I made this photograph in 2013 and don’t know the fate of this little saddlebag cottage. It was located near a larger farm, so I presume it was a tenant dwelling.
Saddlebag Tenant Farmhouse, Bulloch County
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Tag Archives: Endangered Places in Georgia
Hall-and-Parlor Tenant House, Candler County
I photographed this house in July 2012. It’s a typical two-room form, most often used as tenant housing. Since it wasn’t near a farm, it may have been related to turpentining.
Tobacco Barn, Candler County
While re-editing my Candler County images, I came across this tobacco barn. The photo was made in July 2012. I don’t know if the barn is still standing.
Commercial Garage, Circa 1946, Dawson
This has been identified in tax records as a garage, and may have had an earlier use. Note the hearse, from the last post, parked beside the building.
Abandoned Church, Stewart County
This three-bay gable front church is located just southwest of County Line Baptist Church and its historic cemetery. It it possible that it served a Black congregation connected at one time to that church. It is missing its pews and appears to have been abandoned for quite some time. I will continue to try to identify it and will update if I can.
Morris, Georgia
This history of Morris is a bit difficult to track down, but before it was known as Morris, it was Morris Station, a railroad whistle stop. A post office at Morris Station existed from 1860-1950, at which time the name was changed to Morris. There is no consensus as to the hamlet’s namesake, but Ken Krakow, in Georgia Place-Names: Their History and Origin, suggests it was possibly James Morris, the son of an early railroad agent.
Morris is located off US Highway 82 on Morris Road. It’s southeast of Georgetown, the only incorporated settlement in Quitman County, which as of 2020 was Georgia’s second least populous with just 2235 residents.
General Store, Morris
This is one of two surviving stores in Morris. It is the larger of the two and this side view (above) shows a later expansion of the structure. It originated as a shotgun form. One of the two buildings likely served as the post office before it was moved to US Highway 82.
Muscogee County Jail, 1939, Columbus
The old Muscogee County Jail, built in by the Public Works Administration in 1939 to alleviate overcrowding and poor conditions at the Columbus Stockade (circa 1870) was in use until 2002. It was replaced by the modern facility in the background and there are already calls to replace the new jail.
The entrance to the old jail is typical of the Art Deco architecture of the New Deal.
There are no plans to restore the facility and it will likely be demolished in the future.
National Register of Historic Places
Folk Victorian House, Columbus
This Folk Victorian home is located directly beside Charles E. Huff’s International Funeral Home, so I can only presume it was at sometime associated with that business, perhaps as the home of the owner or as coffin storage. If anyone knows, please share.
John R. Dawson House, Circa 1837, Columbus
This historic Greek Revival home, built by John R. Dawson (1810-1852) when the Wynnton area was first being settled and long known as the Old Dawson Place, is most commonly known as Gordonido today. A fire on 7 October 2023 did serious damage to the structure, especially to the roof and upper floor, as is visible in this photograph.
Dawson was a pioneer settler of Columbus, whose family relocated to the area from Maryland. He was a partner in the firm of Hill and Dawson, a successful planters supply company. Wynnton in 1837 was not part of the city of Columbus and the Dawson home was one of just a few country estates in the area. Originally situated on six acres, the property has been reduced to two acres over its nearly 200 year history.
After Dawson’s death in 1852, his heirs remained on the property until it was sold to Sallie L. Gilbert circa 1878-1880. A warranty deed identifies J. T. Willis as the next owner, in 1885. Frederick Barrett Gordon, president of the Columbus Manufacturing Company, purchased the Old Dawson Place in 1913 and his wife, Rosa Crook Martin Gordon, a founding member of the Woman’s Club of Columbus, oversaw significant improvements to the property. It was rechristened Gordonido, and was modernized while retaining its historical appearance. When the Gordons’ daughter, Margaret Gordon Richards inherited the home in 1949, further renovations, meant to return the house to its original appearance, were entrusted to local architect James J. W. Biggers.
A brochure published by the Historic Columbus Foundation in the 1970s noted: “Gordonido is exquisitely kept and one of the city’s most beautiful homes. It is recognized as one of Columbus’ most valued antebellum structures.“
I’m unsure as to any plans for stabilization or restoration at this time, but it would be a shame to lose this landmark.
National Register of Historic Places