Tag Archives: Georgia Vernacular Architecture

The Corner Kitchen, Cuthbert

8 Replies

When I first photographed this location in January 2010, it looked like a busy place. That may have been due to the fact that there was an automotive detailing shop next door that only charged $8 for cars and $12 for trucks. The restaurant was once known as the Corner Kitchen and I’m not sure if it was even still open when I photographed it. I imagine it was a good soul food restaurant, a meat-and-three kind of place, and considering the lack of restaurants in Cuthbert, was probably quite popular. The building looks to have originally been a neighborhood grocery store.

Hopewell Church, Randolph County

5 Replies

I’ve been fascinated by this old church since first running across it back in 2008 and have photographed it several times. It’s in a low area near Pachitla Creek and I’ve seen the surrounding lots flooded on more than one occasion. I’m guessing it was a Primitive Baptist church, considering the inclusion of a door on the side.

There’s an old precinct house located adjacent, but I now believe the church and precinct house were moved here from the nearby Martins Crossroads community for preservation purposes. First, I imagine the cinderblock piers aren’t original to a structure of this age, and second, an historic survey of Randolph County I found on Rootsweb stated that Hopewell Church was located in Martins Crossroads, and gave a different GPS location. That being said, this whole area may be considered the Martins Crossroads community and I may be incorrect. Caitlin Jones wrote, a few years ago, that the property is now owned by her grandfather, Robert Odom, and someone else noted that there was once a grist mill across the road from this location. I look forward to learning more.

Single-Pen Tenant Farmhouse, Randolph County

2 Replies

I made this photograph on 17 June 2009 and the image got lost in my archives, until now. I don’t recall where in Randolph County this structure was located, but it was one of my early favorites. I believe it was somewhere between Benevolence and the now demolished Hour of Prayer Church, if that helps anyone in pinpointing its whereabouts. The single-pen style, while equally distributed among white and black laborers, is sometimes referred to as “Cracker”. It’s one of Georgia’s most widespread [and endangered] rural housing types of the late 19th and early 20th century and is often associated with tenancy, which in Georgia usually meant farming or turpentining. It was also popular in textile mill villages. As seen on this example, most single-pen cottages featured a shed room at the rear.

Bozeman Store, Mitchell County

4 Replies

Here’s another photo that is a mystery to me. It dates to 2010 and was located on somewhere on or near Greenough Road. I may be wrong in my recollection, though. Someone identified it years ago, on Flickr or another photo sharing site, but I’ve lost access to that information. I do know, from that identification, that it was a general store. It looked like it was in its last days when I encountered it, so it is likely gone.

Update: Bill Blackburn writes that this was the Willy Hill Bozeman Store and that it closed in the early 1960s.

West Shop All, Hopeful

2 Replies

I’m still looking through older, unpublished photographs and discovered this one, made in 2017 in Mitchell County. It’s a typical central hallway form with board-and-batten siding. A front porch appears to have collapsed or been removed, which is also typical with abandoned properties. Jonathan West writes that this was actually a grocery and parts store all-in-one, owned by his parents.

Twin Houses, Waycross

2 Replies

These two houses stand defiantly at the end of Jane Street, which was cut off years ago when changes were made to US Highway 84, rendering them largely inaccessible and at the least, impractical as residential dwellings. I haven’t been able to locate any history about them, but they are essentially twins. One has an open front porch while the porch on the other has been enclosed. I don’t know if they were built as early apartment housing or if they were owned by one family who just liked the practical design. They’ve looked like this for many years and short of being moved, I doubt they will ever have much appeal commercially. It’s really a shame, though, because I imagine they were well-loved at one time.

Waycross Historic District, National Register of Historic Places

Gable Front House, Harrison

1 Reply

This is located near Harrison Springs Church and lodge. It may be connected to those properties.

Gabled-Ell Farmhouse, Jasper County

2 Replies

This home was the center of a small historic farm, on which a couple of outbuildings survived when I photographed it in 2017. It’s similar to the farmhouse my father and his siblings grew up in, though theirs was a bit larger and was later sided with brick and somewhat modernized. I mention this only because it was such a common house type on small farms throughout Georgia and many examples survive in various states of renovation and neglect.

John Shank House, Circa 1840, Hogansville

2 Replies

I certainly hope to learn more about this extraordinary vernacular house, which has a Federal-Plantation Plain form, enhanced by a portico that would be considered somewhat uncommon in this context. 9 over 9 windows are potential hints of an early construction date, perhaps antebellum. I think the double doors are early, as well. It’s such a delightful house, from its setting to its architecture, and is obviously well-loved and cared for by its owners.

Update: Thanks to Eric Korn, I’ve learned that this was relocated here in 1947, at which time the portico, which originally ran along the entire front of the house, was reduced to its present configuration. It was originally used as a stagecoach layover/boarding house in its early days. It’s also referred to as the Shank-Strain House.

Unidentified Building, Hogansville

4 Replies

This building was on the edge of town in Hogansville, if my memory serves me correctly. It’s just a vernacular structure that I found intriguing. It may have been two houses put together, a sort of duplex, or even an office of some kind. The right side of the building has saddlebag characteristics. While it appears there was a porch on the visible side that has been removed, a shed porch runs across the back side, adding to the mystery. If anyone knows, please reach out.