Surveys date this gabled-ell house to 1887 but I’m going to go out on a limb and say it was likely built earlier than that. Perhaps the left hand side of the house was built before the wing was added and it could even have antebellum origins. It really gives a Plantation Plain vibe. The entry door has a transom and sidelight and the window pediments are notable. It’s a hidden gem in Guyton and wish I knew more about it.
Guyton Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
Unusual for Georgia jails in its “domestic” appearance, the old Effingham County Jail was built on the northwest corner of the courthouse square in 1935 to replace a simpler wood frame structure that was located at the corner of Pine Street and Early Street. An early project of the New Deal agency known as the Public Works Administration, the jail was designed in the Colonial Revival style by Savannah architect Walter P. Marshall, with the jail hardware done by Dalton’s Manly Jail Works. As was customary for the time, the structure housed the sheriff’s family on the first floor and inmates on the second floor.
At at time when Georgia had come under national scrutiny for the abysmal condition of its jails, the Effingham County Jail was seen as a positive development. The editor of the Springfield Herald wrote, in part: …the placing of the jail building was very cleverly done by the architect to give the best orientation, thus providing sunlight to all rooms and cell blocks…and that the County Commissioners are to be highly praised for their efforts in making this modern jail a reality, and it will do much toward the true prison ideal of making a prisoner a better citizen after his or her incarceration instead of a resentful or unruly person.
Hubert Carr (1895-1986) was sheriff when the jail opened and served in that capacity until 1960. His wife Hattie and daughters Louise, Dorothy, and Juanita all lived in the facility. The National Register of Historic Places nomination gives insight into how different sheriffs were in the past and gives insight into the matronly role of their wives, often overlooked: Sheriff Carr ordinarily allowed homeless people or domestic violence victims to spend a night in the holding cell, and Hattie, the sheriff’s wife, cooked breakfast for them the next morning. Mrs. Carr cooked all the meals for the prisoners in addition to her family’s meals. She provided two prisoner meals a day, which consisted of such foods as black-eyed peas, eggs, gravy, rutabagas, lima beans, cabbage, biscuits or cornbread and usually some kind of meat for each meal. She also provided baked goods, like sweet bread. Hattie washed the prisoner’s clothes in addition to her family’s clothes, took phone messages for the sheriff, and, occasionally, watched the prisoners when the sheriff was out on rounds. In her daughter Louise’s words, “She was the person who held everything together.”
The Carr sisters became familiar with the prisoners. Juanita, the youngest daughter, who was six at the time the family moved into the jailhouse, remembered playing baseball in the yard while prisoners acted as umpires by calling out plays from the windows on the second floor. Juanita also remembered becoming friends with one of the Black, female prisoners. All the sisters remembered one particular prisoner who sang hymns, like “The Old Rugged Cross.” He was kept at the jail for several months, and the girls became very attached to him. There were also family parties and significant occasions, like weddings, held at the jail. In Louise’s words, “We never thought about it being a jail. It was just home to us.”
A new jail was completed in 1993 and since that time, the old jail has been a part of the Effingham Historical Society’s Museum and Living History Site.
National Register of Historic Places
This is yet another, slightly more formal example of the Georgian Cottage style. This photograph, like the one in the previous post, dates to 2014. The smaller dormer and balustrade give the house a very Victorian feel, without the extra ornamentation.
Since I photographed it, the house has been painted a medium yellow color and still looks nice.
Springfield Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
The Georgian Cottage, named for its floor plan and not the state, was perhaps the most popular house type in Effingham County. Some are called Salzburger Cottages, for the local Lutheran pioneers, so the form was obviously favored by them. Their carpentry skills were obviously evident to others in the county.
There are several different versions of the style, with this example having more of a Folk Victorian influence, but the floor plan, with four rooms and a central hallway, is consistent.
This photograph was made in 2014. I’m unsure as to the present status of the house.
Springfield Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
This house was built for teachers at the State Teachers and Agricultural College for Negroes between 1929-1930. It’s one of two contributing properties of the school that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is an important resource. It still serves an educational purpose, as the Monroe County Workforce Development Center.
National Register of Historic Places
The venerated firm of Bruce & Morgan designed this High Victorian courthouse, which still commands a prominent position in downtown Forsyth. The first official courthouse for Monroe County was built in 1825, just two years after the town was settled and four years after the creation of the county. It served the county until this structure was built in 1896. This building is noted for its distinguished courtroom, considered one of the finest in Georgia. A similar but less elaborate courthouse was designed by Bruce & Morgan for nearby Butts County two years later.
National Register of Historic Places
The building housing the Rose Theater was built in 1904 and originally housed a grocery store and warehouse. It was remodeled for use as a theater and given its Art Deco appearance in the 1940s. It closed in the late 1950s and sat empty for many years. In the 1980s, it was known as the Topless Bar, as it had lost its roof during the years it was not in use. In 1999, owners Dr. & Mrs. William Cummings donated to the local theater group, the Backlot Players, and renovations were completed in 2007. It is once again a focal point of downtown Forsyth and a great example of community involvement in the preservation of historic spaces.
Forsyth Commercial Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
Culloden, the oldest settlement in this area of Georgia, was once a bustling town, where the railroad brought in supplies from Atlanta and other larger cities, and where the economy was mostly centered around cotton until the 1920s. Agriculture remains a large employer to this day.
It’s similar to myriad other small towns across the state in the fact that after the waning of cotton’s prominence, people left in search of non-agricultural jobs, and the buildings that made up the commercial center were eventually abandoned. Most were general stores or offices.
One thing different about Culloden, though, is the fact that they decided to construct a building in the old style in 2005 that houses the city hall, library and emergency services. It’s a nice nod to local history and incorporates old bricks, perhaps recycled from an earlier structure near this site.
The building on the right was the old Bank of Culloden, erected in 1897.
Culloden Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
The public well was one of the most important gathering places in Georgia’s earliest towns and villages, as access to clean drinking water was a necessity and infrastructure was non-existent when forests were cleared for settlement. Though this well is dated to 1780, the well itself and the well house have obviously been updated over the years. Nonetheless, it’s an important place in the history of Culloden.
Culloden Historic District, National Register of Historic Place
An architectural survey identified this as having been an early filling station and dated it to the 1920s. It was used as a restaurant in the 1980s and now appears to be a private residence. In the 1920s and 1930s, and even as late as the 1950s, filling and service station franchises employed much more creative architecture than they do today. It has been suggested that the half-timbered details of this structure were a nod to the Scottish heritage of Culloden but there is no way to confirm that at this time.
Culloden Historic District, National Register of Historic Places