The Camilla post office, built by the Treasury Department in 1939, typifies the architecture of the New Deal, and contains a Works Progress Administration (WPA) mural. These classical buildings were “cookie cutter” in the sense that many have the same design, but they were architecturally and structurally sound, unlike the “cookie cutter” houses that seem to be everywhere today. Louis A. Simon was the supervising architect of the Camilla post office, though he was not involved in the actual construction. To my knowledge, it is still in use.
Camilla Commercial Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
Savannah may be as well known for its moss-draped ancient oaks as for its superb architecture, and the Candler Oak may just be the biggest and oldest of them all. Located about midway on the Drayton Street side of Forsyth Park, this regal oak is 54-feet tall, boasts a circumference of 17-feet, and has a crown spread of over 110-feet.
It’s older than Georgia itself, and at approximately 300 years old, is believed to have been a sapling in the early 1700s. By the time its branches shaded Union prisoners held in stockade here during the Civil War, it was already a substantial tree. From 1819 until 1980, the tree was a well-known landmark on the grounds of the Savannah Poor House & Hospital and Candler Hospital [the tree’s namesake]. It’s now adjacent to SCAD’s Deloitte Foundry.
It was nearly lost to progress and development, but was saved by the Savannah Tree Foundation in 1982, when that group obtained a conservation easement of 6,804 feet that insured its protection well into the future. This is the first known easement for a single tree. It’s now held together by screws and cables, surrounded by a formidable fence, and monitored by 24-hour video surveillance. Hopefully, all these protections will allow it to live long into the future.
Savannah Historic District, National Historic Landmark
Patt Gunn (second from right) and friends pose with the newly revealed Taylor Square sign
Mayor Van Johnson summed up Saturday’s dedication of Taylor Square, noting that “We’re not rewriting history…and we’re not making history. We’re making sense.”
For the first time in its nearly 300 year history, one of Savannah’s signature squares has been named for a woman, and an African-American. A large and festive crowd numbering in the hundreds was on hand on Saturday to see the dedication of Taylor Square, formerly known as Calhoun Square. Its previous namesake, vice-president John C. Calhoun, was a fierce advocate of slavery.
Susannah “Susie” Baker King Taylor (1848-1912) Courtesy Library of Congress
Its new namesake, Susannah “Susie” Baker King Taylor, was born into slavery and went on to become the first African-American nurse in the U. S. military and the only African-American woman to publish a memoir of her Civil War service (Reminisces of My Life in Camp). She was also a staunch advocate of creating educational opportunities for Black children and is believed to be the first Black teacher to openly teach African-Americans in Georgia. She established two schools in Savannah and another in Liberty County.
Savannah City Manager Joseph Melder introduced the event.
Reverend Jamie Maury of the Episcopal Diocese of Georgia led the ceremony with a prayer.
Patt Gunn
Patt Gunn, of the Susie King Taylor Center for Jubilee, who with Rosalyn Rouse spearheaded the effort to rename the square, thanked those in the neighborhood for their support. She also made references to her Gullah Geechee roots.
Donald Lovett
Donald Lovett, chairman of the Liberty County commission, spoke of Mrs. Taylor’s Liberty County origins.
Music was provided by the Wesley Monumental United Methodist Church choir.
Hermina Glass-Hill
Hermina Glass-Hill, who leads the Susie King Taylor Women’s Institute and Ecology Center in Midway, is the foremost authority on Mrs. Taylor’s life. She noted, “I can assure you that this revolution of unity in the city of Savannah…would certainly make her [Mrs. Baker] proud.”
Mayor Van Johnson
Mayor Johnson described the effort to rename the park, thanking those who led the effort and countless volunteers.
Dr. Bertice Berry
Dr. Bertice Berry inspired the crowd.
Rev. Ben Martin
Rev. Ben Martin is the senior pastor at Wesley Monumental United Methodist Church, which faces Taylor Square. He noted that the congregation was proud of the work done here.
The city hosted an all-day celebration in the square, with activities throughout the day.
This was a source of pride for the historic district.
Letha Moore (r) and Gena Taylor, who serves as Executive Director of the Greenbriar Children’s Center
I was honored to meet Letha Moore and even let her take my picture. She told me that she’s the unofficial photographer for her church.
People of all generations took in the festivities.
Hermina Glass-Hill poses with friends.
Van Johnson, Edna Jackson, Otis Johnson
Here, Mayor Van Johnson prepares to reveal the new sign, while former mayors Edna Jackson and Otis Johnson look on.
