Jim Morrison graffiti, U. S. Picric Acid Plant, Brunswick
Known as “The Factory that Never Was”, this place looks more like something one would encounter under a freeway in New York or Los Angeles than in Coastal Georgia.
As America entered World War I in 1917, construction began on a factory at the site with the purpose of manufacturing picric acid, then vital to the manufacture of explosives.
It was to employ 5000 during the construction process and 6000 during operation and promised an economic boom for the community.
But the signing of the Versailles Treaty on 11 November 1918 put an end to the war and an end to the U. S. Picric Acid Plant in Brunswick.
Construction was halted immediately and the site was abandoned, just a month shy of completion.
It’s been suggested that the remains seen here were multi-level, built for the separation of chemicals used in the process.
Over the years large sections were demolished and this is all that remains, to my knowledge.
A partial chimney, visible from I-95, was also part of the operation. (Not pictured).
I understand that another section remains nearby in the woods, overgrown to the point of obliteration, but I’m not looking for them so I cannot confirm either way.
At 88 years young Annie Lucille Greene doesn’t seem to be caught up in the past, yet her work draws heavily from memory. Mrs. Greene, who grew up in Hinesville in the 1940s, tells her life story through yarn art, a process which first involves drawing images on a surface, then gluing different pieces of colored yarn to create a seamless mosaic. There’s a strong similarity to the Impressionist style known as Pointillism. Mrs. Greene actually refers to it as yarn “painting” and upon seeing the work in person, one completely understands. Presently, she is exhibiting What Color is Water: Tales and Art About a Segregated South as the featured event of the Black History Art and Humanities Program at the McIntosh Art Association in Darien. I’m honored to have met and photographed this amazing lady.
Annie’s parents, Henry William and Ella Mae Tarver, were both pioneering black educators. They encouraged her doodling and drawing from an early age and they supported her creative efforts by buying art supplies. When Annie was 12, the family moved to Hogansville to work in the black school there.
Summers were spent visiting her maternal grandparents on their farm near Adel. Mrs. Greene told me she didn’t like the farm work, but she loved the food. “The food was really good,” she recalled.
Annie spent her first year in college at Spelman but wasn’t happy there. She transferred to Albany State and loved it, Upon graduating in 1954 she was offered a job teaching in LaGrange. It was there that she married Oliver Nathaniel Greene, a Social Studies teacher. They had two children, and while Nathaniel was in New York, completing his Masters in Education at Columbia University, Annie stayed home and took a break from teaching. Dean Robert Simmons encouraged her to go to New York University and she graduated from there in 1956. She received her Masters Degree in Art Education in 1961 and went on to have a long and successful career in the Troup County school system.
Her third and latest book, which is available at the McIntosh Art Association, presents a blend of her work, from early memories to the Civil Rights activism of the 1960s. The images are much better seen in person and I encourage anyone in the Darien area to visit the exhibit. Details can be found here.
The opening reception at the McIntosh Art Association was very well attended and I think everyone enjoyed meeting Mrs. Greene and her husband.
She has exhibited and toured her fine work all over the Southeast but doesn’t keep as busy a schedule as she once did. As a result, you might want to visit this one as soon as you can.
Altman’s is one of my favorite restaurants in McIntosh County and whether you’re a local or a first time visitor, you’ll feel equally welcome. Their specialty, of course, is local shrimp, but in addition to other local seafood specialties, they have some of the best fried chicken around.
That tide clock in the background isn’t for decoration; the men who bring in the shrimp eat here. That’s always a good sign.
The daily buffet is small but always has something for everyone. Their shrimp and brown gravy heaped over rice (below) may be an acquired taste for some but it’s a local favorite.
This tongue-in-cheek sign for an antique store greets you just as you cross the Satilla River bridge into Woodbine on US 17. It may be odd but it definitely gets your attention. It has become somewhat of a landmark itself. (This is an older photo, but I believe the sign is still there).
When it closed in 2009, Ida Mae & Joe Smith’s truck stop had been serving hearty meals to locals and travelers on U.S. Highway 17 for 71 years. When Interstate 95 was completed, most businesses on U.S. 17 struggled to stay open, but Ida Mae & Joe’s Southern cooking kept the tourists and locals coming. By 1990, Mr. and Mrs. Smith had both passed away and business slowed. None of the family wanted to run a restaurant so they leased it to Delores Vann, who was a longtime waitress at the local landmark. As Mrs. Vann’s health declined, she gave up the lease and other operators followed. Locals say it was never the same, though.
Some have suggested it was among the oldest truck stops in America, or at least one of the longest in operation.
I recently heard from Brunswick’s Planning Director, Bren Daiss, that this house was slated for demolition. She stated optimistically that the present owners would work with anyone who could move it to another location. Noting its connection to the Dart family, she was unclear as to which Dart resided here. The Darts resided in the vicinity of Dart Creek (Marshes of Glynn Park) from at least the mid-19th century onward and owned much of the land in this vicinity. An early-20th-century subdivision here was known as Dartmoor.
It last served as Dr. Hornbuckle’s veterinary office.
The Circa 1900 date for the house is a generalization made by the city; property records are spotty and suggest it was built between 1891-1920. Further research is needed.
This watering hole is a favorite with locals and I’ve always appreciated its mural of a cypress swamp. I believe it was named for the adjacent Cypress Cabin Court, (originally Delta Cabin Court, tourist cabins still standing and in use as apartments).
