Tag Archives: National Register of Historic Places

Quitman’s Historic Walker Street School Lost to Fire

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One of Quitman’s most beloved historic buildings was lost to fire around 1AM on Friday (20 June 2025). Besides being a storehouse of memories for generations of Quitman residents, the Walker Street School was the work of Valdosta architect Lloyd B. Greer (1885-1952), who trained with the influential firm of Hentz, Reid & Adler before establishing his practice in Valdosta in the early 1910s. The Ludowici Tile roof was an added touch to this particular school, which stands out among other small schools in South Georgia for its inspired design. I am not sure as to the original name; some have suggested Quitman Elementary but I cannot confirm. A friend from Quitman, who informed me of this devastating loss, noted that restoration of the school was in the works and said architects had already drawn up plans. Arson is suspected but has not been determined. The fire is presently under investigation and the Brooks County Fire Department spent hours protecting the surrounding residential neighborhood and containing the blaze, which covered around 20,000 square feet.

The Walker Street School ablaze in the early morning hours of 20 June 2025. Screen capture. Courtesy Brooks County Fire Department. [This attribution is via a television newscast. If it is not correct, please let me know and I will change it].

Quitman Historic District, National Register of Historic Places

Historic Vienna School Lost to Fire

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The historic Vienna School, later known as the Jenkins School (elementary, I believe), was lost to fire this afternoon. It was most recently home to Faith Christian School.

Photograph Courtesy Vienna Fire Department, via Addison Langley

Addison Langley just wrote: “I lived just down from this school for many years, was babysat in the kids class by my aunt and played so much on that play ground. It currently is on fire. I’m so sad to see this beautiful place burn and truly disappear.“

Photograph Courtesy Vienna Fire Department, via Addison Langley

Beyond the Headlines: The Branch Family of Quitman

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Branch House, with a a display of Hydrangea, circa 1913-1915. Vintage photograph Courtesy Paul Petersen.

Paul Petersen, the great-grandson of Lee and Jamie Snow Branch, recently shared these photos of his family in Quitman. He wrote that they were: “… passed down from my Grandmother (Lalla Branch Kirkpatrick) to my Mom.  They now reside with my sister in North Carolina. In a strange coincidence, my sister was viewing these photos just last week, which she has not done in years.“

Jamie Snow Branch (1875-1937), circa 1913-1915. Vintage photograph Courtesy Paul Petersen.

Lee and Jamie Branch met a tragic end in this house at the hands of Jamie’s brother, Livingston Snow Branch, in 1937, and the case was sensationalized by local and national media. Paul added: “My Mom passed away 5 years ago along with any direct familial memory of events.  She was not yet born when her Grandparents were killed, so she has heard the stories from her Mother.  The article you wrote matches with the description of events passed down from my Grandmother to my Mom.  From our families side we speculate that Livingstone was perhaps bi-polar or schizo affective…“

Lalla Branch Kirkpatrick (1910-1993), circa 1913-1915. Vintage photograph Courtesy Paul Petersen.

Lalla was 27 at the time of this tragedy and long gone from Quitman by then. She married Charles Cochran Kirkpatrick in 1932, and they lived in numerous locations, as her husband was a rising officer in the United States Navy. He was eventually promoted to rear admiral.

Lee Whiting Branch (1871-1937), Lalla Branch, unidentified friend, Jamie Snow Branch, circa 1913-1915. Vintage photograph Courtesy Paul Petersen.

Lalla was undoubtedly devastated by the loss of her parents and I’m sure these photographs were difficult reminders of their lives in Quitman. I’m grateful to Paul for allowing me to share them. They show the family in happy times, as a means of putting a human face on his grandmother and great-grandparents, beyond the headlines.

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