In December 2008, a large group of concerned citizens attended a rehabilitation meeting initiated by Thomasville Landmarks and the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation with the purpose of discussing the future of Metcalfe. One of the first efforts was the restoration of this structure, built in 1916 as the Metcalfe Branch of the Commercial Bank of Thomasville and later known as the Bank of Metcalfe.
Metcalfe Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
George Washington Jackson came with his family to Dougherty County from Wilkinson County as a young boy. At the age of ten he moved with his widowed mother and brother and sister to the Mount Enon community, several miles from Baconton. He served as a lieutenant in the Confederate army and later as a county commissioner. He had farming operations all over what is today northern Mitchell County; he built this home in 1898 to replace a log farmhouse at this location. He and his wife, Eulelia Peacock Jackson, had nine children. Numerous other families lived here throughout the 20th century.
The city of Baconton saved this important historic home and transformed it into their city hall. It’s a great example of thinking outside the box. Perhaps it will serve as inspiration for other communities to pursue non-traditional avenues of preservation.
National Register of Historic Places
I can’t locate any historical background on this house, but surveys have dated it to circa 1830, making it likely one of the oldest houses in present-day Marion County. It’s a very well-proportioned example of the Plantation Plain style and appears to have been recently restored. Jodi Hancock shares that it was the home of Daniel James II (1804-1888).
The Draneville community had a post office from 1882-1907, but the area was a population center much earlier than those dates would indicate. In her History of Marion County, published in 1931, Nettie Powell wrote: Draneville is a growing village and has two good stores, a post office and a blacksmith shop. The farmers in this community are progressive and take a great pride in their commodious homes. This district has two nice churches, Mt. Carmel and Union. Professor Morgan Stevens teaches the school which is in a flourishing condition. Dr Samuel Hart is the physician in that section. This district was first known as the Cut Off and was changed to Jacksonville and during this period when the post office was established it was named Draneville. At the beginning of this decade this district had the largest population in the county, but when the railroad was finished to Buena Vista that section increased in inhabitants very rapidly.
Jodi Hancock writes: This is my grandparents house, on my father’s side. The family raised chickens and farmed many acres for years and the house was sold in 2020, and is currently listed for sale. My great aunt, Loxi Wells Jones, did extensive research on the Union United Methodist Church, in Draneville. The church was built in 1830 at the fork of Georgia Highway 41 South and Georgia Highway 30, 1/4 mile from the current church location. The church was rebuilt in its current location in 1888, on land donated by Daniel James, on September 9, 1857. Daniel James, II caused the church to be built so that he could see the front door of the church from the front door of his home and receive blessings. Daniel James then lived in the big, white two-story home that faces the Union Church. It is now known as the Joe Hancock home, in which his daughter, Jane Hancock Dunmon and her husband Ted, lived.
Located beside the Colored Hospital, Campbell Chapel is believed to be the oldest black congregation in Americus. In 1869, it began as a part of the white Methodist church, but its members, mostly freedmen, withdrew and formed an independent Methodist congregation, originating with brush arbor meetings led by Rev. Braswell. In 1877, under the leadership of Bishop Campbell, they purchased this lot in the McCoy Hill neighborhood and built a wood frame church to house their growing membership. The congregation named themselves for Bishop Campbell. As Campbell Chapel grew, becoming the “Mother Church” of Americus, the old church was razed and this structure built in its place, in 1920.
The new church cost $20,000 to build and while the congregation counted most of the doctors and other middle class black professionals of Americus among its members and generous donors; Dr. E. J. Brinson, a black physician, successfully solicited donations from members of the white community. The church history is proud to point out that much of the money was raised from small donations by working class members such as sharecroppers and domestics, who often made less than fifty cents per day.
Significantly, it is the work of Georgia’s first registered African-American architect, Macon native Louis H. Persley (1888-1932). After studies at Lincoln University and the Carnegie Institute of Technology [now Carnegie-Mellon University] and teaching architecture for a year at Tuskegee University, Persley and fellow black architect Robert Robinson Taylor (1868-1942) formed the firm of Taylor and Persley. Taylor was America’s first formally trained black architect. Theirs was one of the earliest, if not the first, professional architectural firm of black ownership in the United States. Persley went on to design numerous structures on the campus of Tuskegee University, but also had other commissions in Georgia, including the First A. M. E. Church and Samaritan Building in Athens, and the Chambliss Hotel and Central City Funeral Home in Macon. I believe the Athens and Americus churches are his only two surviving works in Georgia.
