This tenant house was originally a hall and parlor type with a wing added at a later date. It’s actually unusual to find a vernacular tenant house that hasn’t been modified by additions. A resource surveyor noted of the house in 2004, “Building is vacant but replacement roof evident. Facade beginning to deteriorate.” There was also a stock barn on the property when the survey was done.
This tenant house in the Red Hills region has survived amazingly intact for such an isolated setting.
Local lumber baron John Ernest Donalson (1846-1920), for whom nearby Donalsonville, Georgia, was named, built this house in 1898. In addition to his vast holdings with the Donalson Lumber Company, he was a Confederate veteran, well-known Georgia entrepreneur, lawyer, and judge. Bainbridge was the center of his business operations.
The Queen Anne home, possibly a George Barber design, originally featured Tiffany stained-glass windows, but they were removed by a later owner and sold. The house is also said to have been the first in Bainbridge to feature wire window screens, quite an innovation at the time.
Bainbridge Residential Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
Just down the road from the house pictured in the previous post, this hall and parlor cottage near Egypt is also believed to have been associated with the E. E. Foy Manufacturing Company. Several other such structures once stood along this road but are no longer extant.
This example, which features a shed room at the rear, was expanded at the front at some point. It is of board-and-batten construction, a very common siding for utilitarian dwellings. It’s possible that it was a rental property after serving its original purpose. Many of these buildings have also been used as hunting cabins, though I’m not suggesting that this one was.
This hall and parlor cottage is located behind the William H. J. Foy House in the middle of Egypt. The village of Egypt, that is. Egypt isn’t well known beyond the borders of Effingham County, but it’s one of my favorite crossroad communities in Southeast Georgia. The Foy family was in the area long before E. E. Foy came from Rocky Ford and made Egypt a boomtown. At its peak, Susan Exley notes that Foy’s sawmill and planing mill, known as the E. E. Foy Manufacturing Company, processed 60,000 board feet of lumber per day and brought thirty families into the area. The boom didn’t last, but it put Egypt on the map.
Some sources have suggested that this was one of the millworker’s houses, while others believe it may have been an earlier tenant house related to the Foys. It’s an amazing survivor, and though this photograph dates to 2014, the quaint little cottage is still standing, albeit more hidden by vegetation today.
I photographed this interesting structure in 2018 and it has since been demolished. It has been identified as the company store and office of the Harden Lumber Company, which became the Vaughn Lumber Company in 1947. But Brenda Banks recalls: It was a store owned by a lady we called Mrs. Mitchell. I used to live near the store on Railroad Ave. Later I moved to Brooklyn Ave and patronized the store everyday until I moved to another location across town. It was a store on one side and and Mrs. Mitchell and her sister/daughter lived on the other side of the house. This was back in the 50s and 60s.
I believe it was originally just a commissary and was later expanded to include offices. lt was part of a group of buildings near the railroad tracks related to the lumber business. Some of the lumber sheds remain, as does the more modern office building of the Vaughn Lumber Company, across the road from this building. This is part of a larger neighborhood known as Trippton.
From what little information I can locate on Miller County’s historic places, I’ve preliminarily identified this as a commissary built circa 1910 by Joe Shingler to serve his timber and turpentine business. This building looks a little later than 1910, but it was possibly “modernized” at some time during its history and served as a general store. It likely originally featured lapboard siding similar to the adjacent barns, which date to the same time.
The Georgia Woodlands Railroad is a short line which runs 17.3 miles from Washington to Barnett. It primarily moves products such as wood chips, lumber and lumber products, as well as other industrial materials. Originally built as the Washington line of the Georgia Railroad in 1852, it has remained in use under various companies ever since.
Having last photographed this local landmark in 2009 [see the history of the house and a vintage photograph here], I was determined to get some photos before it is lost forever. I understand that the most recent owners began restoration efforts in the 1990s and were unable to complete the project. I believe the house could, and should, be saved, even in its present state. [I have included the date of 1894 after consulting two sources; it may have been built slightly earlier and I’ll update if I learn more].
A gazebo, which is likely of later construction, remains on the property.
The most interesting dependency, however, is this unique structure just to the left of the house. It is believed to have been Mr. Bedgood’s home office.
Colonel Edward Bird (1825-1893) was a successful timber and turpentine operator before the Civil War. He joined Company A, Squadron B, Georgia Cavalry, as Captain. It was nicknamed Captain Bird’s Mounted Company, 2nd Battalion, Georgia Cavalry. Captain Bird was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel on 17 May 1862 and took command of the 2nd Battalion. He transferred to the 5th Regiment, Georgia Cavalry on 20 January 1863 and was promoted to Colonel in 1864. He commanded the 5th Battalion until surrendering at Greensboro, North Carolina on 26 April 1865. After the war, Colonel Bird resumed his business and remained a prominent citizen of Guyton until his death.
Guyton Historic District, National Register of Historic Places