St. Paul Primitive Baptist Church was built in 1930 and is the oldest surviving church structure in the historically African-American Montezuma neighborhood known as Duncan’s Bottom. It is centered around Whiteline Street. The church is located adjacent to Mount Pleasant Cemetery. The Black Primitive Baptists, while not as well known as the Missionary Baptist or the African Methodist Episcopal churches, had similar origins. Most congregations evolved out of white congregations to which members were exposed in the days of slavery.
St. Paul is critically endangered at this time, as the roof has collapsed through the middle of the sanctuary. I’m not sure if the congregation is still active.
This a rear view of this house, identical to the front, which is obscured by privet and other vegetation. Located in the historic Smith Hill neighborhood, at the edge of Talbotton’s main Black cemetery, it is a typical example of the form, which was nearly always used as tenant housing. The top of the central chimney has been capped, but the hearth remains in place. The house is wider than most early 20th century examples I’ve documented, so I would date it to circa 1870s-1890s. It was later used as rental property.
Martha Riley; May Lue Riley; Oscar Riley; Robert Riley; and Eucie Riley. Gone But Not Forgotten.
This extraordinary vernacular memorial marks the burial place of members of the Riley family of Talbotton, in Smith Hill Cemetery. Smith Hill is perhaps the oldest municipal Black cemetery in Talbotton, a town which before the Civil War was essentially a network of plantations. As a result, the final resting places of the enslaved who toiled on those plantations are generally unknown. Smith Hill may have had origins as a plantation cemetery but it grew into the de facto burying ground for the Black community. It quickly descends into a ravine and marked graves are scattered in all directions. Varying styles, from plain to Victorian, are present. The earliest marked burial dates to the 1870s, but there are scores of unmarked graves in Smith Hill.
I chose this memorial to represent the cemetery for its obvious artistic merit, but also to illustrate the difficulty which faces genealogists and historians in documenting the lives of a population that was traditionally left out of the broader story of Southern history. The marker, with stenciled names, a marble cross, and folk art flowers, tells us someone cared about these people, but beyond that, there lives are a mystery. James Riley (1923-1955) and Rose Riley (?-1978) are represented by ledger stones nearby, so they were related. Perhaps the names on this memorial were earlier members of their family who wanted to make sure their names were not forgotten.
According to Voorhees University: “Elizabeth Evelyn Wright (1872-1906) was an African-American educator, social reformer, and founder of Voorhees College in Denmark, South Carolina. She was born [one of 27 children of a carpenter father and a mother who may have been full-blooded Cherokee] on April 3, 1872, in [the Smith Hill neighborhood] Talbotton, Georgia, during a time of racial segregation and limited educational opportunities for African Americans.
Wright was raised in poverty but was determined to receive an education. At the age of 16, she left home and traveled to Tuskegee, Alabama, where she enrolled at the Tuskegee Institute. She worked as a domestic servant to support herself while pursuing her studies.
Inspired by the educational philosophy of Booker T. Washington, the founder of Tuskegee Institute, Wright believed in the transformative power of education for African Americans. After completing her studies at Tuskegee, she returned to South Carolina and started teaching at the Macedonia School in Denmark.
Realizing the need for higher education opportunities for African Americans in the region, Wright embarked on a mission to establish a college. She started by raising funds and gathering support from local communities, churches, and philanthropists. In 1897, she founded Denmark Industrial School, which later became known as Voorhees Industrial School and eventually Voorhees College.
Voorhees College provided vocational training and academic education to African-American students, focusing on agriculture, carpentry, home economics, and other practical skills. Wright believed that education should not only prepare students for employment but also instill character, discipline, and moral values.
Elizabeth Evelyn Wright’s dedication to education and her tireless efforts to establish Voorhees College played a significant role in expanding educational opportunities for African Americans in South Carolina. She passed away on December 14, 1906, but her legacy lives on through Voorhees College, which continues to educate students to this day.“
The church was originally known as St. Phillips A. M. E. Church, but later changed its affiliation to Methodist. It was organized by freedmen on 15 April 1870. The original building was destroyed by a storm in 1875 but under the guidance of Rev. A. S. Grangin, was rebuilt later that same year. Part of Jefferson Street which runs beside the church, was renamed Elizabeth Wright Avenue in her memory.
The Powell Baptist Church is an historic Freedmen’s congregation founded in 1879. It is located between Talbotton and Waverly Hall, north of the historic Olive Branch community. According to the church cornerstone, Rev. J. Bowell was the first pastor. Tax records indicate an 1879 construction date, but the present building was constructed much later, during the pastorate of W. W. Walker. It is possible that the original structure was incorporated into the modern version, but confirming that would require more research. The nicely maintained churchyard opens into a large cemetery containing a variety of memorials, with a few notable vernacular examples, shared below.
George Bunkley (25 December 1887-23 November 1951)
Though it has been updated with a modern marker, the original memorial for George Bunkley has been saved. It has some interesting elements, notably the scored “O” in the word “born”.
Rosa W. Bunkley (21 July 1906-6 March 1981)
Mrs. Bunkley’s memorial is also a common form. The poured rounded concrete form with stenciled data is widespread, especially in this part of the state. Most markers of this type simply feature names and dates, though some examples, like Mrs. Bunkley’s, feature crosses or other symbols.
Betty Joe Beach (6 November 1954-17 July 1966)
The marker for Betty Joe Beach is another good example of the rounded concrete variety, in the plainer style. Miss Beach’s name is misspelled on the memorial.
