This was served as the Brent schoolhouse until its closure in 1929. It was later home to the Brent women’s clubhouse and voting precinct. Brent had a post office from 1891-1904. It was named for Kentucky-born merchant Thomas Young Brent, Jr. (1841-1915), who moved to this area after the Civil War and married a widow, Jane Smith Clements (1836-1903).
This nearly forgotten Folk Victorian house was recently exposed when land was cleared across from the old Ashton School. I expect it will soon be razed, as the back section has already begun to collapse. It likely dates to circa 1900-1910.
Farise Taylor writes: I played on the porch of this old house when Mr. J. T. McMillan and wife Ruby lived there with their children, John Earl, Ronald, and their sister. Before the McMillans lived there Mr. Artis O. Williams (1893-1973) and his wife Nellie Lowman Williams (1892-1967), along with their five sons lived there. The boys were D., Artis, George, Frank, and Boyette, all of whom served in combat in World War II. In 1951, Mrs. Williams, an English teacher at Ashton School, wrote a book of poetry, Songs in the Night.
In her book was a poem entitled “One Five Star Mother to Another”. This poem was a tribute to another mother, Mrs. Sullivan, who lost all five of her sons in World War II. The text follows, below.
I saw your picture in the news one day,
So full of courage, Mrs. Sullivan;
Upon your desk there stood five portraits gay;
From each frame smiled a stalwart sailor-son.
Two sisters underneath the skin we are,
Five stalwart service-sons, also, had I;
They, too, went boldly forth to global war,
And crossed the deep to conquer or to die.
Alike, we say, and yet–so different!
The ship, your sons, your very heart, went down.
My sons came back, as hale as when they went;
They changed my cross into a glorious crown!
Still, I keep thinking, Oh, and could it be,
Your precious five sent five back to me!
I have a signed copy of this book somewhere, and as soon as I can locate, will scan a photo of Mrs. Williams. I don’t know if Mrs. Williams ever shared the poem with Mrs. Sullivan, but I imagine she did. It’s hard to conceive the loss suffered by many families in the wake of the war.
Note: As of early 2025, the house has been razed.
This eclectic house, also known as the Cole House, has Classical and Greek Revival intentions, it seems, but is an unusual take on those forms. Its date of construction ranges, depending on source, from 1900 to 1908. It is associated with Susan Lane Tillman Moore (1867-1951), a Madison County, Florida, native who was the first woman elected by popular vote to the Georgia State Senate. She served two non-concurrent terms (1933-1934 and 1939-1940). She was also a delegate at the Democratic National Conventions of 1924 and 1932, and a member and vice-chair of the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia (1941-1942). She resided at this house until her death on 5 May 5 1951.
Hinesville was established in 1837 to replace Riceboro as the seat of Liberty County. Just two years later, on what was then a 23-acre tract, this Federally-influenced Plantation Plain townhouse was built by Mary Jane Hazzard Bacon, the widow of Major John Bacon of Riceboro.
The property was occupied by Union troops under the command of General William T. Sherman in 1864 and several outbuildings were burned. The house was saved by Mrs. Bacon, who displayed her husband’s Masonic apron for protection. Many more generations of the family owned the home until 2017, when it became the headquarters of the Liberty County Chamber of Commerce and the Liberty County Convention and Visitors Bureau.
The beautifully landscaped yard is dominated by historic Live Oaks, some of the largest to be found in inland Liberty County.
National Register of Historic Places
This is one of two nearly identical Georgian Cottages standing next door to each other in Hinesville. This is the least modified of the two. Though they have the look of typical houses of this type dating to the 1870s and 1880s, these were built as rental properties by Maria Bolineau Fraser in 1927, obviously influenced by nearby examples.
Built as a residence by a Mr. Allen, this house was located along the railroad tracks when this section of Southwest Georgia was experiencing its first major agribusiness and timber boom. It was sold to Mary Lizzie Harrell [Mrs. T. J. Harrell] in the 1920s and would have been the de facto hotel in Climax. Women, who were limited in employment opportunities at the time, often operated such establishments, as was the case with this property.
It was also identified as the Harrell House and the Wingback Hotel. Mrs. Harrell was known for her home-cooked meals, much appreciated by the railroaders passing through Climax. Most of the structure is original, but the front porch is a replacement.
Cemeteries often hold mysteries, and there’s a good one in the Whitaker Hill-Harrison Cemetery, the final resting place of a woman who is said to have been a veteran of the Revolutionary War, Sibbiah Earl Blair. Sibbiah [also referenced as Sabbiah in some sources] Earl was the daughter of John Earl, who came to Screven County, Georgia, from North Carolina in 1760. She married William Blair (c.1740-c.1780) of Queensborough [now Louisville] at Jerusalem Church at Ebenezer, Effingham County, on 26 October 1771. Blair migrated to the Georgia colony with his father, James Blair, from Northern Ireland, circa 1770, and served with the Liberty Boys of St. George’s Parish [now Burke, Jefferson, and part of Screven County] as a Revolutionary soldier. William and Sibbiah had five children, Jane, William, Henry, Mary, and Martha. William died before the end of the war, whether in service or of other causes is not evident. He is believed to be buried at Whitaker Hill-Harrison Cemetery, but there is no marker, and considering that he died at Queensborough, he may have been moved from that location at some point.
