This landmark is presently being restored. Becky Clark Watts shares, via Lynn Ballard Cunningham: The home of Mr. and Mrs. J. P. McKinley on Jackson Street was one of the houses built in ‘Old Newnan,’ Pike’s first ‘capital.’ It was moved to Zebulon with the county seat, and would thus date circa 1824. Originally it had two rooms and a hall downstairs and two rooms up. A shed room was added later. At one time there was a second story porch.
During remodeling several years ago, a reddish wood, probably heart pine, “…too hard to saw,” was uncovered in the walls. The house has four fireplaces, and the downstairs mantel pieces and the front door have handsome hand carving. The ceilings, walls and floors, once wide boards, have now been covered, and shingles had been placed over the old clapboards. The stone chimney still stands, though brick was added to make them higher and reduce the danger of fire.
All of the Crawfordite meeting houses have a similar style, most notable in their primitive board-and-batten architecture, but each has distinct elements. Enon is a very “long” church, when taking its layout into consideration. It overlooks a beautiful piece of farmland and has expansive views of the surrounding area. It is still an active congregation. Thanks to member Brittany Mixon Ragan for sharing.
Though this congregation no longer holds regular services, their meeting house and cemetery are well-maintained.
I still hope that these important resources will one day be collectively added to the National Register of Historic Places.
The interiors of these wonderful structures are just as “plain” as their exteriors.
Though I’ve photographed nearly a dozen of these meeting houses, it always impresses me to see that the emphasis isn’t on decoration but on creating a place where the service is the primary focus.
As part of an initiative to place more public art in downtown Albany, this sculpture of Nelson Tift was commissioned by the city and placed in 2013. Gayla Catrett is the artist responsible for the work.
The accompanying marble column notes: Nelson Tift settled the area as a commercial venture in 1836 in the hopes of establishing a cotton trade using the [Flint] river to transport the crop to market. He named it Albany, in honor of Albany, New York, which was also the head of the navigation on the river.
According to the New Georgia Encyclopedia, Tift was a man of his time, committed wholly to slave society, Tift worked tirelessly to protect both the party and the “peculiar institution.” Starting in 1841 he translated his economic leadership into political office, serving three terms in the Georgia legislature. He supported the reopening of the international slave trade as a means to extend ownership of enslaved laborers to all white Georgians and chastised whiteartisans for opposing the use of enslaved craftsmen. Although not an advocate of immediate secession he accepted the final decision and lent his services to the new nation. During the Civil War (1861-65), Tift built gunboats for the Confederate navy and supplied the Rebel army with beef and hardtack produced by his factories at Albany and at nearby Palmyra in Lee County.
By some accounts, Bethel Baptist is the oldest surviving congregation in Hancock County. Land for the first church was purchased from Benjamin Thompson in 1801 and it was constituted in October 1802 by Elders Thomas Mercer and Benjamin Thompson, with twelve members. It was located on Old Bethel Hill about three miles east of Sparta on Shoals Road.
I’m dating the structure to 1828 based on the Baptist Association Minutes of 1880, which state: This church was first located on what is now known as Old Bethel Hill about three miles east of Sparta. We are unable to tie the history of this church from its constitution, till the year 1828. In February, 1828 it was removed to its present site, six miles east of Sparta, near the banks of the Little Ogheechee [sic] river. The land for the new site was deeded by John S. Latimer, and the deed names the following trustees of the church: Jesse Lockhart, David Hitchcock, William Barksdale and Byrd W. Brazill. It’s possible that this notation only indicated that the congregation itself changed locations and the church structure came later but the minutes make no mention of this.
They also note that before the Civil War, a third of the membership was African-American, indicating that members brought enslaved people to services. After Emancipation, they formed their own church, known as Hickory Grove.
Situated on a large plantation among thousands of acres of managed Longleaf Pine near Pavo, Bethel Primitive Baptist Church is among the oldest congregations in this section of Georgia, constituted on 2 September 1826. Elders Benjamin Manning, Matthew Albritton, Henry Melton, and Deacon William A. Knight were the original Presbytery. Charter members were Melus and Sarah Thigpen, Archibald and Luander Strickland, and Henry C. and Sarah Tucker. Thigpen served as the supply pastor until 1828, when the Reverend Matthew Albritton was called to the charge of Bethel.
Mitchell Brice, Jr. [8 September 1896-10 October 1899]
I am unsure as to the date of construction, but the church is of a vernacular style widespread in Georgia in the late 19th century. The church was unpainted at least as late as 1968. The grounds are beautifully maintained and an historic cemetery is adjacent to the church, serving as the final resting place of many area pioneers.
This important house is little-known outside Hancock County and its specific early history is apparently lost, but a new look into available genealogical records sheds light on the story. It is certainly among the oldest extant houses in the county and, through oral tradition, has long been known as the Pearson House. I am grateful to Bud Merritt for bringing it to my attention. Bud writes: We “discovered” it this week and were clueless at the time to its status. It is close to the road but barely visible and in my opinion could collapse at any time. The brick first floor has many separations and the second floor in the rear is completely unsupported. It unleashed several loud creaks while I was photographing it.
