Tag Archives: National Register of Historic Places

Hillman-Bowden House, Circa 1860 , McDuffie County

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This Greek-Revival Georgian home was the center of large plantation owned by Josephus Hillman (c.1827-1880), who was one of the wealthiest men in what would eventually become McDuffie County. Though 1860 is generally accepted as the date of construction, there is no official documentation of this date. Typical of his time, Hillman was an enslaver, and the success of his agricultural operations was dependent on this fact. He became a Baptist minister during the Civil War and served as pastor of Thomson First Baptist Church in 1870-1871. Though his fortunes were greatly reduced by the end of the Civil War, he was able to continue his operation with tenant farmers and sharecroppers, including 11 of his former slaves. Failing health led Hillman to sell his plantation to Methodist minister Felix P. Brown in 1879.

Brown sold the farm to the Pylant brothers in 1897 and the property again changed hands in 1905, when it was purchased by William K. Miller as an investment. Paul Akers Bowden (1876-1968) ) bought the farm in 1916. Bowden, nor its next owner, Lucille Bowden Johnson (1903-1994), never lived full-time in the house, but Lucille undertook major renovations in the 1950s. After Lucille’s death, it was owned for a time by the Wrightsboro Quaker Community Foundation, but I believe it is once again a private residence.

National Register of Historic Places

Buena Vista, 1893, Milledgeville

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This Queen Anne townhouse was built by J. B. Pound in 1893. Identifying J. B. Pound is more difficult than dating the house. There’s a J. P. Pound buried in Memory Hill with no birth or death dates given on the headstone, but I think J. B. Pound was more likely Jerome Balaam Pound (1863-1952). Pound was a native of Dooly County who went on to become a prominent newspaper publisher and hotelier. He owned the DeSoto Hotel in Savannah, as well as two hotels on Tybee Island, the Hotel Seminole in Jacksonville, and the Hotel Patten in Chattanooga. He began his work in newspapers as a printer in Macon in 1887, and by 1888 had launched a newspaper in Chattanooga. Considering his Georgia connections, having a home in Milledgeville in 1893 doesn’t seem far-fetched, though certainly bears further research. Whatever the case, his association with the property was short-lived. He spent most of his life in Knoxville and Miami Beach.

Edgar Jefferson Flemister (1858-1930) and Ida Callaway Flemister (1858-1936) purchased the home circa 1902 and it remained in the family until 1993. I believe the name “Buena Vista” was assigned the house to honor the wife of owner Malcolm McKay Flemister (1890-1960), Buena Vista Barrett Flemister (1893-1992).

Milledgeville Historic District, National Register of Historic Places

Trinity CME Church, 1921, Milledgeville

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Trinity CME is one of Milledgeville’s most historic Black congregations. Some of the founding members attended the Methodist Episcopal Church with their enslavers, but newly freed, they soon formed their own congregation, in the mid-1860s. They built their first church at the corner of Liberty and Franklin Streets, beside Memory Hill Cemetery. A grand renovation took place in 1883 and the work was done by Charlie and Frank Steele and William Brooks; some sources even note that it had the largest steeple in Milledgeville. The Rev. Gideon Hill was prominent in the church during this period.

After the old church burned down, the present church, itself a Milledgeville landmark, was built in 1921 during the pastorate of George L. Word. It’s located at the corner of North Wilkinson Street and West Thomas Street.

Milledgeville Historic District, National Register of Historic Places

The Asa Chandler House, One of Elberton’s Oldest, Is Being Demolished

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A comment on the website indicated that the Asa Chandler House had recently been demolished and will be replaced with a gas station. (Update: It’s an Aldi and townhomes, but I digress).

Asa Chandler House during deconstruction. Photo shared exclusively with Vanishing Georgia.

I always try to vet such reports, and, sadly, contact with several people aware of the situation has confirmed that it is indeed a loss, actively being dismantled.

Asa Chandler House during deconstruction. Photo shared exclusively with Vanishing Georgia.

Someone who lives nearby even shared photos of the “work in progress”.

