Leslie was established by J. W. Bailey in 1884. Bailey was a timber operator with financial interests in the area. The post office opened in 1889 and the town was incorporated by the Georgia General Assembly in 1892. According to Ken Krakow, “Bailey first named the town Jeb, the initials of his father, J. E. Bailey, but the post office was erroneously given the name of JOB. Bailey disliked the name “Job” so he circulated a petition to rename the town Leslie for his younger daughter, Leslie Vestell Bailey.”
Commerce Street
Leslie is also the home of the Georgia Rural Telephone Museum, which boasts one of the world’s largest collection of antique telephones. It is presently closed to the public, however.
Bailey Avenue. The two large buildings (center of photograph) are no longer standing.
Note: This post replaces “Commerce Street, Leslie”, which was published, with slightly different photographs, on 15 June 2010.
The Dairy Ranch, a Jesup institution known locally as the “Eat Now” for its famous red-lettered sign, closed in 2017 and has stood abandoned since then. I got a message this afternoon that it was being torn down.
I passed by earlier and it was still there, but the sender of the message shared photos. (I’ll add an updated image later; I’m traveling at the moment).
Dink NeSmith wrote of the landmark in 2018, “…when Homer Johnson opened the Dairy Ranch in 1952, it was an immediate hit. Over the years, the establishment has had four owners…Several generations of teenagers grew up under the Dairy Ranch’s neon glow. The Dairy Queen was a phenomenon, too. Cruising around the DQ on Friday and Saturday nights was a must. But the “Eat Now” had a jukebox inside. You could listen to Elvis and chomp on a foot-long hot dog and a bag of those irresistible French fries.“
The photos above were made in 2018. The ones that follow were made this morning (10 September 2024).
While it’s not quite down yet, it will soon be a memory.
The sign is gone, too. I’m sure it’s being saved for posterity.
I’ve learned that the historic Ezekiel New Congregational Methodist Church, a landmark with locals and a favorite with photographers, has collapsed in recent months. I’ve not been able to find out when, but it’s been at least a couple of months. In October of 2023, per Google Maps, the steeple was leaning backward and it was probably a matter of time before it all fell. (I don’t know if it fell or was bulldozed). The church was established in the 1870s and active until the 1970s. It fell into disrepair after the congregation disbanded and has been in derelict condition for many years. A lightning strike a few years ago did further damage.
This building was one of the anchors of the commercial row of Bronwood that was demolished in 2016. Richard Stott wrote of the above building: “When I lived there, the far end of this building was the post office, and next to it was Floyd Herrington’s barber shop.” It was a substantial commercial block, perhaps originally a bank or office space.
Butler Island Plantation, Real Photo Postcard, 1935. Collection of Brian Brown.
After many years of decline, the historic lands and waterways of Butler Island, just south of Darien, were purchased and modernized by Col. Tillinghast L’Hommedieu (T. L.) Huston, in 1926. A dairy was part of the Butler Island Plantation enterprise before it was converted to an iceberg lettuce farm, and some of the dairy structures were maintained throughout Huston’s ownership. This barn and other related buildings have been gone for decades, but may have still been in use when R. J. Reynolds purchased the property after Huston’s death in 1938.
This real photo postcard, dated Tues. Apr. 16, 1935 wasn’t mailed, but features a somewhat exaggerated, tongue-in-cheek message on the reverse: “Near border of Georgia & Florida. Air fresh & fragrant with blossoms. Cattle have free range in this state & receive excellent attention, as card shows. Autos barely escape colliding with hogs, cows, chickens, dogs, turtles, etc. on the highways.” It isn’t signed.
Peggy Bramblette recently reached out to let us know that the historic New Perry Hotel, perhaps the best-known symbol of this Middle Georgia town, was facing possible demolition. A week passed and I was not surprised to learn that the demolition is imminent. I’ve witnessed a long history of developers convincing local politicians to agree to the erasure of local landmarks without much oversight. When places like the New Perry Hotel are lost, communities almost always regret it; numerous people in Perry have spoken out against the demolition and it has received a fair amount of local news coverage. You can sign a petition here, though it may ultimately have little impact.