The house has appeared in print at least twice: 1}In The Early Architecture of Georgia (1957), Frederick Doveton Nichols, identifies it as “Undocumented cottage…east of Devereux”; 2}Nichols’s work was later incorporated in TheArchitecture of Georgia (1976), with photographs by Van Jones Martin. It may have also been photographed for the Historic American Buildings Survey in the 1930s by Frances Benjamin Johnston. Curiously, it is missing from the two best-known architectural surveys of Hancock County: 1}Architecture ofMiddle Georgia: The Oconee Area (1972), by John Linley; 2}The Houses of Hancock 1785-1865 (1996), by John Rozier.
Further documentation was made by Catherine Drewry Comer in her thesis, Preserving Early Southern Architecture: The Antebellum Houses of Hancock County, (University of Georgia, Master of Historic Preservation, 2016). Comer doesn’t associate the house with a builder, either, but gives the best description of its style: [It]…appears based on its construction to be remarkably early. Its two basement-level fireplaces are almost identical to those that could once be seen at Old Dominion before it was lost in the 1980s...This house is of a very early style that was common in the Mid-Atlantic states such as Virginia and North Carolina. [It] is of frame construction on the second story, which rests on top of a brick first story…[and] has one chimney on each gable end with two doors to enter the first floor on the front and one door on the rear. Comer refers to its architecture as “Tidewater”, a popular description of the style.
Of the interior living space, Sistie Hudson notes that she was able, 35 years ago, to look inside via a ladder [and] discovered that it had paneled wainscoting and curved stairs to the half story above and that it would have had staircases from outside to the second floor. She further confirms its local identification as the Pearson House and its presumed construction date as “the late 1700s”. Mark Phillips, a longtime student of architecture in the region, adds: I have always understood that this was the original Pearson home…the Pearson-Boyer house being later built by a son…
Making the connection between the presumed builder, Stephen Edward Pearson, Sr. (1774-1854), and the house requires a review of the available genealogical record, which has been graciously shared with Vanishing Georgia by Cynthia Jennings. Pearson was born to a wealthy family at Padget’s Creek, Newberry County, South Carolina. He married Mary Polly Fletcher (1775-1833) on 28 November 1798. It is believed they moved to Georgia and built this house soon thereafter, as one record notes he settled around 1795-1805 in the “watery fork of Buffalo (Creek)”. It is likely the new couple brought a number of enslaved individuals to Georgia; he owned over 80 human beings at the time of his death, including several of advanced age. They would have been involved in all aspects of the home’s construction, from milling the lumber to making the bricks. [The undeniable similarities between the Old Dominion fireplaces and those in this house are significant. If the work of the same mason, perhaps an enslaved man, they help validate the “1795-1805” time frame. Old Dominion was built in 1806].
Mary Fletcher Pearson bore Stephen no children, but research on Ancestry.com suggests he fathered a child with an enslaved woman named Cilla Chapman; the child, named Cilla Pearson, was born in 1805. Mary died in 1833 and Stephen married Catherine Garland in 1834. Their son, Stephen Edward Pearson, Jr., was born in 1836. He built a home nearby, circa 1854, now known as the Pearson-Boyer House.
Zach Hedgepeth writes: This house was in my grandfathers family for many years. A brick in the chimney had 1834 carved into it so I believe that is when it was built. The house used to sit closer to the road but when the road was paved in the 1990s they moved the road over. You can still make out the parts of the old dirt road. Over the years passers by have taken pieces of the house little by little leading to its current condition.[I believe it is likely that the dated brick commemorated the marriage of Stephen and Catherine and not the date of the house, as the conclusion of architectural historians is that the house is very early and 1834 wouldn’t be considered early in Hancock County].
This post represents the research of numerous people, to whom I’m indebted, but in no way purports to be definitive. I hope it is a catalyst for further research, and as always, welcome new facts that can be validated through primary sources. The house is unlikely to survive but I am glad to further document it as an important relic of Georgia history.
Sturgeon Creek is among the oldest congregations in Ben Hill County, organized in 1885. It was formally constituted in 1888 on land donated by area pioneer Jacob Dorminey (25 October 1837-20 November 1910) and his wife Susan Hunter Dorminey. It remains one of the most beautiful churches and churchyards in the county.
The only information I’ve been able to locate on the history of Wesley Chapel, in the forgotten community of Beatrice, is that it was established in 1838.
That date comes from the old South Georgia Conference-provided sign at the front of the church. The sign is of a type used by the conference in the 1930s-1940s or thereabouts.
An architectural survey dates the present structure to 1890. The stained glass windows appear to be later additions.
Perhaps as interesting as the church itself is the historic cemetery which lies adjacent to the structure. The earliest burials I noted dated to the early 1840s. The cemetery affords excellent views of the surrounding countryside and is characterized by two large enclosures made of local stone. They are great examples of early vernacular funerary architecture.
The shady respite of the Sims Plot is enclosed by a local stone fence, abundant with Resurrection Fern.
