This historic service station was home to Mae’s Fast Food when I photographed it.
Colquitt Town Square Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
Service Station, Colquitt
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Tag Archives: National Register of Historic Places
Town Square Storefronts, Colquitt
Colquitt is the county seat and only incorporated town completely located in Miller County. The historic courthouse burned in the 1970s and was replaced with a more modern structure, but the early 20th century storefronts remain. They comprise the retail center and only historic district in the county.
Colquitt Town Square Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
North First Street, Colquitt
The unusual structure advertising Sessions Peanut Company has become a landmark of Colquitt.
Colquitt Town Square Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
Old Post Office, Circa 1935, Cairo
The old post office in Cairo was built during the New Deal and has the characteristic architecture of the era. While some post offices of the time were built in the Neoclassical Revival style, this one is Stripped Classical, meaning, essentially, a “flatter” interpretation of Neoclassical.
An Art Deco patriotic shield is located above the entryway.
A mural by Paul L. Gill, entitled “Products of Grady County” was originally located in the post office but is now in the Grady County History Museum, just down the street.
Cairo Commercial Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
Commercial Block, Cairo
This is one of several commercial “blocks” located on South Broad Street. It was once home to Mobley Furniture and Appliances.
Cairo Commercial Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
Bishop’s Jewelry, 1948, Cairo
Bill and Evelyn Lett Bishop established Bishop’s Jewelry in 1948, and operated for 51 years. They sold it to their nephew, Mark Bishop, in 1999, and it remains one of the anchors of the downtown historic district. Most small towns had a jewelry store like this when I was growing up.
Cairo Commercial Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
Citizens Bank, 1908, Cairo
The Citizens Bank is one of the finest structures in the downtown historic district, defined by its narrow Neoclassical Revival facade. Many banks of the early 20th century embraced this style. Most examples are clad in marble or limestone. I believe this one is limestone.
Cairo Commercial Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
Warehouses, 1909, Cairo
Two historic freight warehouses survive along the tracks in Cairo. As a shipping point for syrup, they were quite busy, especially during the 1930s, when the town gained attention as the nation’s leading cane syrup producer.
Cairo Commercial Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
South Broad Street Storefronts, Cairo
The heart of Cairo’s commercial historic district is situated along South Broad Street and is largely intact.
The plaza parks make it a very pedestrian friendly area. A nice variety of commercial styles from the late-19th and early- to mid-20th century are present.
Most of these historic storefronts are still in use, and while few serve their original purposes, they continue to be the center of the community.
Cairo Commercial Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
Graco Barber Shop, 1921, Cairo
The Sanitary Barber Shop was established by Ben Lundy in the Cairoga Club Building in 1921. At some point, it became The Graco Barber Shop, which took its name from Grady County. It may be the finest surviving example of an historic barber shop in Georgia; it’s certainly the nicest one I’ve ever seen.
According to the Grady County History Museum: In 1936 the barber shop was purchased by Frank Massey and maintained by him until his death in 1965. One of his barbers, Winfred Robinson, bought the business and ran it until his retirement in 2010.
Long a popular Saturday stop for generations of Grady Countians it became much more than a just a place to get a haircut or a shave. Much like Floyd’s barber shop in Mayberry, it became the local information hub where people could catch up on the latest news and gossip. While they waited, pairs of combatants would play checkers while a group of kibitzers would gather around them and tell them what they were doing wrong.
Cairo Commercial Historic District, National Register of Historic Places