West Broad Avenue is the main commercial area of Doerun.
Typical early 20th-century storefronts, including banks, general and grocery stores, and hardware stores, survive in varying states of repair. Locals are optimistic that some of the unoccupied examples will be saved and repurposed.
Though I haven’t done a deep dive into its history, The Farmers Bank likely suffered the same fate as hundreds of other Georgia banks of this era and was likely closed by the outset of the Great Depression. Georgia, along with other Deep South states, felt the effects of the Depression about a decade before the Wall Street Crash of 1929, thanks to the boll weevil and its impact on cotton prices.
Macon Road is actually a street on the south side of the railroad tracks in Gordon. Many of the older storefronts have been restored.
The Tattnall Bank Building is the the most distinctive commercial structure remaining in Reidsville. The bank was founded in 1900 and closed in 2009.
Known today as the Carter Law Office, for its present owner, this is the most iconic commercial structure in Hartwell. [I use the original name for historical purposes]. It was home, for many years, to Homer Herdon’s Drug Store, a popular gathering place from the 1930s to the 1960s. The second floor once housed the Hartwell Library, as well. I have been unable to confirm a date of construction, but the Richardsonian Romanesque style, in which it’s constructed, was popular from the late 1880s to the turn of the 20th century.
Hartwell Commercial Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
Designed by William Edwards of the Atlanta firm of Edwards & Sayward, the Bank of Tifton is one of the most distinct commercial structures in the historic district. Several banks have occupied the site over the years and it is presently an Ameris Bank. The wing on the right side is an unfortunate later expansion, speaking solely in terms of architectural integrity.
Tifton Commercial Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
This is the most imposing commercial building in downtown LaFayette. The marble siding on the first floor was likely added during a renovation.
Designed for local attorney and businessman Frank Corker by the prominent Atlanta architect A. Ten Eyck Brown (1878-1940) and known as “Dublin’s Skyscraper”, the First National Bank Building was one of the tallest buildings ever built in rural Georgia. It served as a bank until the 1950s and then fell into disrepair, its future uncertain for many years. In 2014, thanks to a community effort led by a very active Downtown Development Authority and Mayor Phil Best, restoration began. Local contractors Garbutt Construction did a beautiful job. It now houses the Dublin campus of Georgia Military College, a bistro, and private office space, and is a great example of community involvement and the desire to not just save but make viable historic structures.
Dublin Commercial Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
Downtown Blue Ridge is a happening place. Nearly all the downtown storefronts are busy and many are being or have been refurbished. There’s obviously a good community spirit here. I hope locals will work toward getting their business district listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It definitely deserves such a designation.
This former bank has been beautifully restored and is now home to a cafe known as, what else, The Vault.