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.

Whitehall Village House, c.1935, Clarke County, GA

Whitehall Road, photographer facing north

This old home is located just east of the bridge on Whitehall Road, that spans the Oconee River, and across from the main entrance to the Whitehall Mill Lofts complex. Though wearing a fresh looking coat of white paint, all of the doors and windows in the home have been boarded. Overall, the house seems to be maintained very well in spite of the obvious lack of residents.

A quick search of the tax records revealed that the property was sold in 1999 to the State of Georgia, along with a few other adjoining properties that all have access to the Oconee River. It appears that the properties have been secured as part of an effort to lock up river front property for the future expansion of the Greenway. Though this two-acre property doesn't have river frontage, it was sold along with an adjacent thirty-one acre property by the same group to the state.

Current Whitehall Mill Lofts

As mentioned above, across the road is the entrance to the Whitehall Mill complex, formally known as the Athens Manufacturing Company. The original mill and mill race was constructed in 1830, and replaced in 1854 by a turbine mill. The turbine mill burned in 1892 and was rebuilt in 1893 with the mill that still stands, and was in operation until 1988.  The mill complex was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.

The surrounding community that built up around the mill was named Whitehall, and includes many examples of  mill town style homes. The abandoned home was surely connected somehow to the mill, though it would have been one of the more grand homes in the area. The White family purchased the mill in 1848, beginning three generations of mill ownership, thus being the origin of the name Whitehall. Their family home, White Hall, c.1892 is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and can be learned about  here.

At one time Whitehall was an incorporated city within Clarke County. In recent years, many of the smaller mill houses have been purchased and renovated, being located in a part of the county that has seen an explosion of growth in the past 15 years.

Hopefully, the old house is being maintained with a plan to incorporate it somehow into the expansion of the Greenway; perhaps as an interpretive center of some kind. Time will tell.

Appalachian Home, Pickens County, GA

Hwy 53 East, photographer facing south

Tucked away on a wooded tract located in the Marble Hill section of far eastern Pickens County, this old home is passed unseen by drivers headed east. It lies on a sweeping curve that bends to the southeast as the road leads towards Dawson County. In the summer, even drivers heading west probably miss it due to the dense foliage between the home and the road. The pictures in this post were taken in March of 2015.

Photographer facing south

The tax records show that this property was owned by Wyolene Wigington from 1955 - 1992, however the age of the home is not listed, and the locals I have asked about this property don't know much about it. I don't know if Ms. Wigington ever lived in the home, or leased it.

Stacked marble foundation, photographer facing NE

One man who grew up in the area remembered a Widow (pronounced "widder") Brooks living there. There was a good, cold spring at the property from which he and his brother would sneak a drink as they walked down the highway on hot summer days. They had to be fast about it though, because she was quick to holler at them to get out of there.

A few miles west of this site lie the marble quarries that have been important to the local economy. A closer look at the foundation of this home reveals the use of cast-off pieces of marble instead of the typical field stone of this area.

Photographer facing SE

The tin roof over the back porch was barely hanging on at the time of these photos, but the chimney is standing strong. The forest is slowly shutting this gem of an old mountain home off from the peering eyes and noise of today's traffic.

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.

Old McKee's Chapel, c. 1948, Dawson County, GA

From Hwy 183, photographer facing west

Located on Hwy 183, northwest of Dawsonville, GA, this modest brick structure is the second of the three structures that McKee's Chapel United Methodist Church has utilized. The initial church was organized in the 1860s in the form of a brush arbor (for those of you that are as unfamiliar with a brush arbor as I was, there's a great, short article here). 

Main entrance, photographer facing SW

According to the church's website, it was founded by people who were Union sympathizers during the Civil War.  Apparently Dawson County, like many of the counties in the mountainous region of north Georgia, was divided on the issue of secession. There is even a historical marker at the old courthouse in town that describes the unit formed (the First Georgia Volunteer Infantry Battalion) in the county that fought for the Union.

The church evolved into a campground with 14 cabins, and a log church, named Campground Methodist Church. In 1883, land was donated to the church by the Purdy and Bennett families, which was renamed McKee' Chapel to honor Joseph McKee who donated money (either $50 or $100, depending on the source) to construct a wooden frame church.

In 1909/10 the building was moved from its original location to where it is now, closer to the road. In 1948, the wooden building was replaced by the brick structure shown in these photos. 

From Hwy 183, photographer facing south

This structure was replaced in 1990, according to tax assessor's records. The new church building, with approximately 2,500 square feet is over twice as large as the old building. It is located across the highway.

Though no longer used as the main house of worship, it is apparently maintained by the congregation.

Adjacent to the old church is the cemetery, both silent reminders of a bygone era.

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 Matt School, c. 1945, Forsyth County, GA

Photographer facing SW, Bannister Road

The "Old" Matt School, named for the Matt Community, was constructed in 1945 and was used as a school until 1968. The northern part of the county that the school served is now served by Matt Elementary School which was built in 2001. The old school has since been used as a commercial structure, most recently as a retail mattress store that I'm not sure is open any longer.

According to the Matt Elementary School website, students walked to the old school and got their drinking water from a spring. An interesting concept for its time, the students didn't use desks, but sat on benches around an open fireplace.  

Photographer facing SE

In just about every community, there are old schools like this that are no longer in use. Many school systems turn them into administrative offices, and some, like this one, are used for businesses.

The old William Robinson School (where I attended the 7th grade) in Augusta, GA has been turned into residential housing. You can read about it here.

Photographer facing east

In these old structures, I'm sure any proposed renovation or restoration activities present challenges in dealing with hazardous building materials such as lead paint and asbestos.

However, the end result could be the preservation of structures that played such a large role in the shaping of this community's children, as well as providing housing for the increasing number of young professionals that are calling Forsyth County home.

Anyone have an extra million dollars laying around?