The old main post office for Columbus is still used as the downtown branch. It has also housed the federal court house and numerous government offices. The classically influenced Renaissance Revival landmark was designed by local architect E. Oren Smith under government contract. The style is commonly found among public buildings constructed circa 1900-1930.
National Register of Historic Places
This is one of a few remaining rural homes in Long County featuring Ludowici tile.
The house pictured below is thought to be one of the last surviving* employee cottages built by the Ludowici Celadon Company when they operated a factory in the community that took its name. There was likely a row or two of these houses near the Celadon plant, and some have referred to this area as the “White Line” because the segregated housing of the time had its boundaries nearby.
Though it appears to be of the saddlebag form, it is actually a hall-and-parlor cottage, with two rooms, a shed room, and preacher room, and is typical of factory housing of the era.
*- The location of the house is the primary reason for the identification as factory housing. It is possible that another of the factory structures survives on a nearby property not visible from the street. The postcard, mailed on 18 March 1915 to Ruth Potter of Lawton Station, New York, also contains a message that “…This is the roofing plant at lower end of this town. There is housing for workers…”
At one time, this was the home of Ludowici High School principal J. C. Cato. It is a typical central hallway cottage with an added shed room and features a Ludowici tile roof. Dates for the house vary in different sources, most landing between 1945-1952. The house is much older than that, likely circa 1910-1920.
This house, which has been identified as the Allen Johnston House, was razed in the past few days. Debate continues as to the date and early ownership of the house, which local sources cite as circa 1858. While a few hand-hewn beams were visible in the ruins, most of the carpentry appears to be later than 1858. Even if the house as it appeared before demolition dated to the 1890s, as some have suggested, it would be one of the oldest in Ludowici.
The chimneys are all that remain.
Like all of South Georgia, Long County saw what was likely record snowfall from Winter Storm Enzo. Amazingly, similar snowfall occurred in the area in 2018. Some random landmarks from throughout the week are shared below, most of which are in Ludowici. I’ll also be sharing some nature-based images from Griffin Ridge.
Ludowici Well Pavilion, Ludowici
Speed Trap Shake Shop, Ludowici
Ludowici Depot
Box cars crossing Main Street, Ludowici
Royal Inn, Ludowici
Long County Public Library, Ludowici
Oak Street, Ludowici
Johnston House, Ludowici
Godfrey House, Ludowici
Gerald Nobles House, Ludowici
Shopping Center, Ludowici
Storm Responders on US 84, Ludowici
The First Bank, Ludowici
3rd Street, Ludowici
McClelland House, Ludowici
Parker’s, Ludowici
Circle K, Ludowici
Ludowici Drugs
Howard Funeral Home, Ludowici
Bullard House, Ludowici
Lloyd Chapman House, Ludowici
Tobacco Barn, Long County
Jones Creek, Long County
Jones Creek Baptist Church Cemetery, Long County
Jones Creek Baptist Church, Long County
Waycross has one of the oldest active YMCAs in Georgia, founded and chartered in 1896. They met in a hotel until constructing this delightful building in 1908. A second YMCA building was completed in collaboration with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in 1911 at another location for the purpose of housing railroad men. My father recalls staying in that building during his railroad years and notes that it was quite run down by that time. By 1971, all YMCA operations were relocated to a new facility on Plant Avenue. This building, on Pendleton Street, was sold to the city in 1916 and has served as the Waycross City Hall ever since.
A plaque near the front doors notes: The Georgia National Guard for the City of Waycross was housed in the basement of this building prior to World War II. On Sept 16, 1940 the members of Co. F 121st Inf. Regiment passed through these portals for their first day of active duty in World War II thereby becoming the first unit from Waycross to ever serve our nation. Men from this company served with honor and distinction in every major engagement in Europe against Germany. In honor and memory of their devotion to freedom this marker is respectfully dedicated.
Downtown Waycross Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
When built as the Waycross Post Office in 1911, this structure was originally one story with a basement. It is credited to James Knox Taylor, Supervising Architect of the Department of the Treasury, but Taylor himself was not always directly involved in individual designs due to the number of projects the department was involved with at any given time.
A second floor and wings were added to the post office in 1936, under the supervision of G. W. Stone. This expansion was made to accommodate the inclusion of the federal courthouse of the Southern District of Georgia. It was also an officially designated fallout shelter during the Cold War. The facility closed in 1975 when the post office and courthouse, respectively, moved into larger more modern facilities elsewhere in town. It sat empty for a time but has been home to an antiques gallery and other businesses in recent years.
National Register of Historic Places
When built in 1907, this downtown Waycross landmark at the corner of Mary and Tebeau Streets was originally the lodge of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elk (B.P.O.E). After the Elks relocated to another facility on Plant Avenue in 1962, it served several tenants but most notably has been home to several popular restaurants over the past 50 years or so. To me, the most memorable was the Carter House, where my family would occasionally eat when we visited my father when he was in town overnight with the railroad. It was just down the street from the railroad men’s home at the time, the then-derelict Ware Hotel, and featured homestyle Southern cooking. Besides the old Green Frog, the Carter House was perhaps the most beloved Waycross restaurant of its day. Whitfield’s and the Crab Trap have also been located here.
Downtown Waycross Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
This superb Craftsman cottage is made even more interesting with its Ludowici Tile roof and shingle siding. It’s a two-story version of the more common single-story bungalow that is synonymous with the Craftsman style. There are some great homes in Barnesville’s historic residential area but I haven’t had much luck identifying any of them. Nonetheless, if you ever need a break from the traffic on I-75, this small town best known for its history of buggy manufacturing is definitely worth a drive-through or walk-around.
Thomaston Street Historic District, National Register of Historic Places