The owners, Triple P Holdings, have applied for a demolition permit, and it seems, the City of Perry is poised to endorse what would be a horrible end for one of their most important historic landmarks. Their boilerplate statement suggests the demolition is all but a done deal. [Note the words in bold font, which echo numerous statements I’ve read before similar properties were destroyed]: “As we celebrate Perry’s 200th Birthday, we reflect on our rich heritage and cherished memories of Perry’s past. The New Perry Hotel serves as a nostalgic reminder of bygone eras while holding a special place in the hearts of Perry’s past and present residents. Regrettably, the New Perry Hotel has remained vacant for many years and is in a state of disrepair. We are confident the current property owners have a vision for redevelopment which respects Perry’s legacy and meets the quality standards expected by the Perry community. Just as we honor the visionaries who laid the foundation for Perry’s success, we must also embrace the responsibility of ensuring that Perry remains a dynamic and thriving community for future generations.”
The New Perry Hotel is not only important for its cultural prominence in the community, but as a woman-owned business from a time when that was uncommon. The 1925 redesign of the structure, incorporating earlier structures, was overseen by owner Rochelle Cheeves Skellie.
Update: This property was demolished in July 2024.
Friends from Darien have just called to tell me that the historic Huston House, built on Butler Island in 1927, is engulfed in flames. The Huston House is a landmark of McIntosh County and Highway 17, the Georgia home of Col. Tillinghast L’Hommedieu (T.L.) Huston, a part owner of the New York Yankees. Babe Ruth spent time at this house during that era.
Before Huston’s association, the Butler family owned this land from at least 1790 until 1923. Their rice plantation was dependent on the labor of as many as 500 enslaved people at its peak. Multiple generations of families were chained to this land and many were buried here, as well. As the plantation declined, most of the Butler enslaved were sold at a Savannah racetrack between 2-3 March 1859, in what came to be known as the Weeping Time. Their sale to disparate buyers ensured that most would never see each other again.
In recent years, ownership has shifted between state and local sources and its future has been uncertain.
I made this photograph in 2008 and rediscovered it when I began re-editing my Sumter County images. The historic, largely forgotten New Era community holds a special place for me as a photographer of rural subjects. Its owners have allowed it to stand, long after it was abandoned, and in doing so they preserved a living museum of a certain place and time. They appreciated what it represented. Letting it go back to the elements is just part of that process.
This was a huge building, almost certainly serving an agricultural purpose. The front section at right was probably an office, while the remainder was a gin and/or warehouse. As best I can tell, the structure has since collapsed or was razed.
I photographed this interesting structure in 2018 and it has since been demolished. It has been identified as the company store and office of the Harden Lumber Company, which became the Vaughn Lumber Company in 1947. But Brenda Banks recalls: It was a store owned by a lady we called Mrs. Mitchell. I used to live near the store on Railroad Ave. Later I moved to Brooklyn Ave and patronized the store everyday until I moved to another location across town. It was a store on one side and and Mrs. Mitchell and her sister/daughter lived on the other side of the house. This was back in the 50s and 60s.
I believe it was originally just a commissary and was later expanded to include offices. lt was part of a group of buildings near the railroad tracks related to the lumber business. Some of the lumber sheds remain, as does the more modern office building of the Vaughn Lumber Company, across the road from this building. This is part of a larger neighborhood known as Trippton.
Through photos shared in social media, I’ve learned that this house, known as the Marcus McNair House, is presently being dismantled. I believe the lumber and other elements are being salvaged. This is an important vernacular house and it’s my understanding that it has remained in the same family since it was built in 1884. I’m glad I was able to document it and am glad the family did their best to save the house as long as they could. It’s very expensive to maintain these large old houses and in some cases, the liabilities outweigh the benefits. Preservation should always be the first option, but it’s not for me, or anyone else, to judge what someone does with their own property. I’m sure it was a difficult decision to go forward with this process.
