This was likely a corn crib, but could have had another use. It’s a great survivor.
Log Barn, Miller County
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Tag Archives: Georgia Barns
Shingler Commissary, 1910, Miller County
From what little information I can locate on Miller County’s historic places, I’ve preliminarily identified this as a commissary built circa 1910 by Joe Shingler to serve his timber and turpentine business. This building looks a little later than 1910, but it was possibly “modernized” at some time during its history and served as a general store. It likely originally featured lapboard siding similar to the adjacent barns, which date to the same time.
Seed Barn, Donalsonville
I couldn’t find a name for this business, but they obviously bought, sold, and stored farm seed, in addition to growing and processing.
Garage Barn, Orianna
This historic barn is located next to the community hall in Orianna.
Log Barn, Alamo
This is located near a house that was relocated to the property, on the edge of town, so I’m not sure if it’s original to the location, but it appears to be. It’s a great old barn, either way.
Hay & Stock Barn, Montgomery County
Located on an historic farm with several surviving tenant houses, this is an unusual barn. I’m not sure why it has the gate at the front.
Hay & Stock Barn, Pike County
Shields-Ethridge Heritage Farm, Jackson County
This property was originally settled by Joseph Shields and sons James and Patrick in 1802.
With two slaves, they cleared and cultivated the land.
When Joseph died in 1818, he willed the land to his son, James and by 1860, 20 enslaved people worked the land.
James died in 1863 and in 1865 his widow, Charity, signed a contract with three of her former slaves, providing them housing and food in exchange for their work on the farm.
When James and Charity’s son, Joseph Robert Shields, returned home from the Civil War in 1866, he built the main house and soon applied the sharecropping system to the entire farm, managing many of his former slaves alongside poor white farmers.
By 1890, the farm had grown to 1000 acres.
In 1897, Joseph Robert’s daughter Susan Ella returned to the farm with her husband Ira Washington Ethridge.
Joseph Robert Shields died in 1910 and Susan Ella and Ira inherited the house and surrounding property.
To hedge his bets against increasingly unstable cotton prices, Ira Ethridge built a self-sustaining sharecropper’s “village” near the main house.
In 1914, “Mr. Ira” transformed the main house from its historical Plantation Plain appearance to it present Neoclassical appearance by adding columns and raising the porch.
The structures seen today were built between 1900-1930. Most of the sharecropper housing is gone today, but a few scattered examples survive.
When Ira died in 1945, his son Lanis understood that the farm would soon be changed by mechanization.
He diversified and in the early 1950s began breeding cattle and slowly expanding pastureland on his acreage.
At his death in 1970, the sharecropper’s village was long abandoned.
His widow, Joyce Ethridge, began documenting the history of the farm.
In 1994 she and daughters Susan E. Chaisson and Ann E. Lacey gave 150 acres of the farm to the Shields-Ethridge Farm Foundation to preserve the site as an agricultural museum.
Joyce’s research also led to the listing of the property on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Shields-Ethridge Heritage Farm is the most intact collection of historic farm structures in their original location in Georgia.
It is truly awe-inspiring and worth a visit.
As someone who has spent years seeking out structures like these, I can’t tell you how important this place is.
You must see it for yourself.
National Register of Historic Places + Georgia Centennial Farm
Note- This replaces a post originally published on 11 July 2021, necessitated by formatting issues.
Gambrel-Roof Barn, Comer
I photographed this in 2015 and can’t recall where in Comer it was located. Gambrel-roof barns are not very common in Georgia, and the number of doors is a bit unusual. I’ll update when I learn more.
Poultry Farm, Habersham County
I believe this farm now serves another purpose, but the old barns recall the earlier days of commercial poultry, Georgia’s dominant agricultural commodity. I believe Northeast Georgia is still the top region for production and was an early leader in innovation.