Old Farmhouse, c. unknown, Franklin County, GA

Harrison Bridge Road, photographer facing east

Founded in 1784, Franklin County, located just northeast of Athens, GA is noted for its open pastures, rolling Piedmont hills, and poultry farms, lots of poultry farms.

The agricultural history of the county was rooted in a crop that is grown rarely in this part of Georgia; cotton. However, lack of crop diversification, erosion issues, and the Boll Weevil ended cotton's reign as the top crop in the region. Corn and sorghum were also staple crops of the county.

Today, poultry and livestock dominate the agricultural scene, with Franklin County being the top poultry producer in the state. The Franklin County Livestock Market is the largest in the state.

The county is dotted with older homes and a few schools, like this one, that are no longer occupied, and haven't been for some time.

Home to two state parks (Tugaloo and Victoria Bryant), as well as a few miles of Lake Hartwell shoreline make Franklin County a draw for outdoor activities.

Better known natives include baseball legend, Ty Cobb, former Georgia Governor Ernest Vandiver, and agricultural giant D.W. Brooks. You can read more about Mr. Brooks here. His story is a fascinating one.

With a dusting of snow

The photos shown here were taken at different points over a period of a few years around 2002-2005. I drove past this spot everyday on my way to Carnesville from Athens, and stopped to take a shot when the setting really caught my eye. The last time I drove by there several years ago, the home is almost covered on the front by vines and other brush. Maybe some of my Franklin County friends can shed some light on the history of this home and its former occupants.

Under a full moon.

T-shaped Farmhouse, Dawson County, GA

Crane Road, photographer facing NW

Tucked away in a wooded patch located in the NW section of Dawson County, GA, this home is a sleeping reminder of days gone by. Although it is unknown to me when this house was built, it is obvious that it has been many years since somebody called it home.

Photographer facing NE

Sitting upon a stacked rock foundation, with a collapsing wrap-around porch,the chimney on the south side of the house is standing strong, a testament to the craftsman that built it.

Adjacent to and down slope from the home is an open plowed field that, when looked at in aerial photos, looks like a long finger, or a snake stretched out in the sun, pointing to the NW. This field is almost 2,300' in length and a narrow 100'-200' wide. If this field was present when this house was new, I can only imagine the sweat and effort that went into clearing and cultivating this land.

Photographer facing NE

My grandfather worked as a sharecropper in the 1940's and 50's in Jeff Davis County, GA, and my mother remembers him working the garden area using a horse or mule-drawn plow. Based on some of the other homes I have researched in Dawson County, I believe that this house is c. early 1900s, perhaps late 1800s.

With respect to this property, if it was worked with a horse-drawn plow, I wonder how many passes would it take to cover this field, at nearly 1/2 mile in length?

Photographer facing NW

The wing that includes the wrap-around porch looks like it may have been added on to the original house. The porch won't be around for long given the sagging that has occurred. One tree appears to be helping to hold the roof of the porch in place. It is also an indicator of how long this house has been a remnant.

Two-story Farmhouse, c.1848, Union County, GA

From John Smith Road East, photographer facing NW

At the edge of  a pasture in northern Union County, GA stands this magnificent, two-story wooden, L shaped home. Built circa 1848, the owner must have been of substantial means. The feature that stands out the most to me is the 2nd story porch that is located on the front of the home. Few homes built in the mid 1800s  had two stories, much less a second floor porch.

From John Smith Road East, photographer facing NE

The property where this home is located also includes a home that was built in the early 70s and is obviously the primary home of the land owner. So many homes like this, if they haven't been torn down, destroyed by fire, or simply collapsed due to age, are typically covered by vegetation. Invasive vines such as Kudzu, Wisteria, Virginia Creeper; thick growths of privet, or other shrubs, and sometimes trees growing up inches from the foundation cause serious damage to these old structures.Thankfully, the owner has made sure that these grounds are maintained around the old home, allowing any passersby a glimpse of the past.

