Neighborhoods of nearly identical shotgun houses were once common sights in Georgia towns and cities where a textile or cotton mill was present. The utilitarian housing was provided as a benefit of employment. Most have vanished in the past thirty years.
Bartow Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
This double-shotgun house was the home of Ben Strickland. Ben was one of the most interesting “characters” I knew growing up, with a vast knowledge of reptiles and amphibians. Some people called him the “snake man” because he was adept at handling the creatures and spent more time with them than he did with people; he wasn’t scared of them and had great knowledge of their ways, from a lifetime of observations. This fascinated many of us youngsters, even when some folks thought it a bit odd.
This once-common form has become quite rare today. The house is divided into two residences by a wall through the middle.
With the growing popularity of small houses, shotgun houses have become hot properties in the broader real estate market. Quite a few survive in varying states of repair throughout Brunswick’s historic African-American neighborhood and instead of being seen as blight should be an opportunity for affordable historic housing. They were likely built from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
From a visitor named Lynn: A black man Called Shimmy aka Mr. Burt lived here. He lived here alone & his family lived about 2 miles away. He was my dad’s best friend. They both served in the Korean War together. My dad lived at 7038 GA Highway 208, two houses down from here. I spent a lot of my childhood in the front room by the wood heater. In the late 90s Mr Burt accidentally fell on the heater, burning his legs so bad they had to be removed. He moved into The Nursing Home in Waverly Hall. My dad passed away in 1997 & Mr Burt passed away 2000. They were lifelong friends!
Vanishing Georgia: Photographs by Brian Brown 