Tag Archives: Georgia Turpentine Industry

Colonel Edward Bird House, 1870, Guyton

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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

Historic Farmstead, Lowndes County

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Isolated in the countryside near the Lowndes County ghost town of Delmar, this historic farm is one of the most intact collections of original agricultural structures I’ve ever seen in South Georgia. I’m grateful to Mandy Green Yates for bringing it to my attention. Mandy travels the back roads of South Georgia and North Florida finding lots of places like this. Follow her to see what she finds next.

I believe this was primarily a turpentine camp, as the area was well-known for large scale naval stores production. There would have been tenant houses here at one time, also. The structure above was likely the office for the operation.

My favorite structure is the commissary, which would have served all the needs of this small community.

The shingle-sided barn and water tower are amazing survivors, as well. The owners of the property should be commended for keeping this place in such relatively good condition throughout the years.

Turpentine Commissary, Toledo

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Joe Hopkins writes that this the was commissary for the turpentine operations at Toledo. I would go there on Saturday mornings when I was a kid with my great uncle to pay off the turpentine employees. The store housed basic staples and dry goods for the workers living at the Toledo settlement and the business records of the company. The dirt road on the porch side of the commissary was the original road running from Folkston to St.George.

Tenant Houses, Cogdell

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I believe this house and another one adjacent to it were built to house employees of the Sessoms timber and turpentine operations. Both are very endangered and are likely to be gone soon.

Lanier, Georgia

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Located between Pembroke and Ellabell on US 280, Lanier was established in 1893 and a post office operated here until 1955.

One viewer has identified this as the Stubbs turpentine commissary.

Vernacular Greek Revival Cottage, Ellabell

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Though its most noticeable feature may be the Victorian scalloping around the porch, this is most properly a vernacular Greek Revival cottage. It’s perhaps the most iconic structure in Ellabell and is very endangered. I don’t know if it was a house or a store or office, but it’s one of my all-time favorites.

Though the following account isn’t related to this house, I’m placing it here because this is the most popular of the Ellabell posts. I’m grateful to Lawrence Hyde for sharing.

Origins of Ellabell, Georgia – by Lawrence Hyde

If you have ever wondered how the community of Ellabell got it’s name – Here is the story.

My Great-Great Grandfather, John Morrison, set up a Turpentine Operation in Bryan County and named it for his daughter, Ella Bell, my Great Grandmother. Originally spelled “Ella Bell” somewhere over the years the words got mushed together into “Ellabell”. Here on out – to avoid confusion – I will refer to her by the family nickname “BG”.

When John Morrison married his wife, Iola Bell (Seriously – I can’t make these names up!), a young minister fresh out of seminary performed the ceremony. His name was Henry Van Dyke. He would become a prominent author and speaker later in life with his inspirational books and poetry. My favorite of his books is THE STORY OF THE OTHER WISEMAN. He also wrote the lyrics to Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee.

When BG was about 4 or 5 years old, the French Actress, Sarah Bernhardt played Savannah. With a reputation for being a Huntswoman, John Morrison invited her out to hunt on the Turpentine Plantation. Family Lore has it that her private railcar was brought out to Ella Bell for a day or so. Iola Bell sent BG down with a pitcher of Sweet Milk. Sarah Bernhardt pulled her up on her lap and spoke to her in French while her maid translated. One of the family treasure is the milk pitcher that Sarah Bernhardt used.

BG graduated from the Lucy Cobb Institute in Athens. She was a talented artist and we still have a number of her paintings spread out among the family. This is my painting from her and it is the only one that she added LCI under her signature.

BG met and married my G Grandfather, John Carlton of Elberton when he took a job as the telegraph operator at Ella Bell. Thus the old joke – he married the boss’s daughter.

Plans for a real town – churches, fountain in the square, etc etc – were drawn up but the town never took off.

While John Morrison set up a few Turpentine Operations around the South, after Ella Bell – he set up another operation in Moultrie, where He and Iola Bell, John Carlton and BG, and my own grandparents are buried. I always crack the joke with roots so deep in Moultrie – that I am related to 1/2 the town by birth and the other 1/2 by marriage.

2018 South Georgia Snowstorm: Long County

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Following is a brief look at some Long County landmarks, with a rare blanket of snow.

Cato House, Ludowici

Johnston House, Ludowici

Mary McQueen House, Ludowici

Old Well Pavilion, Ludowici

Lloyd Chapman House, Ludowici

Single-Pen Tenant House

Hughes House

Jim Parker House, Wefanie

Parker Commissary, Wefanie

Henry Walcott Road

Henry Walcott House

Tison Naval Stores Commissary, Tattnall County

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This was part of the Tison Naval Stores business which gave its name to the surrounding community and served as a commissary/general store. Thanks to Charles Tillman, a descendant of the Tison family who now operates Watermelon Creek Vineyard on the property, this and the naval stores warehouse across the highway remain intact for future generations.

Seventeen Mile River, Coffee County

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The blackwater Seventeen Mile River can be hard to find, largely because it’s considered an “ephemeral river”. This means that  it’s dry as often as it’s wet, often more so. Much of it is located on private property, as well. The best place to see this natural wonder is at General Coffee State Park.

