The best finds are often hiding in plain sight. This hay and stock barn, located near the corner of Benjamin Hill Drive and Perry House Road, was recently exposed after trees were cleared. The nearby area was once farmland but has been developed in recent years.
I believe this barn may have been associated with this historic farmhouse. It’s a classic hay barn with a tractor shed on one side and stock stalls on the other. The photograph dates to 2013.
I’ve photographed this barn, near the Henry Walcott House, many times over the years. I’m not sure if it’s still standing.
This barn is a landmark near the Reedy Creek Restaurant, west of Jesup. I think it has recently been painted red and I’ll try to get an updated photograph.
I identified this as the “Mixon-Daniels Barn” in my notes, as it was located on Mixon-Daniels Lane, near the Riverbend community. I think they sold sweet potatoes at this farm years ago. The photograph dates to 2014.
This stock and hay barn stands on a property which still includes an Irwinville Farms house. These amazing utilitarian structures were built for about $200 during the Great Depression as part of an economic rescue program designed to bring farmers out of the devastating downturn which began in 1919 with the proliferation of the boll weevil and continued until the start of World War II. A few of these barns remain today, in varying states of repair, but all should be considered of historical importance.
I’ve discussed Irwinville Farms extensively in the past and will be updating some sites I’ve already visited, as well as adding other examples from my archive.
Martin Gottlieb (1892-1968) was a Hungarian Jewish immigrant who came to Fitzgerald in 1918. He was a merchant and tailor and an active member of the Hebrew Commercial Alliance throughout his time in Fitzgerald. He is best remembered for leaving the city a large bequest that was to be used to purchase Christmas gifts for needy children. The fund survives to this day. He also served as president of the Fitzgerald Baseball Club, the Pioneers, which were a professional farm team. The property documented here was originally Gottlieb’s farm, located just outside Fitzgerald, but now within the city limits.
Gottlieb eventually went into business with Ed Castleberry (1909-2003), and their Gottlieb and Castleberry Men’s Shop, located next to the Garbutt-Donovan Building on East Pine Street, outfitted generations of men in Fitzgerald. I remember visiting the small store as a youth as it was the place to order Boy and Cub Scout uniforms.
Eventually, Ed Castleberry purchased or inherited the farm from Mr. Gottlieb. Though more a “gentleman’s farm” than a commercial enterprise, pecan trees were cultivated and harvested on the property from year to year.
Ed and Minnie Castleberry’s (1915-2006) son, John Ed Castleberry (1945-2023) continued to live here until his death.
The property will likely be sold for commercial use, so I was glad to have the opportunity to photograph it.
It’s strange how an otherwise nondescript structure can become a landmark, but that’s just what this little shed, sided with blue shingles, was for me. Located at the Mobley Bluff Road, just off the Ocmulgee River, it appears to have been a pump house or shed of some sort. I drove past it hundreds of times over the years. It was recently lost to Hurricane Helene. This photograph was made circa 2008.
I made this photograph in the Garden Valley area in 2009.
This curious structure has been a landmark to me when traveling from Marshallville toward Talbot County for many years. It’s in the Garden Valley community. I’d love to know its purpose. I made the photograph a few years ago but I believe it’s still standing.