Tag Archives: Georgia Vernacular Architecture

New York Store, Oglethorpe

This historic general store likely derived its name from an assertion that anything you could get anything here that you could get in New York. Though the name seems out of place in Oglethorpe, such names were a common marketing angle at one time. This store likely dates to the end of the 19th or beginning of the 20th century.

Saddlebag Farmhouse, Dooly County

This is located across the highway from the gambrel-roof barn in the previous post. It was expanded into a gabled-ell form at some point in its history.

Owens Store, Circa 1900, Dooly County

This community landmark has the appearance of a gabled-ell house and has an unusual floor plan for a store. It appears to be in good overall condition.

Abandoned Farmhouse, Pulaski County

This may be a tenant house or even an old commissary. It’s hard to tell in its present state. It’s just north of Finleyson.

Tile House, Pulaski County

This structure was one of several on the property, including a large cistern, made of this unusual multi-colored tile. It is quite unusual and will hopefully be preserved.

Bowen-Studstill Farm Revisited, Dodge County

This landmark farmhouse and barn were recently exposed after a clear-cut on the old River Road. My father brought them to my attention after traveling to Eastman to a baseball game recently. I later realized it was the Bowen-Studstill House, which I had admired throughout my life traveling to Dodge County with my great-grandmother and grandmother.

It’s a typical unadorned example of one of the most common forms of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but a very nice home for its time.

I’ve observed over the years that when properties are cleared, remaining abandoned structures are often quickly demolished to make way for changing land uses. I’m unsure what the future holds for this place but I hope it will be saved.

The log barn appears to be a corn crib or other storage structure. It is already collapsing but I’m honored to be able to document it.

Precinct House, Pope City

You’ll have trouble finding Pope City on most maps today and it’s never really been much more than a wide spot in the road. But this populated place in northwestern Wilcox County was significant enough to have a post office from 1910-1918. This structure was likely the voting precinct or “courthouse”.

Pope City Baptist Church, Wilcox County

Pope  City Baptist Church was established in 1903. A larger modern sanctuary  on the same property has replaced this structure.

DeBerry Baptist Church, Coffee County

Two people reached out to me to say that the old DeBerry Baptist Church was being torn down. The original chapel is around 100 years old.

There is a larger more modern facility on the property and I presumed the demolition would allow for further expansion. However, Rafe Semmes writes that the reason the church is being torn down is that the foundation has suffered extensive rot and the cost of repair was deemed too expensive to be practical.

Baptist Church, Meansville

This was the old location of the Meansville Baptist Church. It’s on the edge of town and was apparently last used as a private residence.