Walls Farm Buildings, Dawson County, GA

Farm house, with visible stacked rock foundation, photographer facing north.

Sitting next to a paved road in just about as far south in Dawson County as you can get, this old home, along with a few other farm buildings, were hidden. Time had allowed privet, briers, and other choking vegetation to completely obscure the fact that somebody lived, worked, and sweated over this acreage that is located a quick jog away from Forsyth County. I have driven past this property several times over the past four years, and I never knew there was anything in there beyond what I assumed was an old poultry house.

Farm house, with hog pen (?) to the left, photographer facing SW

 The tattered remnants of the brick-patterned tar paper can be seen on the house, which appears to have doors on three sides. Windows were apparently not too important, or were viewed as a luxury at the time of construction. All of this was held snug between a tin roof above, and a stacked rock foundation below.

Undoubtedly, these structures over time would have collapsed with very little knowledge that they even existed. If they haven't already been razed, they will be soon, as this site was cleared for the construction of a new home.

I am assuming that this now slightly less than one-acre parcel was previously part of a larger farm, based on the Walls name being associated with other, larger parcels that are adjacent to this one.

L-R, house, block well house, outbuilding. Photographer facing SE 

Exposed along with the house is a concrete block well house, an outbuilding,  a hog pen, and a long building that appears to be a poultry house.

As with all of these posts, any additional information on the history of this property would be welcomed, and I ask you to share what you know. Every little detail brings these places to life.

End of poultry house, photographer facing NW

Old Homes Along Matt Hwy, Forsyth County, GA

5240 Matt Hwy, c.1936, photographer facing NE (house has been demolished).

Traveling west of Hwy 9 on Matt Hwy (Hwy 369) in northern Forsyth County, you can see the new creeping in on the old. Forsyth County is one of the fastest growing counties in the country. Located near Coal Mountain, just 45 miles from downtown Atlanta, this area has seen steady growth. Old houses fade away to be replaced by large, and quite expensive developments.

5240 Matt Hwy, photographer facing east.

The home shown in these first few photos is no longer standing. These photos were taken in 2015, and I'm not certain when the home was razed. This location will more than likely end up being a commercial development, given the lot size of less than one acre.

A tin roof, large wrap-around front porch, and an old well located right behind the house were some of the neat features of this home.

5240 Matt Hwy, photographer facing south. Well house on the left.

5240 Matt Hwy, photographer facing west.

Matt Hwy, c.1926, photographer facing east.

The second old farm place, shown here is located only about a mile from the first home in this post, and looks very similar from the side. Also with a well house located immediately adjacent to the home, the roof on this home has shingles, and the front of the house has more of a Craftsman look. Ten years older and in much worse shape than the 5240 home, this home, if not gone already, will be soon. The roof on the back section is open, and the front porch roof was also failing in 2015.

Matt Hwy c.1926, photographer facing south.

This site also has an out building and a barn (also built in 1926, according to tax records) still standing just 100' or so from the house.

Outbuilding and barn, c.1926, photographer facing south.

I haven't been by this site in a while, so I don't know if these buildings are standing, or not. Being next to a 60+ acre parcel that sold for $1.25 million in 2014, you can be sure that  this farm will soon be a memory.

Appalachian Farmhouse, Old Hwy 76, Fannin County, GA

Richards Branch Road & Old Hwy 76, photographer facing SW

This house is located at the intersection of Old Hwy 76 and Richards Branch Road in eastern Fannin County, GA. It can be seen looking south from Hwy 515 as Old Hwy 76 at this point is only 75'-100' to the south.  The front yard was littered with walnuts from last falls crop,  plenty of briars, and a band of daffodils running along the top of the embankment that leads down to Old Hwy 76.

A particularly noisy spot right now with the four-lane highway, I often wonder how quiet it was in these mountain spots before all of the traffic.

Large Walnut Tree and Daffodils, photographer facing south.