The Whitaker Hill-Harrison Cemetery is located on the historic Post Road at the Brantley-Glynn county line, in an area identified on maps today as Popwellville. This was located in Wayne County until 1920, when Brantley County was created. There are no Whitakers to be found in this cemetery, so I’m presuming Whitaker Hill was an early plantation or place name.
The Blairs’ daughter Jane is the connection to this cemetery and to this section of Georgia, as she married Robert Stafford (1765-1829), also a Revolutionary soldier. Stafford most likely came to this area through land granted him for Revolutionary service. Birth and death dates for Jane Blair Stafford have not been confirmed, but she died after 1838. Other than the marker related to Sibbiah Blair and the Stafford markers, all other known burials date to the 20th and 21st centuries. [Note: The marker for Robert Stafford seems to be missing from the cemetery; there’s a photograph of it on Findagrave, but I couldn’t locate it].
Another mystery remains for me. The grave markers for Sibbiah Earl Blair and Jane Blair Stafford were placed by the Brunswick Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) in the early 20th century. For such a memorial, the DAR would have vetted the service records and genealogy. My presumption is that they concluded that Sibbiah Earl Blair assisted in the war effort in Screven County, after William’s death in 1780. Sibbiah must have moved to Wayne County to live with or near her daughter Jane.
Thanks to Cynthia Jennings for sharing some of the background information.
According to local sources, this was one of three dormitories of the Sparta Female Model School, built between 1831-1832. In contrast to the other existing dormitory, this one is in good condition and has been a residence for many years.
Sparta Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
The Andrew Low Carriage House*, at 330 Drayton Street, was the site of the first meeting of the troop of eighteen Girl Guides who would soon come to be known as the Girl Scouts. Juliette Magill Kinzie Gordon was born into an influential Savannah family on 31 October 1860. Her grandfather was the first president of the Central Railroad and Banking Company of Georgia, and her father, William Washington Gordon II, was a Confederate captain, brigadier-general in the Spanish-American War, and a Georgia legislator. She attended boarding schools in New Jersey and Virginia, and a French finishing school in New York City.
After completing her education, Juliette married William Mackay Low in 1886. Low was the son of Andrew Low, a wealthy cotton factor of Scottish origin who owned homes in Savannah and the United Kingdom. The young couple spent most of their time in England and Scotland. The union turned sour when Juliette discovered that William had moved his mistress into their home. In 1902 she filed for divorce, but William’s health was deteriorating and before the action could be finalized, he died in Wales, in 1905.
In 1911, Juliette Gordon Low met Sir Robert Baden-Powell, founder of the Boy Scouts and Girl Guides, and got involved with a troop of Girl Guides in Scotland. She brought the movement to Savannah and the first troop of eighteen Girl Guides met in the carriage house of the Low family mansion on 12 March 1912. The name was changed to the Girl Scouts in 1913. Low’s association with the Girl Scouts continued in various capacities until her death in 1927. The organization has served over 50 million girls in its long history and while it may be best known for its annual cookie sales, has enriched the lives of those who have been associated with it.
The carriage house has served various purposes within the Girl Scouts organization over the years and is presently a museum. It was the first structure in Savannah to receive National Historic Landmark status.
*-Designed by architect John Norris to complement the adjacent Andrew Low House, circa 1848-1849, this structure originally served as the carriage house and living quarters for domestic slaves. Thomas “Tom” Milledge (1818-1886) was the most entrusted of the domestic slaves and after emancipation, remained in the employee of the Low family as a butler. He lived in the carriage house with his wife Mosianna (1844-1909) and their children.
Juliette Gordon Low Historic District, Savannah National Historic Landmark District
This outstanding Greek Revival I-House [Plantation Plain] is located on the outskirts of Eatonton. Other than a name, information about the house is scarce, but one well-known resident was Miss Annie Laurie “Lollie” Jenkins. She was the first woman in Putnam County to be involved in the dairy business. There are 9 /9 and 9/6 windows, an indicator of a much earlier date than 1875-1885, which is cited in real estate and survey listings. It originated as a two-room cottage, and the second floor was added in the 1850s. I believe the original cottage dates to the 1830s at the latest, with a distinct possibility it may date as far back as the 1810s. The additions were made in the 1890s. Whatever the whole story, it’s one of the most important surviving houses in Putnam County, in my opinion.