Tag Archives: Georgia Streets

North Main Street, Wadley

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North Main Street passes through the historic commercial center of Wadley. According to Ken Krakow’s Georgia Place Names, it was first known as Bethany, then Shake Rag. Incorporated as a town in 1876, Wadley was named for William Morrill Wadley (1813-1882), a New Hampshire native who came to Georgia as a young man. He worked as a blacksmith during the construction of Fort Pulaski under the command of Robert E. Lee and was appointed superintendent of the public works on Cockspur Island. He was later involved in significant building and engineering works and briefly served, unofficially, as supervisor of Confederate railroads. From 1886 until his death, he served as president of the Central of Georgia Railway.

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North First Street, Colquitt

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The unusual structure advertising Sessions Peanut Company has become a landmark of Colquitt.

Colquitt Town Square Historic District, National Register of Historic Places

South Broad Street Storefronts, Cairo

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The heart of Cairo’s commercial historic district is situated along South Broad Street and is largely intact.

The plaza parks make it a very pedestrian friendly area. A nice variety of commercial styles from the late-19th and early- to mid-20th century are present.

Most of these historic storefronts are still in use, and while few serve their original purposes, they continue to be the center of the community.

Cairo Commercial Historic District, National Register of Historic Places

Meansville, Georgia

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Corner of Means & Main Streets, looking toward the Meansville Bank

Meansville is purportedly named for John William Means (20 June 1812-28 February 1896), who migrated to the area from the Carolinas. I’m not sure when he arrived in Pike County, but he married Nancy B. McGinty here on 26 September 1833. Interestingly, his obituary does not make note of his being the namesake of the community; it does state that he was one of Pike County’s oldest and most respected citizens.

The town was not incorporated until 1913.

Athens Street, Carnesville

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Carnesville isn’t well-known outside the area, and is one of the smaller county seats in Georgia, with between 500-600 residents. As county seats should, it sits smack dab in the middle of Franklin County, which was the first county in the state established after the Revolutionary War [much larger at the time, encompassing multiple modern counties]. While the location of Franklin County’s first seat of government is lost to history, Carnesville gained that designation in 1807.

It was named for Thomas Petters Carnes (1762-5 May 1822), whose service as a colonel in the Maryland Line during the Revolutionary War earned him a land bounty in Franklin County. He served in the Georgia House of Representatives, as a state court judge, Attorney General of Georgia, and in the U. S. House of Representatives, from 1793-1795, representing Athens [located at that time in Franklin County].

Central Avenue, Demorest

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The building at left was constructed as the Odd Fellows Hall in 1901 and the shotgun store on the right, the only remaining wood-framed commercial building in Demorest, was built in 1893.

Demorest Commercial Historic District, National Register of Historic Places

Historic Storefronts, Talking Rock

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A small strip of historic storefronts comprise “downtown” Talking Rock, where Georgia Highway 136 is essentially “Main Street”. Many of the structures are now home to popular stores selling antiques and local crafts and foods. The unpainted building in the middle was built circa 1883 and was the home and millinery shop of Virgie Hagood, and was known as the Hat House.

Hulin Avenue Storefronts, Tignall

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Hulin Avenue (Georgia Highway 17) was the traditional “main street” and commercial center of Tignall.

Colquitt Street, Sparks

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1st Street, Woodland

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I hope to learn more about Woodland. The town was incorporated in 1908 but was settled long before then. It would be nice to see its small but historic commercial core listed on the National Register of Historic Places.