The landmark has fallen into disrepair in recent years, but thanks to a grant from the National Park Service, will be restored, along with the Americus Colored Hospital. I had a nice encounter with Bishop Melvin McCluster, of neighboring Friendship Missionary Baptist Church, who told me he had been looking forward to it being restored to its rightful purpose for many years. He noted that the congregation was still active and presently meets in Elijah Smith, Sr., Worship Center across the street. Rev. Gloria F. Wynds is the current pastor.
National Register of Historic Places
The first facility in South Georgia where black doctors, nurses, and pharmacists could train, practice, and serve people of color, the Americus Colored Hospital was established by Dr. William Stuart Prather (1868-1941), a white physician who was well aware of the health care needs of this under-served community. He bought the property and built this state-of-the-art facility, with the cooperation and contributions of the Americus Negro Business League and the Americus Junior Welfare League.
According to the Americus-Sumter County Movement Remembered Committee (ASMRC), 33 doctors, 2 dentists, 2 pharmacists, 6 registered nurses, and 18 nursing professionals were associated with the hospital. The resulting black middle class that grew out of this experiment was one of the most vibrant in the state; in fact, Americus-Sumter County had more black professionals and landowners than anywhere else in Georgia from the 1920s-1942.
Though it faced numerous difficulties, it was an important resource for the African-American community until it closed in 1953. At that time, Sumter Regional Hospital opened its doors, and because it used federal funds via the Hill-Burton Act, couldn’t discriminate by race. The act didn’t mandate desegregation, however, and Sumter Regional was racially compartmentalized. Since no black doctors were hired, much of the black middle class left Americus, resulting in a negative economic impact. The Americus Chapter of the City Federation of Colored Women’s Clubs, purchased the Colored Hospital building and used it as a nursery and youth center. During the Civil Rights Movement, it also served as a Freedom School and Training Center.
Presently, it is being restored for use as the Americus Civil Rights and Cultural Center.
One of the main objectives of my ramble through Effingham County yesterday was to photograph this church, which I think is one of the most unique in the area. I’d normally be annoyed that there were cars or other intrusions in my quest for a photograph, but I was very glad to see this work being done. And you can just imagine, from this perspective in the shade of an enormous oak beside the adjacent Helmey Cemetery, that it’s a beautiful spot. If not the founders of the congregation, Joseph Israel Helmey (1843-1914) or his son Kollock Israel Helmey (1868-1949), were instrumental in its establishment. The fact that the cemetery bears their name is evidence of that fact. The Helmey family dates back to at least 1800 in Effingham County.
Miller Chapel was a “daughter” congregation of Zion Lutheran Church, established in 1888, after Zion had become independent of Jerusalem Church in 1872. After the Miller Chapel congregation was dissolved, it served as the home of Berea Southern Methodist Church. A new sign indicates that Zion is responsible for the restoration and that it will once again be a Lutheran congregation. The Salzburger Lutherans of Effingham County are among the earliest settlers of Georgia.
This structure was built circa 1904. The twin pyramidal steeples are its most impressive architectural feature. It’s great to see boards being replaced, a new roof, and window panes being properly repaired instead of being replaced. I hope this suggests that they will not be adding vinyl siding to the building.
The State Teachers and Agricultural College for Negroes (STAC) was established by William Merida Hubbard (1865-1941) in 1902 as the Forsyth Normal and Industrial School, and was one of three Black colleges added to the University System of Georgia in 1932. The Women’s Dormitory and the Teacher’s Cottage are the only two public buildings associated with the school still extant and have been restored. Besides being home to Monroe County Cooperative Extension offices, the dormitory is also home to the Hubbard Museum and Cultural Center.
