The iconic “Shingle House”, so named for its shingle siding, is the last remaining structure related to the Franklin-Creighton Gold Mine near Ball Ground. The mine had its origins circa 1832, when Mary G. Franklin obtained 40 acres along the Etowah River in the Gold Lottery of 1832. It became the Franklin, or Franklin-Creighton Mine circa 1883 and was said to be one of the most productive in the area, until1907, long after other area mines were long exhausted. The structure has reportedly served as a commissary, post office, and boarding house.
The community that grew up around the mine was known as Creighton, and the post office was operational from 1887-1918. The property is part of Gold & Grass Farms today.
This historic farm is still largely intact, with barns and outbuildings, as well as the commissary seen below. The house dates to circa 1900 and the commissary circa 1920.
This structure is located across the highway from the house in the previous post. I would have included it with that post, but I’m not sure if it’s part of the same farm. I’ve preliminarily identified it as a commissary, since it has windows, but I can’t confirm. It’s a great little building, whatever its past purpose.
Montour Mill Store, Circa 1857; photographed in 2014.
When I photographed these forlorn structures in 2014, I felt they had an important history but also realized they probably didn’t have a promising future. My fears were confirmed last week when James Woodall reported they had been torn down.
Montour Mill House, Side View, Circa 1857; photographed in 2014.
Further conversation with Karen West and Sistie Hudson highlight their importance and the tragedy of their loss. The structures were apparently the last two survivors of the antebellum Montour Mill village. The mill, chartered in 1857, was anchored by a four-story brick factory building. It was likely devastated by the Civil War and attempted a return to production, but was finished by 1884. The property and village was large enough to have been considered as a location for Georgia Tech in 1883. In Houses of Hancock 1785-1865, John Rozier notes: Even in ruins, the big brick factory was a Sparta landmark until it was taken down in 1951.
Karen West: It was originally a mill store owned and operated by a Jewish immigrant. He wrote 15 articles for the Sparta Ishmaelite about life in Czarist Russia. He extended credit to whoever needed it, regardless of race or religion. So sad to see a piece of Sparta history so disregarded. Hopefully someone has pictures of earlier, happier times for that little store.
Sistie Hudson: I took pictures, too—have admired it since I was a little girl…Jacob Nagurya [also written as Nagiiryn] was a Polish Jew. He was a favorite of Editor Sidney Lewis, hence the articles in the Ishmaelite. He owned the first phonograph in the county and sold them as well. He also served as rabbi for the Jewish Community in Sparta. I remember when there was still a row of mill houses across the street from this store. I am so sad about this loss—I have admired it for over 60 years.
The extensive Meadows & Porter Farm [Joe Walker Meadows and Marion Porter] is one of the most intact historic peach farms in Georgia. It is anchored by the Meadows’s Queen Anne farmhouse (above). Most of the dependencies are still standing and in good condition. For its connection to one of Georgia’s most iconic crops, the farm should be listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The commissary is located between the main house and the peach packing shed and is in exceptional condition.
Two tenant houses survive, reflecting different eras in the development of the farm.
This board-and-batten example is likely the earlier of the two.
This is a label from my collection, of Meadows & Porter’s “Rooster Brand” peaches.
The peach packing shed is an amazing example of the form, and peaches are still raised on the farm.
I hope these important structures survive well into the future.
This historic farmhouse and the adjacent general store/commissary are about all that’s left of the Reese community. Since 1971, the property has been known as the Strother Farm.
Around 1910, the Pearson family purchased the tremendous Lee Pope Fruit Farm and its peach packing operation here. It included numerous tenant houses, this commissary, a “hotel” which housed seasonal workers (really a dormitory), a packing house (now gone), and numerous barns and sheds. At one time, the Pearson peaches were branded “Big 6”. The family’s long-term preservation of this property provides an important historic lesson of the importance of the peach industry in this section of Middle Georgia and she be commended.
Isolated in the countryside near the Lowndes County ghost town of Delmar, this historic farm is one of the most intact collections of original agricultural structures I’ve ever seen in South Georgia. I’m grateful to Mandy Green Yates for bringing it to my attention. Mandy travels the back roads of South Georgia and North Florida finding lots of places like this. Follow her to see what she finds next.
I believe this was primarily a turpentine camp, as the area was well-known for large scale naval stores production. There would have been tenant houses here at one time, also. The structure above was likely the office for the operation.
My favorite structure is the commissary, which would have served all the needs of this small community.
The shingle-sided barn and water tower are amazing survivors, as well. The owners of the property should be commended for keeping this place in such relatively good condition throughout the years.
My identification of this structure is an educated guess, considering it is surrounded by the historic Wade Plantation. It looks to date from circa 1910-1930. It’s possible it was a general store independent of the plantation but this seems unlikely. (There is a location known locally as Hill’s Store just down the road but I don’t think this is associated with it). False front structures are quite rare in rural Georgia and I can’t recall having seen a commissary of this style. The pressed tin is in amazingly good condition, though the structure has likely been neglected for many years.