Savannah Historic District, National Historic Landmark
These two houses stand defiantly at the end of Jane Street, which was cut off years ago when changes were made to US Highway 84, rendering them largely inaccessible and at the least, impractical as residential dwellings. I haven’t been able to locate any history about them, but they are essentially twins. One has an open front porch while the porch on the other has been enclosed. I don’t know if they were built as early apartment housing or if they were owned by one family who just liked the practical design. They’ve looked like this for many years and short of being moved, I doubt they will ever have much appeal commercially. It’s really a shame, though, because I imagine they were well-loved at one time.
Waycross Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
This house is one of the nicer examples of the Neoclassical Revival in Waycross. Since this is a relatively early date for the style, I’m wondering if the portico and porches aren’t later additions. Perhaps someone in Waycross will know more. I believe it was empty for a few years but it definitely looks like it’s being cared for today. I was told that the cast iron fence was original to the property and that the owner once owned a house on the adjoining lot, a Victorian that was lost to fire.
Waycross Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
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.
The S. H. Kress Company was a chain of five and dime department stores established in Memphis in 1896. Samuel H. Kress was an avid art collector and aesthete, and many of his stores are considered architectural landmarks as a result of his ongoing interest in the decorative arts and a desire to place buildings of lasting importance in the communities his business served. Most locations featured lunch counters and excluded African-Americans from service, leading to general boycotts and an eventual loss of business by the 1960s. The company survived until 1981, but by that time, many locations had long been shuttered and the real estate sold or rented for use by other businesses. I’m not sure when the Waycross location closed but I imagine no later than the late 1960s or early 1970s. Downtown department stores struggled by that time as shopping centers and malls became preferred locations for shopping.
The Waycross Kress Building now serves as a real estate office.
Downtown Waycross Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
Now known as the C. C. McCray City Auditorium, the Waycross Municipal Auditorium opened in 1937. It was a project of the Lions Club and the Works Progress Administration, a New Deal Agency during the Great Depression. After years of decline, it was restored in 2014 and renamed in honor of C. C. McCray (1925-2019), the first Black mayor of Waycross.
Over the years, it hosted numerous luminaries, including Ella Fitzgerald, Johnny Cash, Louis Armstrong, Otis Redding, James Brown, and Billy Eckstine. But Elvis Presley might be the most famous.
To my knowledge this is the only surviving location in Georgia, besides Atlanta’s Fox Theatre, where Elvis performed in the 1950s. On 2 December 1955, he played his first date in Georgia at the old Atlanta Sports Arena. That building was demolished in the mid-1980s. Elvis performed two shows here, at the Waycross City Auditorium, at 7PM and 9PM on 22 February 1956, sharing the bill with the Louvin Brothers, Justin Tubb, Benny Martin, and Mother Maybelle Carter. To my knowledge, no photographs of the concert have been located. Just a few weeks after his Waycross appearance, Elvis had his first number one hit, “Heartbreak Hotel”.
An interesting bit of trivia: Waycross resident Gram Parsons (Ingram Cecil Connor III), who was nine years old in 1956, attended the Elvis concert in Waycross, with twins Daphne and Diane Delano, and got the rising star’s autograph after the show. Parsons would go on to be one of the most legendary and enigmatic figures in the music industry, playing briefly with the Byrds and influencing everyone from the Rolling Stones to the Eagles. He is widely regarded as one of the architects of the country/Southern rock genre.
Downtown Waycross Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
The first St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Waycross was dedicated on 12 May 1889. On 3 October 1896 it was destroyed by a hurricane. Father P. J. Luckie, who had come to Waycross in 1897, led the effort to construct the church seen here. It was built by local contractor T. J. Darling and the work was completed in October 1898. Unbelievably, another hurricane ravaged Southeast Georgia soon after the church was finished and during the storms, it was lifted off its foundation and badly damaged. Father Luckie had it repaired in short order.
It was moved just a short distance from another position on this lot in the 1920s and served the congregation until 1981, when a larger modern structure was built on Darling Avenue. In recent years, the old St. Joseph’s was used by the Lutherans but it may be empty at the present time.
Jason Canon recently reached out to share a bit of the history of St. Joseph Academy, a school established by the church. “The Order of the Sisters of St. Francis of Allegany opened the Academy in September 1948. It served both Catholic and non-Catholic students until its closure in 1976.
Downtown Waycross Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
