Tag Archives: Slavery in Georgia

Aaron & Margaret Parker, Jr., House, Circa 1830, Rockdale County

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Aaron Parker, Sr. (1758-1831), and his family migrated from Caswell County, North Carolina, to Georgia in the 1820s. His son, Aaron Parker, Jr. (12 November 1788-5 January 1881), and his wife Margaret Browning Parker* (30 June 1789-6 August 1871), bought three land lots on the east side of Panola Mountain in what was then known as the Brushy Knob District. It was part of Henry County until 1870.

*-I have learned that I am a cousin of Margaret Browning Parker.

Aaron, Jr., and Margaret were successful in Franklin County (now Clarke County) and were eager to invest their capital in the Georgia frontier. The Plantation Plain house they built circa 1830 became the center of a 2700 acre cotton farm, worked by as many as 24 slaves, and represents the first wave of white settlement into newly opened Native American lands.

The house was restored in 2016 and is part of the Arabia Mountain National Heritage Area. It is among the oldest standing structures in Rockdale County.

National Register of Historic Places

Swanscombe, 1828, Covington

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Swanscombe was built by the first white settler of Covington, Cary Wood, and is the oldest house in the city. It was originally a more simple form; the columns were a later addition, but they were present before the Civil War. The descendants remained in the house for several generations until selling the property to Thomas C. Swann in 1884. The name Swanscombe was given to the house during his ownership.

Floyd Street Historic District, National Register of Historic Places

Neal Patterson House, 1850s, Covington

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This Greek Revival landmark, known locally as “The Cottage”, was built for Neal Patterson between 1855-1859.

Floyd Street Historic District, National Register of Historic Places

Robert Usher House, Circa 1840, Covington

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Robert O. Usher (25 April 1809 – 9 May 1859), a prosperous merchant in Covington, built this house circa 1840, and it remained in the family for over 90 years.

Floyd Street Historic District, National Register of Historic Places

Judge David A. Vason House, 1855, Albany

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This is the most important architectural landmark in Albany, and one of the most significant surviving Greek Revival homes in Southwest Georgia. It was built by Judge David Alexander Vason (12 February 1818-13 July 1891). Judge Vason, who was married three times, was the grandfather of one of Georgia’s most prominent architects, Edward Vason Jones. Edward grew up in the house [the Georgia Archives holds a photograph of the infant Edward with his African-American nurse, Leila Perkins] and later restored it to a state befitting its elegance.

W. E. Smith House, 1860, Albany

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The historic marker for the house, placed by the Georgia Historical Commission in 1958, is titled “Albany’s First Brick House”.

It gives this brief overview of the home’s history: Built of brick hauled from Macon by wagon, this house was completed in 1860 by Congressman William R. (Tete) Smith for his bride, Caroline Williams Smith. The interior trim and mahogany stair rail came from New York; the furnishings were imported from England. Flower beds were laid out in Masonic designs with statues of Minerva and Flora prominently displayed. Captain of the Albany Guards of the 4th Ga. Regt., Smith lost a leg in the Battle of King´s Schoolhouse, Virginia. Member of the Confederate Congress and, later, of the U. S. Congress, he was an able lawyer and a beloved citizen of Albany.

National Register of Historic Places

Bethel Baptist Church, 1828, Hancock County

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By some accounts, Bethel Baptist is the oldest surviving congregation in Hancock County. Land for the first church was purchased from Benjamin Thompson in 1801 and it was constituted in October 1802 by Elders Thomas Mercer and Benjamin Thompson, with twelve members. It was located on Old Bethel Hill about three miles east of Sparta on Shoals Road.

I’m dating the structure to 1828 based on the Baptist Association Minutes of 1880, which state: This church was first located on what is now known as Old Bethel Hill about three miles east of Sparta. We are unable to tie the history of this church from its constitution, till the year 1828. In February, 1828 it was removed to its present site, six miles east of Sparta, near the banks of the Little Ogheechee [sic] river. The land for the new site was deeded by John S. Latimer, and the deed names the following trustees of the church: Jesse Lockhart, David Hitchcock, William Barksdale and Byrd W. Brazill. It’s possible that this notation only indicated that the congregation itself changed locations and the church structure came later but the minutes make no mention of this.

They also note that before the Civil War, a third of the membership was African-American, indicating that members brought enslaved people to services. After Emancipation, they formed their own church, known as Hickory Grove.

Thomas Cobb Moore House, 1830s, Sparta

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In The Houses of Hancock 1785-1865, Thomas Rozier identifies this as the Thomas Cobb Moore House. Since Moore was born in 1861 and died in 1914, he would not have been the builder. I’ll update when I learn more.

Sparta Historic District, National Register of Historic Places

Henrietta Plantation, Circa 1857, Lowndes County

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This is one of the oldest surviving houses in Lowndes County. Built circa 1857 by Mills Murphree Brinson (1812-1860), it was later purchased by his son-in-law, Remer Young Lane (1826-1917). Lane was married to Brinson’s daughter, Henrietta (1836-1918). Remer Lane was a successful banker and in the 1890s was a principal investor in the Strickland Cotton Mill in Valdosta. When it opened in 1899, the surrounding mill village was named Remerton in his honor.

Lane’s son, Mills Bee Lane, Sr. (1860-1945) was the next owner of the plantation, which he named Henrietta for his mother. He was instrumental in the establishment of the Citizens and Southern (C&S) Bank and under his leadership it became one of the most profitable financial institutions in the nation.

Brown Hill Baptist Church, Bleckley County

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Brown Hill Baptist is the oldest African-American congregation in Bleckley County. According to the sign, and other Bleckley County sources, it dates to circa 1795. This is an extremely early date for any congregation in this area and probably needs further documentation. Such an early date would suggest that the congregation was likely established on a plantation by enslaved people. The present structure is of much more recent construction. The church also had a school until 1969. That structure now stands on the grounds of Bleckley County Middle School.