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.

Long's Chapel, c.1871, Rockingham County, VA

Photographer facing SE, 1999-2000

Located NE of Harrisonburg, VA, between the Valley Pike (U.S. Route 11) and the Massanutten Mountain Range, lies the site that was originally named Athens, but later changed to Zenda.

In 1869, four years after the end of the Civil War, newly freed slaves in Rockingham County were provided the opportunity to purchase land and begin building a community of their own. A couple by the names of William and Hannah Carpenter donated a sizable  portion of their land to the United Brethren in Christ for this purpose.

Long's Chapel was built the following year by Jacob Long, who was believed to have paid for the construction, thus the name.

Photographer facing south, 1999-2000

Slowly the community grew, and the Chapel served not only as a place of worship, but also as a school. The community also had a post office. By 1900, the community consisted of 17 homes and 80 residents.

The residents primarily worked as farm laborers, but the ability to own land gave them the opportunity to grow, financially.

Eventually a separate school was built in 1882, which the Rockingham County School District described as having seating for 28 students.

Photographer facing SE, 1999-2000

Over time, the community lost its steam, and by 1940 there was only one remaining African American family living in the community. Economic hardship, and manufacturing jobs lured people to large cities.

Long's Chapel, its cemetery, and the Wilson Family homestead ( the last remaining family) are all that remains of the community. At the time I took these photos, the building was in serious danger of being lost forever.

In 2004, a couple on vacation from South Carolina came upon the building, recognized its historical significance, and the rest is truly history. Read about it here, and also here.

The Chapel has since been fully restored, and in 2006 it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. An often too rare success story in historic preservation.

Photographer facing SW, 1999-2000

Appalachian Farmhouse, Rockingham County, VA

Photo taken 1999 or 2000

Located in western Rockingham County, Virginia, north of Rawley Pike (US Route 33) near Rawley Springs, this old farmhouse's days were numbered at the time I took the photos. Rockingham County was home to me from 1996 until 2001, and includes some of the most beautiful, pastoral scenery that rivals any agricultural area in the world. Although it was officially founded in 1778, the first settlers began arriving in 1727, when German-born Adam Mueller made his home on the South Fork of the Shenandoah River.

Over the next 50 years, European settlers (a large proportion of them were from Germany) traveled south from Pennsylvania and Maryland via the Valley Pike (US Route 11) to take advantage of the areas fertile farmland. This route was a much easier road to travel versus having to cross the Blue Ridge Mountains if you were traveling from the east.

Even today, the vast majority of the county is made up of active farms, and is the top poultry producer in the state. After poultry (primarily turkey), dairy operations are prevalent in the County, especially in the southwestern area that is heavily populated by Old-order Mennonite farming communities.

Photographer facing NW, 1999 or 2000

The location of this old farmhouse is marked by the rise of the Allegheny Mountain Range to the west, and the disappearance of the large, open, rolling pastures, and hay fields. At this point the fertile soil gives way to shale, giving this area a more hardscrabble appearance.

A few miles west of this location, tucked away on the eastern slopes of the Alleghenies, on the banks of the Dry River, is the old site of the Rawley Springs Hotel.

Since 1800, people had been utilizing the natural spring water of the area as a tonic that were professed to cure an innumerable number of ailments. The area grew in popularity, and by 1880 there were three hotels present with a total of 800 rooms. Sadly, two of these buildings burned in 1886, were re-built, then burned again in 1915, which marked the end of the resort's glory years. Since then the resort area is more well known as a place to cool off in the summer at the Blue Hole, or to try your hand at trout fishing. For more on the fascinating history of the resort read this.

Though close to the resort, and it's wealthy visitors, this old farmhouse and it's inhabitants were certainly living what must have seemed like a world away.

Fitts & Patterson Store, c.1928, Pickens County, GA

Photographer facing north

Driving on Hwy 53 between the communities of Marble Hill and Tate, in Pickens County, GA, this building commands your attention as it white color leaps out at you. This section of Hwy in northern Georgia, on the southern side of the Blue Ridge Mountains, is a stretch that passes two or three marble quarries that, when viewed on satellite images, appear as white as this building.

Pickens County is known as "The Marble Capital of Georgia", with mined materials used for a variety of purposes. The Pickens County Marble Festival website states:

               "For decades Georgia Marble has been mined and used to create historic architecture around the world, including the Archives Building in Atlanta, the New York Stock Exchange, the Supreme Court, the Lincoln Memorial, and our local Tate Elementary School. The marble is also used for tombstones for the United States Military at Arlington National Cemetery. Most of the marble is white, but there is also a very rare pink marble. It is one of the few places in the world where pink marble is found".