Asa Chandler House during deconstruction. Photo shared exclusively with Vanishing Georgia.

Cate Short notes that the ancillary kitchen was saved and removed, and that some salvage of the architectural features was done, but this was not the outcome anyone who knew this house was hoping for.

Camilla and Zack Hubert Homesite, Hancock County

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Camilla and Zack Hubert, circa 1910-1925?, photographer unknown. Public domain photograph via Caroline Gilmore Maxwell/Findagrave.

A Georgia Historical Society marker at this site notes the location of the former home of Camilla and Zack Hubert. It reads: Zack Hubert, a former Warren County slave, moved here with his family in 1871. The Huberts were among the first African-American landowners in central Georgia and played influential roles in the area’s African-American community. They named their homesite Springfield. Zack Hubert married Camilla Hillman in 1873. Hubert donated land and helped with construction for Springfield Church and its school, an early provider of technical education to African Americans in Georgia. All twelve of the Huberts’ children were college educated, and two became college presidents. The site includes the Log Cabin Center, maintained by the Association for the Advancement of Negro Country Life. Camilla and Zack Hubert are buried beside Springfield Church.

Please read here for more information about these amazing visionaries.

Camilla-Zack Community Center District, National Register of Historic Places

Springfield-Log Cabin Cooperative Store, 1930, Hancock County

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A small cooperative store, built from local stone, was constructed in the Springfield-Log Cabin community in 1930. It was the first store in this area, other than a commissary on the Zack Hubert farm, and a popular gathering place. The covered pavilion out front encouraged outdoor visits .

A cafeteria used by students of the nearby school was located adjacent to the store. It was also built of local stone but has been gone for many years.

Camilla-Zack Community Center District, National Register of Historic Places

Springfield Baptist Church, 1879, Hancock County

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Springfield Baptist Church took its name from the community of freedmen that grew up around the Black-owned farms of the three Hubert brothers, Zack, David, and Floyd. When clearing land in the mid 1870s, one of the brothers discovered a large spring across the road from the present location, and services were first held in a brush arbor near the spring.

In the November 2002 issue of Reflections, the newsletter of the Georgia African-American Historic Preservation Network, Jeanne Cyriaque indicates that by 1877 Zach Hubert had already implemented a church building program for the burgeoning congregation. She also notes that the church was built the next year. I believe it was formally dedicated on 12 July 1879. If this is the original church building, it was obviously sided with brick later in its history. The congregation remains active today.

Camilla-Zack Community Center District, National Register of Historic Places

Cabaniss-Hanberry House, Circa 1805, Jones County

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The Cabaniss-Hanberry House, located in the vicinity of Bradley, is one of the most iconic works of domestic architecture in Georgia. The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation, who stabilized and restored the exterior in 1999, describes it as “…a vernacular example of Jeffersonian Classicism…and possibly the only remaining house of its form in Georgia...”

The builder of the house, George Cabaniss, Sr., (1744-1815), was the Virginia-born son of Mathieu Etienne Cabanis (1710-1789). His grandfather, Henri Hubert Cabanis (1655-1720), was a French Huguenot who fled to Virginia in the late 1600s.

After service in the Revolutionary War, George married Palatea Harrison (1758-1822), in 1781. In the 1790s, he was one of several Cabaniss siblings who “…began a succession of migrations with parts of their families, first to North Carolina and then to Georgia. Some of the family eventually moved on to Alabama.” He first came to Greene County before eventually settling in Jones County.

He built this house circa 1805, undoubtedly with the labor of enslaved men, and sold it to his son Harrison Cabaniss (1782-1819) in 1811, after building another home near present-day Round Oak. After Harrison’s death, his widow, Sarah “Sally” Kirk Cabaniss (1798-1848) remained on the property until her death. She left 1215 acres and 29 slaves to her grandchildren. The house was occupied by descendants of its builder until the late 1950s or early 1960s.

Some notable descendants of George Cabaniss, Sr., include Dr. Palacia “Pallie” Wilson Stewart (1805-1866), one of the first licensed women physicians in Georgia, and Henry Harrison Cabaniss (1848-1934), an early owner of the Atlanta Journal and vice-president of the Cotton States and International Exposition.