W. M. Hubbard was born in Wilkinson County to Edinborough and Betsy Hubbard, who had been enslaved in Virginia until Emancipation. He is likely one of the most important figures in Georgia’s African-American history that you’ve never heard of and I hope more people learn his story. He worked his way through the Ballard Normal School in Macon and then attended Fiske University and Cornell University. While getting his education, he taught in Irwinton, Monroe County, and Jacksonville, Florida. After graduation from Cornell, he spent four years in Cuthbert before finally settling in Forsyth around the turn of the century. Since there was no accredited local Black school at the time, Hubbard worked for a few years as a professional photographer. According to the Hubbard Alumni Association: In 1900 William Merida Hubbard opened a school with seven students in the Kynette Methodist Church in the city of Forsyth. Like many schools in the Jim Crow South, churches presented the only option for educating black children. He opened this school at a time when there was little interest and minimal financial support for African American public education in Georgia. Undaunted by this challenge, William Hubbard cultivated partnerships with the white community in Forsyth. In 1902, Hubbard and five white men from Forsyth successfully petitioned the Superior Court of Monroe County to incorporate the Forsyth Normal and Industrial School with one small building on ten acres of land.
The Normal School added 10th and 11th grades in 1917, receiving full accreditation, and was the first Black vocational school in Georgia. It became a junior college in 1927 but sadly, several buildings were lost to fire soon thereafter. Undaunted, Hubbard oversaw the building of newer facilities, including the dormitory and teacher’s cottage. It became the STAC in 1931. The school merged with Fort Valley State College in 1938 and Mr. Hubbard finished his career there. The following year, the campus became Forsyth’s first Black high school, known as the Hubbard Training Center. William’s son, Samuel Hubbard, oversaw its evolution into the Hubbard Elementary and High School and served as its principal until desegregation in 1970.
It speaks volumes of Hubbard’s legacy that Governor Eugene Talmadge, an avowed racist, praised the man and his accomplishment at his memorial service in 1941.
National Register of Historic Places
The building housing the Rose Theater was built in 1904 and originally housed a grocery store and warehouse. It was remodeled for use as a theater and given its Art Deco appearance in the 1940s. It closed in the late 1950s and sat empty for many years. In the 1980s, it was known as the Topless Bar, as it had lost its roof during the years it was not in use. In 1999, owners Dr. & Mrs. William Cummings donated to the local theater group, the Backlot Players, and renovations were completed in 2007. It is once again a focal point of downtown Forsyth and a great example of community involvement in the preservation of historic spaces.
Forsyth Commercial Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
The Maynard-Cheeves-Childs House is among the oldest in Monroe County. According to Jeunesse Millwood has been under resoration by the D. R. Millwood family since they purchased it in 1991. The wings were added in the 1920s, I believe. Jeunesse notes that her mother and late father have done a lot of research and meticulous restoration in what has turned into a long ongoing project. She says they have learned that the house either began or was completed in 1832. Originally by Thomas Maynard. His consort Sabrina died after giving birth to a daughter Susan and the baby a month later. Their graves remain on the property. Among other things it was used as a hospital during the Civil War as well as, we’ve been told, a hideout for escaping slaves. This would make sense as under the front foyer, there is a very large hole about 6ft x 6 ft. There was a trap door that once opened in the foyer but sadly, all the foyer flooring had to be replaced after the floods of 94 due to water damage. I believe the house eventually went to his son, Elijah, and then his daughter, Elizabeth Maynard Cheeves. Mrs. Flora or Florrie Childs, was a later owner. I’ll update when I learn more about the history.
This view from the west side is more akin to what the house would have originally looked like, even with the shed room at the back. With the Federal influence, there would not have been a porch of this configuration, either .
The area around Blount was settled at least by the mid-19th century; a post office opened in 1887 and remained open until 1906. The community was named for U. S. Representative James Henderson Blount (1837-1903). Though his opposition to imperialism and the annexation of Hawaii was a noble cause, he was also a member of the Redeemers, a coalition of Southern congressman who were dedicated to White supremacy during Reconstruction.
This general store is one of two that survive in the crossroads community of Blount. Like its neighbor down the road, it dates to the 1920s and has been altered. An auto bay that once extended from the facade has been enclosed. It is well-maintained. The Freeman Brothers Store was well-known in Blount in 1900. I don’t know if either one I documented was associated with their enterprise.