Robinson Service Station/Big T Auto Parts, c.(1915 or 1950)?, Dawsonville, GA

Photographer facing NE

Located directly north across Court Square from the Dawson County historic courthouse, this sturdy looking block building has been vacant for many years (at least since 2013). According to the official history of Dawson County, before Big T it was known as the Robinson Service Station. Most of the property now serves as parking for visitors to the new courthouse, and the Law Enforcement Center.

There are two references that cite very different years for the construction of the building. The Tax Assessor's webpage lists 1950 as the construction date, while this link references 1915 as the construction date.

Photographer facing NW. New Courthouse in the background.

The concrete block style is much like that of Salem United Methodist Church that is located in southern Dawson County. The church was built in 1914, so I'm kind of leading towards the 1915 construction date for this building.

If anyone knows more about this building, I'd love to hear about it.

Swafford House, c. 1904 Dawson County, GA

Hwy 136 W, photographer facing north

Photographer facing east

This home is located NW of Dawsonville, GA along a stretch of Hwy 136 W that begins a run of open pastures in a county that is primarily wooded. The home grabs your attention as you're driving west due to the yellow color of the siding. I'm not certain what you call the color of the stuccoed chimney, and rusted tin roof, but it certainly compliments the siding.

According to the book, "Dawson County, A History", Robert & Clara Swafford moved into this home in 1921. Who owned the house before that is unknown to me.

Photographer facing NW

According to a lifelong resident of the area, when Mr. and Mrs. Swafford passed away, their daughter Annie Swafford continued to live in the home. Unmarried, she earned money working as a seamstress, and passed away in 2001.

Swafford outbuilding, photographer facing north

The house and a few outbuildings, though not occupied, have obviously been looked after and is a great example of a 100+ year-old house that is still standing today.

Old Barn, Dawson County, GA

Afton Road, photographer facing north

Sitting at the edge of a small pasture, this barn is just upslope from a small creek that eventually flows into the Amicalola River. I have passed it many times, but on this clear day the light was enough to make me stop and take a photo. It sits on a 19-acre parcel that is across the road from a home that was built c. 1946. With no other old home around, I'm assuming that at one time these two properties were together.

Located in the northern part of the county, in an area that is still very rural with large acreage tracts, you'd never know you were just an hour north of Atlanta. This area is still far enough away from Hwy 400 (the main artery leading north out of Atlanta) that I have a difficult time picturing much change in the next 20 years or so.

Lake Sidney Lanier Trailer, c.1963, Dawson County, GA

Photographer facing south

The subject in this post is quite different from the old homes that I usually focus on. However, this represents a typical structure from a time when people used to buy small lake lots to build cabins, place mobile homes, and RV's as weekend getaways.

Buford Dam, which holds back the Chattahoochee River, was completed in 1956, and flooded the valleys in Hall, Forsyth, Dawson, Gwinnett, and Lumpkin Counties. The lake is so massive that it took three years from dam completion to 1959 for the lake to fill up to the full pool elevation level of 1071ft above sea level. Since then it has become the water recreation playground of many north Georgians, with approximately 8 million visitors annually.

Addition of roof, deck, and sun room, photographer facing SW

Shortly after completion of the dam, speculators began buying up what would become lakefront property. Many of these developments consisted of very small lots of a half acre or less which were pitched as RV lots to be used as a place to leave the urban areas, such as Atlanta, behind for the peace and solitude of Georgia's newest lake.

During the building boom of the early 2000's, these small lake lots were selling for $250,000 and up. Even after the recession, one can expect to pay a hefty price for the promise of a lake view, and the possibility of having a personal dock from which to launch your boat or jet-ski.

Along with these hefty prices are the expectations that a showplace home must be built. The casualties of this type of thinking are places like the one in this post. There is nothing fancy about a single-wide trailer, but that used to be the point, didn't it? Your lake house was supposed to be a rustic, minimalist getaway; a place to tune out the noise of television and traffic; a place to fish, lay in the hammock in the shade, read a book while enjoying the breeze that is whistling through the screen of an open window. A place to let the quiet envelop you as you visited with family and friends.

As people have amassed more personal wealth, it has become commonplace for the typical lake house to be a 2,500 sqft or larger, air conditioned palace with three and a half bathrooms, 100 channels of television, wireless internet, closed windows, and pizza delivery.

Photographer facing SE

This old lake getaway that was placed in 1963 is set to be removed for the construction of a new house, that will undoubtedly be much easier on the eyes, and will have a beautiful view. The lot next door has a 2,700 sq ft home
was built in 2007, and sold for $450,000 in 2013. It's hard to argue with those numbers, but when you go from a house in the city, with all the modern amenities, to a house at the lake with all the modern amenities, are the memories as special?

Some will see this as an improvement. Like the old homes that are normally the subject of my posts, these lake camps are disappearing fast, and will soon be gone forever.

Photographer facing SE

Update: To the right is a photo of the completed house taken March 22, 2017. Quite a contrast.

Howser Mill, Dawson County, GA

Photographer facing north.

Photographer facing east, Shoal Creek in the foreground.

Howser Mill is located on Howser Mill Road in Dawson County, GA, on the eastern bank of Shoal Creek. Some research is in order as a google search covering 15 pages revealed very little.

In the City of Dawsonville Comprehensive Plan 2008-2030, even though the mill is outside of the city limits, it is mentioned as the first producer of electricity to the city through the use of a turbine water wheel.

Winter is the best time to see the mill, as the foliage that is creeping up virtually covers the SW wall in the Summer.