Tag Archives: Georgia Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola Mural, Flemington

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A storefront featuring a vintage-style Coca-Cola mural that reads 'Refreshing Fleming Since 1902' and 'Coca-Cola Sold Here,' surrounded by colorful shrubs.

Fleming (not to be confused with Flemington) is one of two communities in Liberty County named for the pioneer William Fleming family, who owned large area plantations. Fleming proper is actually a bit off GA-196 (Leroy Coffer Highway) on Fleming Loop, but since so many people take this shortcut between Hinesville and Savannah, this was a good place to put the name of this little-known community out there for everyone to see. This newer store and a fruit stand stay fairly busy, and no doubt the Coca-Cola mural, done in the old style, still draws people off the road.

And a brief message to those of you who have sent me messages recently. Thanks for your concern, and yes, I’m still around. I will do my best to answer as many of you as possible. Year’s end has found me getting the gamut of mid-life medical tests and all the fun that entails, and planning some new directions for Vanishing Georgia. I just wanted check in and will keep you all posted.

Ernest Woodruff House, Circa 1888, Columbus

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Front view of a Victorian-style house with green shutters, a white picket fence, and a business advertisement in the yard.

This modest Greek Revival Georgian cottage was the home of Ernest Woodruff (1863-1944) and Emily Winship Woodruff (1867-1939). Woodruff was a highly successful banker and entrepreneur, best known for his takeover of the Coca-Cola Company from Asa Griggs Candler in 1919. His son, Robert W. Woodruff (1889-1985), who was born in this house, would lead the soft drink behemoth for over 30 years (1923-1955), transforming it into the world’s most recognized brand. He was commonly referred to as “Mr. Coca-Cola” in the press.

High Uptown Historic District, National Register of Historic Places

George Balian’s Findlay, Georgia, 1973

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1973 painting of a general store with Coca-Cola signs in the ghost town of Findlay, Georgia, by George Balian
Mrs. W. E. Porter, General Merchandise, George Balian, 1973, Courtesy Meg Balian

I’m grateful to Meg Balian for sharing her father’s circa 1973 painting of Mrs. W. E. Porter’s general store in the forgotten village of Findlay. I’ve been meaning to share it here for some time not only for its subtle beauty but also as a link to the history of this elusive place in Dooly County. The building was still standing a few years ago but I never knew a name for the store until Meg reached out.

Meg’s father was Kevork Misak (George) Balian (1932-2013). As a young man, George began the study of art at a French and American school in Aleppo, Syria. At 18, he immigrated to America with $250, a suitcase filled with his belongings, and a watch. He worked his way through school and received a degree in Architecture from Auburn University, where a lifelong passion for War Eagles football was born.

Mr. Balian was a member of the American Institute of Architects and completed residential, public, and commercial designs in cities as diverse as Macon, Atlanta, St. Louis and New York. He was also involved in the design of the Abuja National Mosque in Nigeria.

General Store, Jasper County

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I’m not positive that this old shotgun store was in Jasper County. I photographed driving between Monticello and Eatonton, and can’t relocate it on maps. I’ll gladly update if someone knows its exact whereabouts. It’s a great example and still displays an old Coca-Cola sign, dating to no later than the 1940s. The rusted tin always gets my attention and my mind wanders, imagining the hard-working people who gathered here to buy Co-Colas and swap tales. The store was probably closed by the 1950s or early 1960s.

Hill’s Mill, Schley County

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Hill’s Mill and its millpond have been landmarks of the Concord community in northern Schley County for well over a century.

According to Keith Hill, the great-great grandson of original owner Lewis Hill (1828-1904), the site of the mill has been in the family since before 1873. Slaughter Hill sold the land to his brothers, Lewis and Elbert (1838-1905) around that time. They were the children of Archibald (1803-1882) and Samantha Barfield Hill (1807-1863) of Taylor County.

Keith Hill has done extensive research on the mill and notes that the pond and dam were in place at the time of the 1873 sale, but apparently, not the mill. It was built some time in the last quarter of the 19th century, but isn’t documented by deed until 1902, at which time Lewis bought out Elbert’s part of the business. Lewis’s widow, Mary, sold the property to Henry Hurst in 1905, and a year later, Hurst sold it to the Hills’ half-brother, Josiah Hill (1868-1931). The property changed hands numerous times over the next few decades but returned to family in 1944, and to my knowledge, is still in their possession. It was in use at least until 1955.

This location remains one of the most beautiful places in the county, and is well-loved by generations, for its association with milling corn, cotton, and lumber at various times, but also as a favorite recreational spot. It is located on private property.

Reeves Grocery, Upson County

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This location near the Crawford-Upson County line was once a settlement known as Hickory Grove, undoubtedly one of several with that name in Georgia. Charlie Reeves purchased a house here in 1947 and transformed it into a combination store and residence, and part of it was located in Crawford, and part in Upson. Billy Powell, writing in Knoxville’s Georgia Post, called it the Plum-Nearly Store, for the fact that part of it was “plum nearly” in one county and the other part “plum nearly” in the other. When US-80 was widened, it was torn down and replaced by this structure, circa 1960. This one is located entirely in Upson County.

Though the store is no longer open, Mr. Reeves’s family still maintains it.

Lyerly Cash Store

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This mural has been altered since I made this photograph and gives a hint as to the history of the building. It was the Lyerly Cash Store in the early 1900s, selling groceries, feeds, and fresh meat. In recent years, it appears to have been the Jackson Brothers Warehouse. It’s a nice old building.

Thompson’s Grocery, Circa 1920, McIntyre

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Thompson’s Grocery is an iconic example of the shotgun stores that proliferated in Georgia in the first few decades of the 20th century.

Dortch Building, 1880, Hawkinsville

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According to the Hawkinsville Self-Guided Walking Tour, this structure was built for E. F. Dortch [by local draftsman E. A. Burch] and was among the first masonry buildings in the commercial district. The first floor was a grocery store from the late 1800s and served that purpose well into the 20th century. The second floor served as the Anderson Lodge No. 24 of the International Order of Odd Fellows in the 1880s and 1890s and as a Masonic Lodge in the 1900s and 1910s. In the 1960s and 1970s, the entire building was used as a Coca-Cola Bottling plant.

Hawkinsville Commercial and Industrial Historic District, National Register of Historic Places

Georgia Cigar & Soda Company Ruins, Waycross

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Waycross native Ben Hagen recently reached out to let me know about this structure in the process of being razed, in downtown Waycross. He noted: …The siding which had covered it for decades had been removed, and a number of great old ads were visible, including Coca-Cola, Chero Cola, a Nash/Oakland auto dealership, and more that I can’t make out...

It was located beside the US Highway 84 overpass at Francis Street and was originally two stories.

The primary signage on the front of the building, as seen in the first image, and below, indicate it may have been home to the Georgia Cigar & Soda Company.

As Ben noted, there were quite a few ads for other business on the side of the building, including Coca-Cola. My guess is that the proximity to the busy highway may have made the location a perfect spot for advertising, before the proliferation of stand-alone billboards.

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I’m hoping some of my Waycross friends will know.