few private lots were sold and a post office operated from 1913-1916. A couple of stores were also present. The biggest boost came from a rail spur run by the Georgia Coast and Piedmont Railroad from Eulonia to the town site. But the resort community didn’t materialize as planned and the Land Company was bankrupt by early 1916. After changing hands at least twice, it came into the ownership of the Georgia Land and Livestock Company in late 1916, at which time it came to be known by its present name, Pine Harbor. The name was suggested by surveyor Ravenel Gignilliat. The hotel was dismantled in 1931 and the lumber sold for scrap in Savannah. The old depot was moved to the waterfront and remodeled as a residence. Other than Fairhope Road at Pine Harbor, little evidence of the community can be found today.

*- This antique card from my personal collection was mailed to Cleveland, Ohio, on the date indicated at the caption and sends news to the recipient that an older couple, the Millers, are going to stay on at Fairhope for a short time before returning home. This was mailed from the short-lived Fairhope post office not long before it closed and the women on the bullock wagon were likely investors in the community. The structure depicted is not the hotel, so it was likely one of the few private residences constructed as part of the failed venture. 

Effie Sharp Bush, Widow of Georgia’s Last Confederate Soldier, Fitzgerald, Circa 1977

1 Reply

The lady in this photograph was Mrs. Effie Tinnell Sharp Bush (1887-1980), widow of Georgia’s last surviving Confederate soldier, William Joshua Bush (1845-1952). ‘Uncle Josh’ as family and close friends knew him, was afforded the honorific ‘General’ Bush in recognition of his connection to the Civil War. I haven’t been able to confirm it, but it’s likely that Mrs. Bush was also the last surviving Confederate widow in Georgia. This snapshot was made in the late 1970s during a town festival by a member of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, who gave me the photograph.

Mill Worker’s Houses, Fitzgerald

4 Replies

These are among the last of the mill worker’s houses in the Fitzgerald Cotton Mills that haven’t been covered with vinyl siding.

The Fitzgerald Cotton Mills, seen on a vintage postcard, circa 1912. Collection of Brian Brown.

The utilitarian structures were provided to employees of the mill and many families remained in them after the mill closed.

Camellia Courts, 1940s, Jesup

12 Replies

This is one of a few survivors of numerous motels located in and near Jesup on US 301, mostly from the 1940s-1960s. The two story building was a lounge and coffee shop (the upstairs was an office and/or residence).

Camellia Courts postcard. Mailed 1949. Collection of Brian Brown.

Carol C. Harper writes: “In its heyday, when 301 was a main thoroughfare, this was “Camellia Courts”, a popular motel owned and operated by Curtis and Mabel Harper of Jesup. The Harpers were my husband’s uncle and aunt. The motel offered a restaurant, swimming pool, and beautiful camellias cultivated by Mabel and shared with guests.“

It was later known as the Mary Ann Motel and was last used as apartments.

 

Picnic on the St. Marys River, St. George, 1909

3 Replies

Collection of Brian Brown

Georgia’s southernmost town, St. George, is located within the “Georgia Bend” of the St. Marys River. This historic postcard, mailed from St. George, illustrates a picnic held along the river in February 1909. It must have been a really mild winter, though, as a few of the boys are standing in the river.

I was curious as to why anyone would be in the river in the winter, but William Thompson makes a good point, writing: I was baptized in that same spot many years ago. See the woman in the water right above the “ic” part of picnic? She is rising up from being dunked.

Toby’s Motel & Grill, Alapaha

1 Reply

Built to lure travelers off busy US Highway 82 (likely in the 1940s), Toby Powell’s Motel & Grill is still relatively intact. The eclectic architecture of the office/restaurant at first appears to be a crumbling facade, but it was built that way! For a time after the motel closed, it served as a grocery store and Virginia’s Beauty Lounge.

Below is a contemporary postcard view from the 1950s.