It’s always nice to see places like this preserved.
Joe Manning General Merchandise, Funston
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Tag Archives: Georgia False Front Structures
General Store, Indian Springs
This old general merchandise store has most recently been home to Watkins Outfitters, an outdoor specialist. It dates to the early 1900s.
Bryant Fuller Store, Circa 1904, Mountville
Charlie Storey’s Barber Shop, Roopville
Charles (Tolly) Logan writes: [This] was formerly a barber shop. I grew up in Roopville and always got my hair cut there. Charlie Storey was the owner and barber and was still there when I graduated from high school in 1965. It presently serves as a precinct for the Carroll County Sheriff.
General Store, Roopville
The restoration of this false-front building incorporates folk art and commercial elements. It was likely a general store or warehouse.
General Store, Fairfax
I’ve been trying to get to Fairfax ever since seeing Shea Browning’s photograph of this old store, which may have been a commissary for millworkers and lumbermen working the vast pine forests of the area nearly a century ago. Its style, with a false front, is relatively uncommon in Georgia.
Dyer’s Store, Garland
Janis Fowler writes that this was originally Joseph Dyer’s Store and that the Garland community was originally known as Dyersville. She also notes that the post office was located here.
Bell’s Hardware, Fortsonia
Frank Fortson shared this wonderful history: “[This was] Guy Bell’s Hardware Store. The original store was just the left section. Mr. Bell later added the smaller attached section on the right, which was used by various businesses over the years (laundromat, game room, craft store). The hardware store had, what appeared to be a LOT of items, to me as a kid. Everything from baseball gloves (where I bought two) to hardware, plus just about every needed item except groceries and gas. There were stairs in the center of the store about 2/3rds way back that took you to the furniture area. In that area, he sold couches, beds, dressers, etc. Mr. Bell and his store were very popular during its day. I can remember sitting on the front steps about age 10, drinking a cold Coke from his cooler, pouring peanuts into the Coke. I also remember when Mr. Bell started selling the larger (than 6 oz) Cokes, as the price went from 5 to 7 cents. I don’t know the build date for the store, but it existed before the mid 1940s.Jane (my first cousin) and John Coleman now own the store. It has been inactive for many years.Behind the store, in the early 1900s, my grandfather ran a sawmill (among other enterprises). I suspect that the wood used to construct the northernmost store [Gilmer’s Grocery] came from that sawmill.“
Susie Agnes Hotel, 1902, Bostwick
Built by John Bostwick, Sr., to accommodate burgeoning railroad traffic in the area, the Susie Agnes remains the crown jewel of Bostwick. Mr. Bostwick had purchased a large tract of land in the area and, encouraged by rapid growth, divided a portion of it into lots which became the town bearing his name.
National Register of Historic Places
Nolan Commissary, Bostwick
Like most true plantations of its era, the Nolan property supported its own commissary, which was essentially a credit-based store for employees. The building takes on the common shotgun form of country stores at the turn of the last century; I’m not sure if the false front was added later, or if it was an original feature.
The view of the “big house” from the commissary is a reminder of the near-total dependence workers had on the plantation economy. The store likely served the general public, as well, as the remnant name-plate of a Coca-Cola sign indicates.