As you’ll see in the following posts, Louvale’s Church Row (a National Register Historic Site) is one of the most historic and unique religious landmarks in Georgia. The marker placed by the Chattahoochee Historical Commission and the people of Louvale in 1986 reads: Originally Antioch, the town developing at the terminus of the Savannah, Americus and Montgomery (Little SAM) Railroad, was renamed Louvale in 1886. Antioch Primitive Baptist Church, founded 1832 in Pleasant Valley, moved to Moccasin Gap 1842 and here 1851. Present church was erected c. 1885 to replace original log structure. Marvin Methodist Church, founded 1830 in Green Hill moved here 1900 when present building was erected. New Hope Baptist Church constituted 1860 two miles from here moved to present building in 1901.
Louvale Church Row Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
Bay Branch Primitive Baptist Church was organized on 22 April 1877 and is among the oldest and most historic congregations in Evans County. Justin Daniel notes that the present structure was built circa 1900 with the rear wing added in 1989. Elder A. R. Strickland was the first pastor and charter members were: Martin E. Rogers; Sara Jane Rogers; William H. Bazemore; Hester A. C. Bazemore; and James J. Martin.
In 1870 a group of Croatan Indians migrated from Robeson County North Carolina, following the turpentine industry to southeast Georgia. Their knowledge and historical association with pinelands made them natural choices for this industry, and unfortunately, their social class at the time made them vulnerable to its exploitation. Many became tenant farmers for the Adabelle Trading Company, growing cotton and tobacco. Tenant farming and turpentining were connected in that they provided housing and commissary goods for their employees, resulting in a type of indentured servitude. They established the Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Adabelle, as well as a school and this nearby cemetery. After the collapse of the Adabelle Trading Company, the Croatans faced both economic hardship and social injustice. As a result, most members of the community returned to North Carolina by 1920. The Croatans are thought to be historically connected/related to the Roanoke-Hatteras people, but scholarship on these tribes is debated and constantly evolving.
The small cemetery is located deep down a row of planted pines. Few headstones remain, though there are five or six, likely of local people somehow connected to the tribe. Sadly, they were so overgrown when I visited that photographs were not possible. I believe descendants have made pilgrimages to maintain it over the years, but they are quite distant and can’t come very often.
Text of the Marker: In memory of Lucinda Locklear, Pink Locklear, Hezie Emanuel and Margaret Adline Locklear, and the other dauntless Indians from Robeson County, North Carolina, who settled, lived, and died here sometime between the close of the Civil War and the 1920s and whose graves are unmarked. Dedicated June 4, 1989.
The Old Vidalia Cemetery has its origins in the McMillan Burial Ground, circa 1810s. The earliest known burial is 1821 but the headstones of the earliest decedents are presumed to be lost. From the historical marker near the entrance to the cemetery: An early settler to the area that is now Vidalia was Malcolm McMillan, who pitched his camp near this site circa 1800, and built his pioneer home. In the following years, he and his cousin, the Rev. Murphey McMillan, established a Presbyterian church and cemetery on this site. For the next 100 years, this served as the principal cemetery for the loose community of farmers, loggers and sheepherders that populated this area of what was then eastern Montgomery County. — The McMillans are believed to be buried here in now unmarked graves. Many of the older wooden markers which were once prevalent here no longer exist. The large open areas of the cemetery are not vacant of graves, only markers. — One of the first towns established near this site was Sterling in 1850, and many of its residents are buried here. — With the coming of the railroad in the late 1880s, this cemetery served the nearby communities that sprang up along its route, including: Aimwell, Appleton, Bandanna, Jenkins Stations, Stacers, Straw and Tosh. — After the founding of Vidalia in 1890, these early towns gradually ceased to exist. With the creation of Pinecrest Cemetery in 1907, this site ceased to serve as the area’s primary cemetery, and has often been known as the Church Street cemetery, the Primitive Baptist cemetery, and the Old Vidalia City cemetery.
The Murphy families were among early pioneer settlers who migrated from Duplin and Sampson Counties, North Carolina to this area between the 1790’s and early 1800’s. This area and surrounding land was inhabited by Lower Creek Indian tribes with campgrounds located along the nearby Ochlocknee River. It appears that these lands, for the most part, been explored on a limited basis by early settlers (early maps indicate that DeSoto’s expedition may have also visited nearby areas). The Murphys, along with several other families (Carlton’s, Lanier’s, Sloan’s and Alderman’s) apparently made several trips between here and North Carolina, using the old Thigpen Trail, in an effort to make a permanent settlement. These early families endured many hardships and dangers to establish a farming and trading community.
After the 1814 Creek and Seminole Indian war, these lands were ceded to the United States by the Treaties of 1814 and 1818, and became part of three counties granted charters under the State of Georgia. This local area was originally part of Irwin County, then part of Thomas County and now part of present-day Colquitt County. The Murphy’s and other families acquired these lands which had been divided into Land Lots of 490 acres and granted under the State Land Lotteries of 1818 and 1820. As pioneer settlers, they brought prosperity to the region, with large sheep and cattle operations, along with other agricultural crops (corn, tobacco, and cotton). At one time, the Murphy family land holdings reportedly were from just below present-day Meigs Road near Moultrie south to areas near the current Thomas County line. These early settlers operated commercial enterprises (including a gristmill, timber and sawmill, narrow gauge rail, retail stores, and turpentine stills), and also worked to establish a post office and school for the thriving and growing Murphy community. Land for the Murphy School was purchased by L.T. Dunlap, George Murphy, J.T. Kennedy, and T.A. Redding and donated to the School Board in 1906. When the Murphy School was subsequently combined with Sunset School, the land was deeded back to the Murphy Cemetery.
Among the original settlers (including several Murphy brothers) was Henry Murphy, whose son, James Murphy, was a community leader during reconstruction and a candidate for the Georgia House of Representatives in 1876. He was defeated in a controversial election and is buried at the Shade Murphy Cemetery, where several of the original families are also interred. It is located about 2.5 miles west of this site.
This marker is located near the original Murphy settlement and on land known as the Murphy Cemetery which was donated to the community for a burial site by Gibson Lanier (his parents, Murphy and Temperance Carlton Lanier, are buried at the Shade Murphy Cemetery). Gibson Lanier and his family and eight of James and Elisabeth Ann Murphy’s children are buried here. Many of the descendants of these early families are also interred in the Murphy Cemetery. This historical marker is intended to honor the memory and sacrifices of those pioneer ancestors, who were among the original settlers of this region.
The historical marker placed by the General Robert Toombs Camp, SCV, outlines the importance of this cemetery, especially its location as the final resting place of a member of the “Immortal Six Hundred”: Founded Circa 1820 as a meeting place for circuit riding ministers, Old Campground added a cemetery in 1853. It contains some of the oldest graves in Toombs County. There are three Confederate veterans buried here, including Lt. Gordon K. Fort, 24th Bn. Georgia Cavalry one of the “Immortal 600.”
During the War for Southern Independence, (1861-1865), the U. S. Army selected 600 captured Confederate officers, including Lt. Fort, for retaliation against the South. In one of the most heinous acts of vengeance in American history, they were starved, maltreated, and used as human shields. Because of their courage and perseverance, they became known as the “Immortal 600.” Also buried here are Lt. Robert Stripling, 61st Rgt. and Pvt. Benjamin Stripling of the 47th Regt. Georgia Infantry, CSA.