Cora Walker (Birth and death dates unknown)
The simple memorial for Cora Walker is a beautiful in its simplicity. Further research will likely determine her birth and death dates.
Mrs. Luella Owens (Birth and death dates unknown)
This memorial was created by the prolific artist Eldren Bailey, whose work can be found in African-American cemeteries throughout the state. This one was handled by the Haugabrooks Funeral Home in Atlanta.
Eddie F. Leonard (27 March 1950-20 December 1981)
The Leonard memorials, though somewhat recent, are among the most unique vernacular markers in the Powell cemetery.
Leon Leonard (4 March 1939-1 August 1967)
Leon Leonard’s memorial may be the most interesting in the entire cemetery. Featuring an open cross, as well as the crosses at the base and handwritten data present on the Eddie Leonard memorial, it is fine example of vernacular funerary art.
The brickwork around the front door has a more Gothic revival appearance than the rest of the church building. I believe it is a tribute to the church’s earlier design.
Matthew’s Chapel was built circa 1864, a few miles southwest of Woodland. The church is of the gable front vernacular Greek Revival style common throughout Talbot County. In A Rockaway in Talbot: Travels in an Old Georgia County, Vol. II, William H. Davidson suggests a probable connection to the family of Charles Henry Matthews (1828-1900), who owned a large plantation in the vicinity. Charles likely gave the land to the congregation, but was a member of Collinsworth Methodist Church.
The Martin and Lucretia Stamper House, also known as Merrywood, is one of the finest surviving houses in Talbot County and a representative example of the Early Classical Revival in Georgia. It is an I-House at its core. The Classical look is evident in the full height portico, Ionic pilasters, and most notably, the elliptical fanlights over the four front doors. According to the National Register of Historic Places, “Before moving to Talbot County in 1833, Martin Woodson Stamper (1796-1874) was a prominent citizen of Upson County. Martin Stamper was born in 1796 in Virginia and reportedly served in the War of 1812. In the 1820s, he was living in Upson County, was married to Lucretia Jane Walker (1789-1856) from a prominent Upson County family, and was politically active. In 1825, he was the first sheriff of Upson County and served as a representative in the state legislature in 1832. In 1833, the Stampers moved to Talbot County and were [among] the early settlers of the county. In the 1840 U.S. Census, Martin Stamper owned 40 slaves and over 708 acres of land where this house was built. In July 1850, Martin Stamper sold the house and 690 acres of land to John Harris, a Baptist preacher, and the family moved to Early County.” It is a near certainty that the house was constructed by men enslaved by Stamper, and as with so many of these early Georgia houses, that is usually left out of the narrative.
The house is largely obscured today, but was restored in the early 2000s. According to the National Register, the interior retains its historic integrity and most of its original finishes. It’s a magnificent house, even with such a limited view.
This historic African-American schoolhouse was built in Manchester in 1928 with funds from the Julius Rosenwald Foundation. It was a five-classroom design and was the only Rosenwald school in the county until the construction of the Eleanor Roosevelt School in nearby Warm Springs in 1936. It’s an exceptionally nice example of a Rosenwald, featuring a brick veneer, ornamental quoins at the corners, a fanlight above the entrance (now obscured), a circular window on the front gable, and a cupola (since removed). On one of his many visits to the area, future President Franklin D. Roosevelt noted his admiration for the Manchester school. He said, “When I was at Warm Springs in 1927-28, I was out riding with two members of our local school board. As we passed a very attractive school a few miles from Warm Springs I remarked that it was a very beautiful building.” The chairman of the board said “That’s a Rosenwald Negro School.” The other member said, “It puts our Warm Springs white school to shame.”
The Manchester Rosenwald soon became a county training school and enrollment increased rapidly. To accommodate this growth, a wooden annex was constructed next door. An exact date for the annex is unknown, but it was built in the 1930s. After serving the community until desegregation of Meriwether County schools, the Meriwether County Training School was abandoned for some time. From the 1980s until the early 2000s, it served the local Head Start program and now sits empty once again. I spoke with a lady whose husband attended the school and she was hopeful that it will be preserved for future generations.
Cataula is one of the oldest settlements of present-day Harris County. It has had a post office since 1836. It experienced a good bit of growth when Georgia’s first narrow gauge railroad, the North & South Railroad, came through the area in 1870, but that endeavor was short-lived. There are varying versions of the origin of the name. One source (Kenneth Krakow) says it’s a variation of the Muscogee word kitali, meaning withered mulberry. An earlier variation of the origin is found on a Georgia Historical Society marker placed in 1958 that ascribed it to the Creek word for “Big Rock”. I’ll just leave it at that, as I’m not an authority on either.
This building, which was built in 1908, was originally known as the J. W. Thompson & Son General Mercantile Store. Many other businesses have been located here over time, and it’s still in use today, albeit not as a general store. New road work and rapid urban growth in the area are having a serious impact on this quiet little community. This structure and the Methodist Church are among the most noticeable landmarks in the area and hopefully will be around for years to come, but it appears other nearby structures will be lost to the current road-widening.
According to the Georgia Historical Society, Clowers Methodist Church, organized as “Providence” in 1829, was built of logs by Thomas Clowers and others, with James Dorrough, Jr., pastor. Renamed, it was moved to Cataula. This eventually became the Cataula United Methodist Church, but that affiliation has since changed. The present structure was built in 1917.
