I believe this was part of a large working farm [there’s an old windmill across the road] and may have served as a commissary or general store.
Commissary, Baker County
Leave a reply
Tag Archives: Georgia Commissaries
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.
General Store, Lela
I can’t locate anything about Lela other than the fact it had a post office between 1904-1928. This was possibly a general store or commissary for the community, which was likely centered around a large working farm. It’s possible that it was a schoolhouse, but the architecture leads me to believe it was a store. It’s one of the most perfectly restored and maintained structures of this type that I’ve found in Georgia.
Cyrene, Georgia
The Cyrene Commissary, built in 1904, served farm workers and railroad traffic in this rural community near Bainbridge, named for the ancient Greek city of Cyrenaica. It was located along the Atlantic Coast Line railroad. A post office at Cyrene was open from 1894-1938.
Commissary, Laurens County
This commissary near the Lowery community was likely related to the turpentine industry and according to a Laurens County Historic Resources survey dates to circa 1910-1920.
Moore Commissary, Circa 1906, Junction City
I believe this to be Charlie Moore’s commissary, which served employees in his milling and coffin building operations. William H. Davidson notes two stores in Junction City in his history of Talbot County.
J. Leonard Morgan’s general store wasn’t open until 1929, and this construction looks earlier than 1929 to me. I think this is what he identified as Marvin J. Hester’s general store, “located in Charlie Moore’s old commissary building“.
That would likely place this structure’s date of construction to circa 1906. It was a condition of Moore’s purchase of the Perkins properties [present day Junction City vicinity] that all structures of that enterprise be removed by 1 September 1906, so Moore likely built this commissary when he established the town.
Stonewall J. Williams Plantation, 1880s, Screven County
This massive Folk Victorian house sits at the end of a row of majestic cedars, which appear to be well over a century old.
Cedar lanes were once a popular landscaping choice but most of the old ones are long gone, lost to disease or storms over the years. These have somehow miraculously survived.
The house appears to date to the late 19th century.
An historic commissary stands at the front of the property, confirming that this was once a very busy plantation. It is still part of a large working farm. I walked up the lane to try to find someone to tell me about the place, to no avail. I imagine they were out in the fields busy with the cotton harvest.
This is one of the most pristine historic plantation properties I’ve ever seen and the owners have done a wonderful service in their efforts to preserve it. Thanks to Dale Reddick, and other members of the Screven County history group on Facebook, for the identification.
Commissary, Lyneville
This structure is part of what appears to have once been a large working farm. It was likely a commissary and/or general store.
Dawson House, Circa 1820, & Commissary, 1920s, Putnam County
This impressive house is the center of a large historic farm property, still active today.
Though it has been modernized with new windows, porch, and wings, it still retains elements of its early appearance and likely dates to the late 1810s or early 1820s.
The bricks on the two original chimneys appear to be slave-made. The porch and unfinished timber posts are likely later additions. A circa 1920s commissary is also present.
Sawdust, Georgia
Saw Dust, as its post office was known when it operated between 1852 and 1895, was the first settlement in the area that would later come to be known as Harlem. Its name came from the presence of three sawmills, which derived their power from Big Kiokee Creek. The town had a raucous reputation for its numerous bars and saloons and this prompted a name change from community leaders. This structure was likely a commissary or general/grocery store.
Vanishing Georgia: Photographs by Brian Brown 