In the second photo, you will notice the mountains in the background, as you look past the house over T Chapel Road, and Hwy 129. These are the peaks of Gumlog and Ballard Mountains. These peaks rise from the floor of Union County, and fall down to the border with Cherokee County, NC.  The individuals that settled the surrounding lands were the heartiest of individuals. This area is still quite remote with respect to the distance to the nearest grocery store. When this house was built, the trip to Blairsville, GA or Murphy, NC by horse would have been an all-day venture.

Northwest side of home, with side porch 

If you're heading up Hwy 129 north from Blairsville, turn left on T Chapel Road, look to the right across the pasture as you approach the stop sign at John Smith Road East. The view will give you a glimpse into the 19th century, and allow you to imagine how magnificent it looked when it was first built.  

Old Farmhouse, Turner Road, Forsyth County, GA

Photographer facing east

Located a stones throw from Costco, and the Market Place shopping complex, there's no telling how long this farmstead will remain in its pastoral state. Located on Turner Road, sandwiched between Lake Lanier to the east, and the City of Cumming to the west, this home can be seen to the east from the new four-lane Market Place Boulevard.

As one of the fastest growing counties in the country, Forsyth's population has exploded from 44,000 in 1990 to the staggering 2013 estimate of 195,000 residents. The majority of this growth has been from high-income professionals migrating north from Atlanta. Forbes listed the county as the 13th wealthiest county in the nation. The transformation of the once quiet countryside to McMansion developments has surely swallowed up scores of places like this small farm, one that is unlikely to be around much longer.   

Rear, photographer facing SW

There are some interesting features that I discovered later in the photo of the rear of the house. The stacked rock base below the windows is a mystery to me. It looks like the base for a chimney, but it doesn't make sense for one to be in that location.

There are what appears to be two windows up high, but they are covered with hinged, wooden inserts. There is a two-wheeled pushcart, a Christmas tree stand, and lastly, one of the windowpanes has been replaced by a cardboard Little Caesar's Hot-and-Ready pizza box. It is also easy to spot the more recent addition to the left.

Outbuildings behind the house, photographer facing east

Behind the house is a taller than normal small barn or shed, the function of which I am unsure. An old outhouse lurks in the background.

Be sure to look around, even near new commercial development, and you might be able to step back in time.

Two-story Farmhouse, Dawson County, GA

Hwy 183, photographer facing NW

This gem is hidden behind vegetation that prevents travelers on Hwy 183 from seeing all but the roof of the house. Near an unincorporated area known locally as Emma, it sits about 200 yards off the highway at the end of an old gravel drive that is blocked by a metal gate. Judging by the size of the trees growing right next to the house, it has apparently been a long time since anyone has called it home.

Clear view of rock foundation, photographer facing NE

Great examples of a stacked-rock foundation, along with the chimney which begins as field stone with the upper third being brick. I imagine that the original top of the chimney had to be replaced, thus the brick.A smaller chimney protrudes through the roof of what is probably the kitchen area.

2/3 field stone chimney, photographer facing north

Wrap-around porch, photographer facing SE

There is also a neat wrap-around porch that runs from the north to the west side of the house. I'd love to be able to hear the conversations that occurred there on hot summer evenings.

Located near the higher elevations of the county, a few miles from Amicalola Falls State Park, the landscape probably has not changed much in the past 100 years. It is mostly covered with wooded tracts interspersed with an open hay field or pasture here and there. It's still a world away from the hustle and bustle of the GA 400 corridor that is located in the southeastern part of the county.

Etowah River Farmhouse, c. 1920, Dawson County, GA

Intersection of Etowah River Road and New Bethel Church Road, photographer facing SE

As you travel in a northeasterly direction away from Hwy 53 on Etowah River Road, you will notice the green, expansive flood plain of the Etowah River, the largest opening of which is connected to this home. It sits on a knoll that rises to the north, away from the river. The home sits on a little over 193 acres, including 6,000+ feet of river frontage. As you enter the sweeping curve where New Bethel Church Road comes in from the north, this home's beauty grabs your attention as it is easily seen from on the right.

