This chapel was built for Henry and Clara Ford in 1937 and named for their mothers. Mary was Henry’s mother and Martha was Clara’s mother. Pews and other church furnishings were constructed at the Ford Plantation carpentry shop. The Diocese of Savannah purchased the chapel in 1955 and it became St. Anne Catholic Church. Though St. Anne has a newer home, they still maintain this historic church.
The Richmond Hill History Museum, in the old Kindergarten Building, is located at the corner of Ford Avenue and Timber Trail.
The Kindergarten Building was constructed in 1940 at the behest of Henry Ford to serve the white children (ages three to six) of Ways Station-Richmond Hill. It featured a kitchen and two classrooms. Dr. Margaret Mustin was the first director of the facility.
The Bakery was built by Henry Ford in 1941 to supplement the adjacent Commissary and was a source of pride for the community. Ira C. Womble, Sr., managed the Bakery during the Ford years.
Ford was an early advocate of healthy eating and his friend, George Washington Carver, provided soybean flour to the bakery for experimental purposes.
The parking lot of the Bakery is like a mini vintage automobile museum and even if you’re not an enthusiast, I believe you’ll be amazed.
This large building appears to be in the process of restoration, hence the perspective view. According to the Coastal Bryan Heritage Trail, it is known as the Community House and was the largest public structure built by Henry and Clara Ford during their time in Richmond Hill (1926-1951). Local labor was employed in the construction of the Community House, which served a number of purposes. It was situated near the Ways Station School (no longer extant) and offered cooking, sewing, and home economics courses for adults and children, all free of charge. It also hosted dances and other social activities, many of which were personally attended by the Fords.
This structure has never been an annex as best I can tell, but it was known as “the Courthouse” for generations, likely due to the fact it was a polling place. Rural precincts are still known as “court houses” in many Georgia communities. Richmond Hill is a rapidly growing suburb of Savannah today, but its population didn’t surpass 1000 until the 1970s.
A historic marker placed by the Coastal Bryan Heritage Trail in 2012 reads: “This wood-frame structure, situated on a site known since the creation of Bryan County in 1793 as “the Crossroads”, was built in 1939 with funding provided by Henry Ford. The building came to be familiarly called “the Courthouse” by local citizens. For many years it was used for civic meetings and as the official Richmond Hill voting site. The local Masonic Lodge and Order of the Eastern Star organizations held their meetings in this facility. Later, city and county governmental offices were housed here.”
There are houses that look nearly identical to this one in almost every town in Georgia. I identify it as Eclectic, because it is a marriage of two styles. At its core, it’s a Queen Anne cottage, but at some time the owners created a more Neoclassical look. In the early 1900s, the Victorian aesthetic was becoming passé and the cleaner lines of Revivalist architecture were being embraced. Tax records date this house to 1910, but my guess is that it was built at least 10-20 years earlier, and 1910 reflects the date it took on its present appearance. Whatever its precise history, it’s a great old house.
One of Quitman’s most beloved historic buildings was lost to fire around 1AM on Friday (20 June 2025). Besides being a storehouse of memories for generations of Quitman residents, the Walker Street School was the work of Valdosta architect Lloyd B. Greer (1885-1952), who trained with the influential firm of Hentz, Reid & Adler before establishing his practice in Valdosta in the early 1910s. The Ludowici Tile roof was an added touch to this particular school, which stands out among other small schools in South Georgia for its inspired design. I am not sure as to the original name; some have suggested Quitman Elementary but I cannot confirm. A friend from Quitman, who informed me of this devastating loss, noted that restoration of the school was in the works and said architects had already drawn up plans. Arson is suspected but has not been determined. The fire is presently under investigation and the Brooks County Fire Department spent hours protecting the surrounding residential neighborhood and containing the blaze, which covered around 20,000 square feet.
Quitman Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
The historic Vienna School, later known as the Jenkins School (elementary, I believe), was lost to fire this afternoon. It was most recently home to Faith Christian School.
Addison Langley just wrote: “I lived just down from this school for many years, was babysat in the kids class by my aunt and played so much on that play ground. It currently is on fire. I’m so sad to see this beautiful place burn and truly disappear.“
I acquired this postcard a few years ago because I was familiar with the house from my travels. It still stands along the highway in Odum. The card was mailed in the 1910s to Brunswick, Georgia; the date is not fully readable, but the sender identified it as the home of the Bloodworth family. Though it’s identified today as the Ritch-Carter-Martin House, it must have been built by Mr. Bloodworth. It appears to have been new when this view was made. I believe Bloodworth was J. M. Bloodworth, one of the first aldermen of Odum.
Note: This replaces and updates a post originally published on 28 March 2013.
This church in the Fitzgerald Cotton Mill was named for Callie Belle Phillips Garbutt (1869-1940), who, with her husband Moses Wadley Garbutt (1869-1937), came to Fitzgerald from Emanuel County. The Garbutt family were prominent entrepreneurs involved in many of the businesses that dominated the economic backbone of South Georgia at the turn of the last century, including timber, cotton mills, and real estate. Though I haven’t been able to locate a history of the congregation, the property was likely given to the church by the Garbutt family and therefore named for Mrs. Garbutt.
Callie Garbutt Baptist Church was established in 1907 and the first church building was of typical wood frame construction, as best I can discern. The present structure was built in 1978; it was designed by John Dennis, Jr., who was the third generation of a prominent Macon architecture firm.