The Sims family were early members of the Wesley Chapel congregation.Sarah P. Sims [22 October 1827-8 June 1845]Elizabeth S. Sims [14 November 1846-3 February 1859]Martha A. Seabrook Sims [2 February 1814-25 October 1854]
The plot of pioneer Thomas Turner House [18 April 1787-14 June 1851] & Elizabeth Young House [20 Jun 1787-5 December 1863] and family is made of local red stone and is a massive enclosure.
A gate once guarded the plot but is long gone.
The fence was well built and has survived largely intact, though this section has collapsed. It is likely descendants have made repairs over the years.
Update: I drove past this site in early December 2023 and the church has been demolished. There’s just a patch of red clay where it once stood.
Oak Grove Chapel, or Wake House. Oak Grove Cemetery Society President Robert M. Gindhart III writes: For the record, recent research has revealed the true story of Oak Grove Chapel which was completed in April 1902 by the Ladies Oak Grove Cemetery Society. The chapel [originally thought built in the 1880s] was built in one year with donations of materials, cash, and labor. The chapel had a 1902 value of $400. Three purposes for the chapel were to provide a place: for funerals in the cemetery; to hold Oak Grove Cemetery Society meetings and to store their garden tools. That Society was founded on March 2,1901 and is not to be confused with today’s Oak Grove Cemetery Society founded on March 18, 2014. In fact, when today’s Society chose the name, we knew nothing of the earlier group founded 113 years earlier. Their work is today our work. The ladies found Oak Grove in exactly the same condition as did today’s Society. The chapel was restored in 2017.
Oak Grove was established by the city of Brunswick in 1838 as its first public cemetery and was originally designed to encompass ten acres. I received a nice message from Oak Grove Cemetery Society President Robert M. Gindhart III and he updated some of the history of the site: The cemetery was finally reduced to the size we see today in 1901 to make way for the new Brunswick and Birmingham Railroad roadbed. This greatly altered the western boundary of Oak Grove, moving the fence 50 feet eastward. Fifty graves were exhumed and most of those were brought within the new cemetery boundary. Were all exhumed? Recently, OGCS, using Ground Penetrating Radar, identified hundreds of unknown graves. We have added those to our electronic map found at: www.oakgrovetour.com identified by beginning with letter U and a blue dot.
Oak Grove contains a nice variety of Victorian funerary monuments and is one of Brunswick’s most fascinating public spaces. It shouldn’t be overlooked.
The memorials that follow were randomly selected and appear in no particular order
Eula L. Brown Dunwoody [1862-1890].Nightingale Family PlotFrances Nicolau Nightingale [1871-1948]. Founded in 1920, with Maya Stevens Bamford, Miss Nightingale’s School for Girls (Nightingale-Bramford School) in Manhattan. Graduates include Millicent Fenwick and Gloria Vanderbilt.James D. Kenny [1828-1885]. Irish-born sailor.Cornelia M. W. Boone [1847-1876]. Yellow fever victim.Captain Douglas G. RIsley [1838-1882]. Captain Risley served the Union in the Civil War and founded the first public school for African-Americans in Brunswick in 1870. Major Urbanus Dart, Sr. [1800-1883]. Upon his death in 1883, Major Dart was the oldest known citizen of Brunswick. He was associated with the first railroad chartered in Georgia and served in the state legislature. William Harvey Anderson, Sr. [1837-1896] & Alethia I. Williams Anderson [1839-1904]. William Anderson, Sr., was a prominent contractor and builder in Brunswick and was responsible for the construction of Brunswick’s City Hall.Anderson Mausoleum (Detail)Anderson Mausoleum (Detail)Anderson Mausoleum (Detail)Hirsch & May Mausolea. Benjamin Moses Hirsch [1840-1927]. Bertha Elizabeth Hirshfield Hirsch [1842-1912]. Julius May [1863-1915]. Emma M. Hirsch May [1870-1946]. The Hirsch & May families were prominent Jewish merchants in Brunswick.Samuel Bruce Moore [1835-1857].Joseph Florence Lasserre [1844-1919] & Family. This monument was likely erected upon the death of Lasserre’s daughter, Ida, who died in 1898. Lasserre was a native of France and served as Captain in Harris’s Independent Co. Brunswick Riflemen, 26th Infantry Regiment of Georgia.Satilla G. Brown [1857-1901]Sir Rosendo Torras [1851-1929]. Rosendo Torras was a native of Spain who was knighted by King Gustaf of Sweden for service to the crown. He came to Brunswick in the 1890s as captain of a sailing ship. His son, Fernando J. Torras, was an engineer and the builder and namesake of the causeway to St. Simons Island. Unidentified Brick CryptWilliam Williams [1800-1885]. Demis Broad Williams [1814-1877].O’Connor Family PlotWilliam Walter Watkins [1841-1885].James Alexander Clubb, Jr. [1827-1889]. Clubb was the lighthouse keeper on Little Cumberland Island and was the pilot of the slave ship The Wanderer. Townsend Plot Starburst FinialAnnie Louise Blain [1884-1891].Annie Elizabeth Scranton Blain [1845-1880].
Oak Grove is open from dawn until dusk. Parking is free, on the street beside the cemetery.
