Branch House, with a a display of Hydrangea, circa 1913-1915. Vintage photograph Courtesy Paul Petersen.
Paul Petersen, the great-grandson of Lee and Jamie Snow Branch, recently shared these photos of his family in Quitman. He wrote that they were: “… passed down from my Grandmother (Lalla Branch Kirkpatrick) to my Mom. They now reside with my sister in North Carolina. In a strange coincidence, my sister was viewing these photos just last week, which she has not done in years.“
Jamie Snow Branch (1875-1937), circa 1913-1915. Vintage photograph Courtesy Paul Petersen.
Lee and Jamie Branch met a tragic end in this house at the hands of Jamie’s brother, Livingston Snow Branch, in 1937, and the case was sensationalized by local and national media. Paul added: “My Mom passed away 5 years ago along with any direct familial memory of events. She was not yet born when her Grandparents were killed, so she has heard the stories from her Mother. The article you wrote matches with the description of events passed down from my Grandmother to my Mom. From our families side we speculate that Livingstone was perhaps bi-polar or schizo affective…“
Lalla Branch Kirkpatrick (1910-1993), circa 1913-1915. Vintage photograph Courtesy Paul Petersen.
Lalla was 27 at the time of this tragedy and long gone from Quitman by then. She married Charles Cochran Kirkpatrick in 1932, and they lived in numerous locations, as her husband was a rising officer in the United States Navy. He was eventually promoted to rear admiral.
Lee Whiting Branch (1871-1937), Lalla Branch, unidentified friend, Jamie Snow Branch, circa 1913-1915. Vintage photograph Courtesy Paul Petersen.
Lalla was undoubtedly devastated by the loss of her parents and I’m sure these photographs were difficult reminders of their lives in Quitman. I’m grateful to Paul for allowing me to share them. They show the family in happy times, as a means of putting a human face on his grandmother and great-grandparents, beyond the headlines.
Trinity CME is one of Milledgeville’s most historic Black congregations. Some of the founding members attended the Methodist Episcopal Church with their enslavers, but newly freed, they soon formed their own congregation, in the mid-1860s. They built their first church at the corner of Liberty and Franklin Streets, beside Memory Hill Cemetery. A grand renovation took place in 1883 and the work was done by Charlie and Frank Steele and William Brooks; some sources even note that it had the largest steeple in Milledgeville. The Rev. Gideon Hill was prominent in the church during this period.
After the old church burned down, the present church, itself a Milledgeville landmark, was built in 1921 during the pastorate of George L. Word. It’s located at the corner of North Wilkinson Street and West Thomas Street.
Milledgeville Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
This exceptional home was built for Mrs. Beersheba Jones (1790-1850) circa 1826. It is one of the finest of the many architectural gems in Old Clinton. It has long been attributed to Daniel Pratt, though this attribution is now in question. Nonetheless, it is an important landmark of the transition between Federal and Greek Revival architecture.
In her History of Jones County, Georgia, For One Hundred Years, Specifically 1807-1907 (J. W. Burke, Macon, 1957), Caroline White Williams dates the house to 1820, but most modern sources date it to 1826. I’m unsure as to the reason for the discrepancy. Mrs. Jones only lived here a few years before selling the property to John and Mary Pitts. The James Ross family have had the longest association with the house and his descendants have taken excellent care of this important resource.
Old Clinton Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
The Cabaniss-Hanberry House, located in the vicinity of Bradley, is one of the most iconic works of domestic architecture in Georgia. The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation, who stabilized and restored the exterior in 1999, describes it as “…a vernacular example of Jeffersonian Classicism…and possibly the only remaining house of its form in Georgia...”
The builder of the house, George Cabaniss, Sr., (1744-1815), was the Virginia-born son of Mathieu Etienne Cabanis (1710-1789). His grandfather, Henri Hubert Cabanis (1655-1720), was a French Huguenot who fled to Virginia in the late 1600s.