National Register of Historic Places

Juneteenth Mural, Eastman

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The long-abandoned Peabody School lunchroom, which was designed by the architectural firm of Stevens and Wilkinson in the International Style in 1957, was transformed into a beautiful work of public art with the creation of this inspiring mural by Kevin “Scene” Lewis celebrating Juneteenth. Kevin told me the mural was completed in 2021.

Juneteenth became a federal holiday in 2021, but it has been an important day of remembrance and optimism since it was first celebrated in Black churches in Texas in 1866. It recognizes the end of slavery, which occurred at different times in various locations. The date of 19 June 1865 is the source of the holiday’s name, recognizing Major General Gordon Granger’s General Order No. 3, which forcibly freed all the enslaved people of Texas. This is significant since many planters and slaveholders from Eastern states fled to Texas to escape the war, bringing their slaves with them. Amazingly, the enslaved people of the border states of Delaware and Kentucky did not achieve their freedom until the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment on 6 December 1865, but since Texas first began observing the holiday, the Juneteenth moniker has been used for all celebrations of emancipation.

Kevin “Scene” Lewis, has a story as interesting as his murals. Born in Youngstown, Ohio, he grew up in southeastern Virginia, and embraced art from childhood. His talent for drawing and graffiti led him to a double major in Communication Arts and Illustration at Virginia Commonwealth University. After graduating near the top of his class, he was headed to California when his car broke down in Kansas. While working to get it repaired, Lewis met his future wife, Reatrina, who was serving her first year in the Air Force. After they married, they were stationed around the world for several years but eventually landed in Warner Robins, as Reatrina wanted to be closer to her family in Unadilla.

Lewis had already embraced the Macon arts scene when he learned that his grandfather was a native of the city. In 2022, he told the Middle Georgia Times, “I just want to keep letting the city know that I know I’m not from here but this is my home. My grandfather was from here and I want to put roots here in the city and make an impact.” He is definitely making an impact. An accomplished muralist, his work can be found all over the state, and his smaller scale works have attracted a growing number of collectors. Visit his website here.

National Register of Historic Places

Old Post Office + Federal Building, 1918, Fitzgerald

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This Colonial Revival post office was always one of my favorite buildings when I was growing up. It was built in 1918 to replace the old granitoid post office that stood a block east on the corner of Central Avenue and Main Street. It was based on plans of James A. Wetmore, Supervising Architect of the Treasury Department. There were variations of Wetmore’s plans, and hundreds of similar or identical structures were built throughout the country. There’s a “twin” to the Fitzgerald post office in Barnesville, and there are likely others in Georgia. When a new post office was built on Main Street [opened in 1966], this structure became known as the Federal Building and still houses federal and county offices.

An aside: Alvin G. Brown (1876-1955) was the face of the post office for many years, an ambassador if you will, serving as a mail carrier from 1909-1941 and known in earlier years for using a horse and canopied mail wagon. His father was an original Fitzgerald colonist from Iowa. Brown also served a brief term as Fitzgerald mayor, if I recall correctly. I know he ran for mayor because somewhere I have a card from the campaign, showing him on his mail wagon.

Swan Postmasters, 1888-1895: Benjamin Drew, 1888-1891; William O. McKeithen, 1891-1892; Missouri A. Ford,1892; Kate Drew, 1892-1893; and David Drew, 1893-1895.

Fitzgerald Postmasters 1895-1978: David Drew, 1895-1897; David E. Peiper, 1897-1900; James William Huggins, 1900-1901; William H. Marston, 1901-1911; Eleanor M. Marston, (Acting Postmaster), 1911; George E. Ricker, 1911-1915; William A. Adams, 1915-1940; James Jarratt Pryor, 1940-1964; Clifford A. Pickens, 1964-1973; Baney R. Adams, 1973-1978; Idaleen C. Callis, 1978; John J. Wiggins, 1978-

Fitzgerald Commercial Historic District, National Register of Historic Places