If you’re a fisherman, the best time to visit is after a good period of rain. As a navigable stream, the Seventeen Mile River is nearly impenetrable, but several open “lakes” provide good places to fish. Gar Lake, seen below, is one of the easiest to access.

The park prides itself on being one of the best kept secrets in the state. Its protection has enabled plants like the Green-fly Orchid (Epidendrum magnoliae) and Narrow-leaf Barbara’s Buttons (Marshallia tenuifolia) to survive. Native and introduced ferns are abundant here, as well.

Evidence of the naval stores industry can be found scattered throughout the park, as seen on this pine.

Boardwalks allow easy access to the river and swamps.

 

 

Catface Turpentine Festival, Portal

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A group of people engaging in conversation outside the Bobby Ronald Newton Turpentine Museum, including individuals in bright orange and blue clothing. A woman walks by with a child near a table. Lush greenery surrounds the area.
Outside the Bobby Ronald Newton Turpentine Museum

Bad weather didn’t keep people away from this year’s 34th Annual Catface Turpentine Festival in Portal, which bills itself “The Turpentine City”. To those who don’t already know, the name catface was given to the slashes cut into pines to gather sap. They’re said to resemble cat’s whiskers. The Carter Turpentine Still and the recently named Bobby Ronald Newton Turpentine Museum (background, above) are the focal points of the festival. The museum’s namesake, Bobby Ronald Newton, was a longtime volunteer at the festival and was instrumental in preserving the area’s turpentine history. In 1982, Denver Holllingsworth and the Portal Heritage Society suggested restoring the old Carter Still and with enthusiastic community involvement, the old boiler was finally re-lit. The Carter Still is one of only three remaining in Georgia. The two other stills are located in Tifton and Walthourville.

A busy outdoor event with people walking around, some holding food. In the foreground, a woman in a pink shirt and a child in a pink hoodie are visible, along with a small white dog. A rustic food stand can be seen in the background surrounded by more attendees.
Visitors to the Turpentine Festival

The festival is one of the major annual events in Portal and there is usually good attendance.

A vendor standing near a sign reading 'Rosin Potatoes' at an outdoor event, with barrels and greenery in the background.
Rosin Potatoes

Rosin potatoes are one of the popular curiosities of the festival.

Turpentine historian Roger Branch stands inside a wooden room, holding a walking stick. He wears a blue jacket and a cap with a logo. Behind him are various historical posters related to turpentine tapping and wooden artifacts.
Roger Branch, Ambassador of Turpentine

As he’s been doing since the festival’s inception, Mr. Roger Branch is on hand each year and eager to tell you anything you might want to know about the history of what was once South Georgia’s biggest industry. Roger is the retired chairman of the Department of Sociology & Anthropology at Georgia Southern University and has always been interested in preserving historical and cultural aspects of life in South Georgia. I like to think of him as the “Ambassador of Turpentine”.

An interior view of a rustic wooden building featuring various tools and artifacts related to turpentine farming, including calendars from the American Turpentine Farmers Association on the wall and a sign reading 'Donations for Restoration' on a table.
Display in the Bobby Ronald Newton Turpentine Museum, including Miss Gum Spirits calendars

The calendars behind him were produced for many years by the American Turpentine Farmers Association (ATFA) in Valdosta and feature annual winners of the Miss Gum Spirits of Turpentine contests. The ATFA disbanded in the early 1990s, as commercial production of turpentine disappeared from the scene.

A vintage black sign advertising 'Gum Spirits Turpentine' from 'Carter & Son' in Carson, Savannah, GA, featuring rustic lettering and a semicircular shape.
Carter & Son Shipping Sign

There are several of these old markers, essentially stenciled wooden shipping labels, on the walls of the Turpentine Museum, from the Carter & Son turpentine operations. F. N. Carter, Sr., put Portal on the map as one of Georgia’s centers of the naval stores industry in the 1930s and along with his son, E. C., oversaw this vital part of the area’s economy until the early 1960s.

A close-up of a weathered Herty cup surrounded by various vintage containers, including a glass jar and metal objects, all set on a rustic wooden surface.
Herty cup (left)

Also on display are various innovations for the collection of sap.

A close-up view of rough yellow and amber gum rosin scattered on a surface.
Slash pine (Pinus elliottii) gum rosin

Perhaps the most popular item, though, is the hardened gum rosin itself, which has a gem-like appearance. Different pine species produce different colors of rosin.

A person dressed casually stands beside a wooden barrel, with spirits of turpentine flowing from a pipe into the barrel.
Spirits of turpentine flowing into a barrel, part of the distillation process

David King, from the Georgia Museum of Agriculture at Tifton’s Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College (ABAC), is an expert on the distillation of turpentine and runs the old Carter still at the festival.

David King, wearing a wide-brimmed hat and denim overalls places a jar of turpentine on a wooden shelf inside a rustic cabin, with another bottle visible on the shelf.
David King

Come and learn about this vital part of South Georgia’s history, and have fun in the process.