At first I couldn't believe that the home's windows were boarded, because it appears to be in pretty good shape, as compared to a lot of the other homes featured on this blog; roof intact, paint still white, chimneys not crumbling, no visible collapse or rot. It is beginning to be overtaken by vines, shrubs, and small trees, but nothing that couldn't be cleared out in a weekend.

Photographer facing SW from Etowah River Road

The tax assessor's website lists the construction date of this home as 1920. It has a T shape with an extension off the bottom of the T, which can be seen in the second photo; possibly a later kitchen addition. Three brick chimneys grace all of the endpoints on the T.

You'll have to forgive my lack of proper architectural terminology. It's something I'm learning more about as I research these old homes.

An internet search revealed that one possible reason for the home sitting vacant is the proposal for the expansion of an existing 12-acre reservoir to a 138-acre reservoir that is planned nearby.  The outflow of the dam would be into Russell Creek which is the southwestern border of this property. Perhaps the owner is waiting to see the final plans of the lake and how it will impact the property. Until then this beautiful, nearly one hundred year old gem will continue to look lonely.

Waters Home, c. 1916, Dawson County, GA

Old Henry Grady Road, photographer facing NW

This old farmhouse sits on the west side of Old Henry Grady Road in the northern area of Dawson County, GA. Built in 1916, nearly 100 years ago, the area is still very rural, bordered by large-acre tracts of land to the west and the south. The area located between Hwy 136 and Hwy 183 contains some of the most bucolic land in the county.

The further north you travel, the more the Blue Ridge spine seems to rise out of the landscape, with openings in the trees revealing great views of the mountains. Rolling pastures, interspersed with wooded tracts make this section of Dawson County desirable for those seeking a quiet spot to call home. However, you won't see many "for sale" signs in this area. A suitable place for old homes like this one to pass the years, relatively unchanged. Hopefully most of metro-Atlanta's growth moving in a northerly direction will be tied to the GA 400 corridor, leaving places like this as it is for many years to come.

Old Farmhouse, C. 1910, Dawson County, GA

Etowah River Road, photographer facing NW

Sitting on a steady rise across the road from the lowland agricultural fields and flood plain of the Etowah River, this old home has stood the test of time for over 100 years. Based on the building materials stored on the front porch, it appears that the current owner is taking some care to make sure the structure stands a while longer.  A barn in an earlier post sits just southwest of this property. I wonder if in the early 1900s that the barn and this old home were part of the same farm.

Farmhouse, Union County, GA

Old Gumlog Road, Union County, GA

This photo of this home on Old Gumlog Road was taken in February of 2009. It was in pretty rough shape then, and I'm not sure if it's still standing. One of the interesting features on a lot of these old homes is the two front doors. Previous to doing some research on the two-door style of construction, I assumed that these old homes, at some point, were converted into duplex tenant houses. I have leaned that there are many different explanations on this subject.

Two Front Doors

One is that one door led to the family room, while the other door was for guests to enter the parlor which was kept in a more clean condition. I've also read that the style of the day was heavy on symmetry, thus there couldn't be just a single object appearing on the front of the home. The strangest thing I read was that the second door was to carry the dead out of the home feet first, but I can't imagine a construction feature to be included based on the future death of the inhabitants. 

Abandoned Farmhouse in Butler County, AL

Abandoned home with huge Cedar

 Driving south of Montgomery, Alabama on I-65 near mile marker 138, this is your view to the east. If you're driving north, you may pass it without even noticing. These photos were taken from my vehicle while stopped in the north-bound emergency lane. Too many big trucks blasting past for me to feel comfortable exiting the car. Looking at the map there was no other public road access nearby, so it meant a few harrowing moments to get these shots, but not enough to pass up the opportunity.
I have driven past this view several times and wasn't going to let it go on this trip.

200mm lens

In the top photo you can see the bog snaking its way from the house towards you. This appears to be an extremely wet site that is adjacent to Pigeon Creek. The huge Cedar Tree, to me, is what makes this a beautiful shot.

In the close up, you can still see the swinging shutters on the windows.