After service in the Revolutionary War, George married Palatea Harrison (1758-1822), in 1781. In the 1790s, he was one of several Cabaniss siblings who “…began a succession of migrations with parts of their families, first to North Carolina and then to Georgia. Some of the family eventually moved on to Alabama.” He first came to Greene County before eventually settling in Jones County.
He built this house circa 1805, undoubtedly with the labor of enslaved men, and sold it to his son Harrison Cabaniss (1782-1819) in 1811, after building another home near present-day Round Oak. After Harrison’s death, his widow, Sarah “Sally” Kirk Cabaniss (1798-1848) remained on the property until her death. She left 1215 acres and 29 slaves to her grandchildren. The house was occupied by descendants of its builder until the late 1950s or early 1960s.
Some notable descendants of George Cabaniss, Sr., include Dr. Palacia “Pallie” Wilson Stewart (1805-1866), one of the first licensed women physicians in Georgia, and Henry Harrison Cabaniss (1848-1934), an early owner of the Atlanta Journal and vice-president of the Cotton States and International Exposition.
The Peabody School served the African-American community of Eastman, first as a comprehensive school and later as an elementary school. An earlier wooden school (also named Peabody) was located on the current Peabody School site. The earlier school burned in 1925. It is not known whether that school served the white or African-American community.
From the National Register of Historic Places: “According to a December 10, 1937 article in the Eastman Times Journal. “It has been recognized that the Negroes of Eastman should have a more satisfactory school building…” Plans for the new school were drawn by E.C. Hosford and included classrooms, offices, and an auditorium. The construction was supervised by Lawrence Noles, a local Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) foreman. The federal government paid one-third of the materials cost and supplied all of the labor. The building was completed in June, 1938. The school housed all grades (1st through 11th , and later 12th) and served all of Dodge County. In contrast, during the same time period, there were 14 schools serving the white students of the county. Professor Burton served as the first principal, and some of the teachers were Mrs. V. Yopp, Mrs. Alberta Hamilton, Mrs. Letish Speed, and Mrs. Letic Edwards. One or more grades were taught in each classroom.”
“There is no documentation regarding the name Peabody and its association with the school. In newspaper articles referring to the school during its construction, the building is referred to as “Eastman Negro School.” There is some speculation that the school was named for George Peabody, the noted 19th century philanthropist, or possibly a well-known black educator. As stated above, the earlier wooden school building was also named Peabody School. In the early 1950s all grades were still housed at the Peabody campus with the 1st grade and 8th through 12th grades in the brick building, and 2nd through 7th grades in wooden barracks that had been moved from the Air Force base at Warner Robbins, Georgia. These also served as a lunchroom for the school. In 1953, Peabody School was one of seven black schools countywide. The others were Chauncey Junior High, Chester, Copeland, Lisbon, Mt. Olive, and Rhine Junior High.”
“According to Dodge County Board of Education minutes from January and February, 1954, there were plans to construct a large addition to Peabody School in order to accommodate the rising enrollment. By May of that same year, the board decided to construct a new African-American high school (extant, located southwest of the 1938 building, now serves as Dodge County Middle School) in order to reduce the overcrowding of Peabody and reduce the size of the addition.”
Peabody added a lunchroom to its campus and became an elementary school in 1957 and continued to serve the Black community until ceasing operation in 1967. The school buildings became the Dodge County Early Childhood Center in the late 1960s and closed in the late 1980s. They were acquired by United Concerned Citizens of Dodge County in 1994 for use as a community center.
Peabody School Mascot. The Peabody Tigers girls basketball team won at least two Class A State Championships .
Considering the endangered status of most early 20th century schools in Georgia, the survival of these structures is amazing. Demolition by neglect is the leading cause of the loss of historic schools, so the fact that the Peabody School was saved by a community coalition makes it all the more inspiring.
Shorter’s Chapel was established by freedmen in 1868. In 1883, William Eastman, founder and namesake of the town, gave the congregation the land on which the present structure now stands. It is the most historic Black church in Dodge County. The cornerstone states that it was built in 1885 by Rev. R. Ford. I am sure it has been modified somewhat over time, but it seems mostly original in appearance. A 2015 feature on WGXA notes that the steeple is the only part of the original building that survives but also notes that this is the third oldest building in Eastman. Perhaps the steeple was part of an earlier structure built before Eastman gave the land for this church. If anyone knows, please get in touch.
