These tin-sided warehouses dominate the downtown area of Bellville and are remnants of the railroad era. The mural was added sometime after I first photographed the buildings in 2009.
Note: This replaces a post originally posted on 5 November 2009.
A 1988 survey of historic resources in Jones County documented this structure as part of the Lamar Farm, which at the time included a farmhouse and three outbuildings. The survey also noted the Bateman Company had owned the property since circa 1953 and been involved in the peach business.
Though no determination was made in 1988 as to the function of this structure, its location along the rail line, the shed doors, and the loading platform suggest a freight warehouse. This may have been a modification for the Bateman peach business or may have been an original use. The lack of windows in the structure also indicates a warehouse usage.
Near the depot in Boston is a small row of historic shotgun buildings and warehouses. These were related to agribusiness, seed storage, and livery stables. They don’t often get much attention, perhaps because they’re more utilitarian than they are aesthetically interesting, but they are as important to the development, perhaps more so, of our small rural towns as any bank or general store. The railroad was central to Boston’s development and these warehouses were directly tied to its success. In recent years, I believe they’ve been associated with the Boston Seed Company.
Boston Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
Its proximity to the railroad tracks would suggest this freight warehouse benefited from a railroad connection. In the smallest towns, businesses that took advantage of this connection were often among the most profitable in their communities and employed quite a few people. A barely visible Coca-Cola mural survives on the left side of the freight door. This photo dates to 2017.
Baconton Commercial Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
This pressed-tin false front building appears to have been a warehouse of some kind. It’s one of several interesting false front structures in Lyerly. False front refers to a gable front structure that has had a rectangular front added. This is meant to make the building look larger and was very common in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
This old shotgun-style warehouse is located across the street from Denham’s One-Stop. Alva Ray Denham (1922-1983) was the son of Marcus N. Denham (1887-1965), who came to Sycamore from Upson County and married Beulah Ray (1892-1942), a local girl. The Denhams were very active in many aspects of the local economy and social life. This photo dates to 2014.
A Georgia historic resources database identifies this as a peach warehouse, which utilized adjacent railroad tracks for shipping. I don’t know if it was built for that purpose, but if not, it was certainly a warehouse of some type.
This was likely a cotton warehouse. As I’ve said before, these often overlooked structures are important landmarks in the agriculturally focused communities they served and we should learn as much about them as we can.
Like the Masonic Lodge and precinct house in the preceding two posts, this structure is sided with sculptural blocks. I’m not sure of its identification, but it appears to have been a general store and/or warehouse.
Two historic freight warehouses survive along the tracks in Cairo. As a shipping point for syrup, they were quite busy, especially during the 1930s, when the town gained attention as the nation’s leading cane syrup producer.
Cairo Commercial Historic District, National Register of Historic Places