I first published this photograph on 15 June 2010 under the title “Wisenbaker’s Grocery & Market”, but I’m replacing it with a new post to update what I’ve learned, and to share a little about Dasher, thanks to an excellent brief history of the community by Faye Cook Wisenbaker. I believe this sign came from another building and was saved for its local importance.
Faye writes that all of the area south of Valdosta in present-day Lowndes County has connections to the Dasher and Wisenbaker families, who had their Georgia origins with the Ebenezer Salzburgers of Effingham County. James Wisenbaker and Christian Herman Dasher are the earliest known members of their families to have arrived in this frontier area of the Wiregrass Region. Dasher is believed to have arrived circa 1832. James Wisenbaker was his son-in-law and they had left the Lutheran faith in 1819 and began having services in their homes.
The area around Dasher was first settled circa 1842. Richard Herman Wisenbaker was also living in the area around this time, as he established “a congregation of New Testament Christianity” which would eventually be known as the Corinth Church of Christ, and today, Corinth Baptist Church. Faye notes that sometime before 1861, Wisenbaker “constructed a home using slave labor”.
The town was formally established as a station of the Georgia Southern & Florida Railway in 1889 at the residence of Virgil Franklin Dasher. By 1916, thanks to the timber and turpentine business, and the presence of the railroad, Dasher was a thriving place. The Dasher Bible School was established during that year and met in the Church of Christ until building a larger campus in 1928.
Due to the growth of the Salzburger settlement at Ebenezer by the 1740s, a need arose for new churches to serve a dispersed population. Goshen Church was built about 1751, established about a mile from the present location as Goshen Lutheran Church. Oral tradition states that when a malaria outbreak threatened the health and lives of Goshen’s congregants, they sawed the church in half and moved it to this site, where they rebuilt it. Goshen remained part of the Ebenezer Parish until after the American Revolution. Goshen had always been served by Lutheran pastors who preached in German, and because of the language barrier, Pastor Bergman invited Bishop Asbury to send Methodist preachers to reach the congregation. Moravian missionaries used the church as a meetinghouse after the Lutherans moved on.
In 1820, Reverend James O. Andrew established the Methodist congregation at Goshen and the Lutherans transferred the property a few years later. The Reverend Lewis Myers began his pastorate circa 1823 and served the church for many years.
Goshen was a town long before Rincon existed and was the site of the first post office in Effingham County. Local lore maintains the George Washington once visited the church trading post.
Goshen Cemetery
The earliest identified burials in Goshen Cemetery date to around the time the Methodists assumed ownership of the church and it is the final resting place of many Effingham County pioneers. The following monuments and headstones are presented randomly and I photographed them as much for their aesthetic appeal as their historical importance.
A brick enclosure, perhaps built by enslaved men, surrounds the gravesites of many members of the Gugel family, who were prominent members of the church and community.
Tomb of Hannah Gugel Nowlan (January 1791-10 September 1833) The slab reads: To the memory of Mrs. Hannah Nowlen Who departed this life Sept 10th 1833 Aged 42 years and 9 months
Can marble tell the worth of Spirit felt Where dust here mingles with its kindred dead: Say there – the faithful friend in silence rests. The Mother whose fond heart was tenderness. The Child whose filial joy of filial love Now draw the parents hears to realms above, The sister loving constant, true, sincere The Christian meek to Zion precious one
Here rests in Hope
Mrs. Nowlan was the wife of George Galphin Nowlan, 1787-1816, Colonel in the War of 1812. Colonel Nowlan is buried in Memory Hill Cemetery, Milledgeville.
The tomb is signed by Savannah stonemasons Maxwell & Gow.
Margaret Waldhaur Gugel (8 April 1762-28 September 1844) and David Gugel(21 January 1764-24 April 1842) were the parents of Hannah Nowlan. David Gugel was a private and fifer in the Georgia Militia, enlisted in 1782. He served under General Anthony Wayne, helped build bridges and guard the Ebenezer magazine and the stores at Zubly’s Ferry.
Mary Ann Gugel Olcott (1797-24 January 1822) Mrs. Olcott was also a daughter of Margaret and David Gugel. She was married to Reverend James S. Olcott. The headstone indicates that two of her babies are buried here, as well.
Detail of headstone of Elizabeth Gugel Charlton (13 February 1793-11 July 1869) Mrs. Charlton was also a daughter of Margaret and David Gugel.
William Bandy (24 October 1799-24 May 1825) and Mary Bandy (16 October 1795-16 October 1825)
Tree of Life tympanum of Sarah Ann Black Zittrouer (14 December 1830-20 December 1899)
Tree of Life tympanum of William Josiah Zittrouer (10 September 1820-4 March 1895). Mr. Zittrouer was a Confederate veteran.
Organized as a branch of Georgia’s oldest church, Jerusalem Lutheran in Ebenezer, Zion Lutheran Church traces its origins to 1845. Around that time, a meeting house was built on this site near the Ogeechee River to accommodate members who found it difficult to make the journey to Ebenezer. On 8 December 1864, Major General William T. Sherman headquartered in this historic churchyard en route to Savannah. The present structure was built in 1872 and continues to serve an active congregation.
One of two churches in the Clyo Lutheran Parish, Wingard Memorial Lutheran Church serves the “town” of Clyo. According to their website: The building of Wingard Memorial Lutheran Church began in 1905 on land in Clyo, GA, donated by Augustus Mallory. The church was readied for service by 1911, and on November 16, 1913, the church officially established and adopted a constitution. The church was named for a former pastor, Rev. H. B. Wingard. Today, many of the current members still bear the family names of the original charter members.
Also known as Ebenezer or New Ebenezer, Jerusalem Lutheran Church is the oldest public building and the oldest church in Georgia. It is also the oldest Lutheran church in year-round use in the United States. [Augustus Lutheran Church in Trappe, Pennsylvania dates to 1745 but is only used part of the year.] Amy Willis wrote: “What a piece of history! My fifth great- grandfather was married here in 1769! John Cutler Braddock and his bride Lucia Cook. Thanks for keeping this history alive! I can’t wait to visit the church myself one day!“
In 1779, British forces captured Ebenezer and during this time the church was used as a hospital and stable. After the British were driven out, the Georgia Legislature met here on 3-4 July 1782. Many thanks are due Reverend John Barichivich for inviting me into this holy and beautiful space, and for taking time out of his day to share some of its fascinating history.
Johann Martin Boltzius (1703-1765) served as pastor of the Salzburger Lutheran congregation at New Ebenezer from 1735 until 1765 and was largely responsible for its success. Boltzius was a vocal opponent of slavery.
This statue is located on the grounds of the Georgia Salzburger Society living history museum.