The first time I saw this house there was an old Plymouth parked in the overgrown yard. I was walking around the courthouse in Eastman and noticed the car.
Front elevation, 2020.
It was obvious the house had been abandoned for some time, but it was still in good condition. Not long after I first posted photographs, Nancy Heath reached out to let me know that she had recently inherited the house, and was trying to sell it to someone who would bring it back to life. She invited me to photograph the interior and I had a nice visit with her. My friend David Bray, an interior designer, was also along for the visit.
Parlor, 2020. There are different colored tile fireplaces in each of the main rooms.
It was once known as the DeLacy House, but in recent years served as the law office of Nancy’s stepfather, Eastman attorney Will Burch (1921-2011).
Library, 2020.
Mr. Burch, a native of Eastman, was a naval officer in WWII, survived D-Day, and later served in the Korean War. He studied law at Emory and practiced in Atlanta and Eastman. He maintained his practice in Eastman from 1974 until his retirement.
Medallion, 2020.
Tax records indicate that the house was built in 1885, but that date is incorrect.
Kitchen, 2020.
The present structure, of an eclectic Colonial Revival style, dates to circa 1906, according to Nancy Heath, who extensively researched the house.
Bedroom, 2020.
I’m grateful to Nancy for allowing me to photograph the house and see it before it was sold.
Decorative column detail, 2020.
There are some great details in the house and I’m sure the new owners have made sure they are still an integral part of its charm. They did a wonderful job with the exterior.
Front elevation, 2025.
Note: This replaces and expands a post originally published on 20 December 2015.
This textbook example of the Neoclassical Revival is one of the highlights of the McRae residential historic district, which is located just south of downtown. Houses of this type were built mostly between the 1890s-1920s, and can be found in nearly any good-sized town in Georgia. Before the collapse of many banks and the arrival of the boll weevil, such grand residences were emblems of wealth and prosperity. Many were built by bankers and planters.
I find it unfortunate that McRae doesn’t have an officially designated historic district, as there are many nice homes of varying architectural styles here. The district is definitely worthy of National Register status. There is a walking tour map, but every time I’ve tried to access it online, my antivirus program marks it as dangerous.
Malcolm Smith identifies it as the Alexander and Sylvia Smith residence and notes that the family owned the home until 2024.
This Tudor Revival landmark was the home of Dr. Arthur Leroy Dorminy (1923-2016) and is still owned by his family. Dr. Dorminy was a beloved veterinarian with many clients in the Ocilla area throughout his long career. My parents have fond memories of him from the time he took care of our German Shepherd, Lucky, in the 1970s. My mother still remembers what a kind man he was.
In addition to his practice, he founded the Christian Veterinary Mission (CVM) in 1976. The CVM provides care to communities generally not well-served by the veterinary profession, and trains and assists veterinarians in underdeveloped nations all over the world. The Dorminy House, which serves the CVM at the University of Georgia, is dedicated to Dr. Dorminy, himself a 1950 graduate of the UGA College of Veterinary Medicine.
The Ocilla Community House was built between 1938-1939 as a project of the City of Ocilla and the Works Progress Administration (WPA), a New Deal agency. A. S. Harris served as chairman of the building committee with A. T. Fuller, A. G. Shivers, and W. A. Tankersley, Jr. Claude McNeil was mayor of Ocilla at the time. Herman Hall, W. B. Hawes, Otto Griner, W. H. Simms, and T. A. Crouch served on the city council. The architect, Lauren Parrott (1901-1973), also designed another New Deal project, the Ocilla High School. Parrott built several public buildings and homes in the area.
The Community House has hosted numerous social gatherings, meetings, and school dances, as well as other events, in its 86 year history, and continues to serve its original purpose.
Note: This replaces a post which originally appeared on 28 January 2009.