Photographer facing NE

Thjs structure is located right across the highway from part of the Imerys Marble operation. I don't know what the exact nature of the store has been through the years, but there is a "Drink Royal Crown Cola, Best By Taste Test" sign painted, barely discernible, on the western side of the building.

Many stores of that era that were build near a manufacturing operation were company stores, set up for the workers to buy goods, thus giving their money right back to their employers. Some companies went so far as paying their employees, not in U.S. dollars, but company money that could only be spent at the company store. Whether that practice was used here is not known to me.

One would have to assume it was at least operated as a grocery store at some point. In one blog post I found, the writer recalls that his family bought appliances there.

Photographer facing NE

The store is constructed of concrete blocks, with the classic stair-step pattern on the facade. I don't know what this architectural style is called, but it is present on many older commercial buildings in the south.

One thing that is certain, the exterior of these old concrete buildings hold up against the elements. At nearly ninety years old, this building doesn't look like it's going anywhere anytime soon.

21 Open Air & Groc., Saint Helena, Island, SC

Photographer facing west

Hwy 21 from Beaufort, SC to Hunting Island, SC in Beaufort County, travels through some of the most fertile farmland in the southeastern U.S.

Dotting the highway along this route are several markets which consist of a variety of structures, from old packing warehouses, pole buildings, a couple of canopies side by side, to covered shelving, the latter of which made up the 21 Open Air & Grocery.

To get to Saint Helena Island, you must cross the bridge over the Harbor River at Beaufort, landing on Lady's Island, then across a small bridge over a tidal tributary onto Saint Helena Island. The land is flat with wooded tracts and open farmland interspersed with the ever present tidal marshes. Called the "Lowcountry" for good reason, the elevation at the small town of Frogmore is approximately 30' above sea level.

Photographer facing  east

The islands were occupied by the Union Army very early on during the Civil War, in November of 1861. The islands 350 white inhabitants fled the island, leaving behind more than 2,000 slaves.

 Since this occurred before the January 1, 1863 Emancipation Proclamation, the slaves that were left behind were considered contraband, or spoils of war, caught in limbo between being a slave and being free.

Considered abandoned property, they became wards of the Treasury Department, and Saint Helena Island became ground zero for an experiment in transitioning the enslaved people into independent members of society. The Penn Center in Frogmore was the hub for this experiment, and still exists today as a center for civil rights study. You can learn more about this fascinating place here.

Many of the former slaves stayed in the Lowcountry, and remained heavily involved in the area's agriculture. Many of the markets along Hwy 21 are operated by their descendants. Every spring, strawberry harvesting signals the beginning of the bounty that floods into these markets. Tomatoes, squash, green beans, bell peppers, sweet corn, watermelons, are among the produce that covers the shelves in an array of colorful goodness.

The 21 Open Air & Grocery has been closed for several years. The gates at the front have been locked, and the sign encouraging you to eat Sunbeam bread is fading. I'm not sure what became of the older gentleman that operated this market, or why it closed. Perhaps it was the opening of the Barefoot Farms, a larger pole-barn market situated across the road that offered too much competition. Hopefully, someone will open those gates and get it up and running again. You can never have too many fresh local produce markets.

W.A. Dooley House, c. 1920, Oconee County, GA

Photographer facing north

I came across this gem last week on my way home from the dentist. It caught my eye as I drove past at about 50 mph, prompting me to turn around at the Oconee County Parks and Recreation headquarters. Surrounded by large hardwood trees, the size of the abandoned two-story house is what caught my eye. It has definitely been a long time since anyone has called it home.

Photographer facing NW

Like I do for all properties that I document, I pull up the tax assessor information online and look for the year built, as well as owner information, and any other specifics about the property. For just about every county in Georgia, you can search property information by entering the county name followed by qpublic in your favorite search engine. Except for those counties that want to charge a fee for this service, it is a wonderful resource.

The earliest ownership record shows the property was conveyed from W.A. Dooley in 1978. What came before that is unlisted, so I don't know if they were the original  owner.

This L-shaped home consists of 1,630 sq ft. The main part of the home is 40' across the front x 32' deep. The smaller section that extends off the back right of the house is 14' wide x 25' long. Also on the back left side is a 12' x 23' screen porch. The front porch is 8' deep and runs 33' across the front of the home. I can imagine the family sitting on the front porch on a hot summer afternoon, enjoying the breeze, perhaps listening to a rain shower hitting the tin roof.

Photographer facing NE

Located about halfway between Watkinsville and Bogart, this part of the county, other than the adjacent park, consists of large tracts of beautiful, rolling and open agricultural land. It would be nice if the county could purchase the home with its 20 acres and add it to the park, perhaps renovating the house as an example of an early 20th century farmhouse. Sadly, this one will probably be lost to time and the elements.

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.