The front end and engine of this bus were built by Studebaker. Quincy Webb suggests that the body was likely manufactured by Bluebird in Fort Valley.
The grill style dates the bus to around 1947, but it was likely used well into the 1950s by Ben Hill County.
Vanishing Georgia: Photographs by Brian Brown 
Is this bus for sale?would enjoy rebuilding.send texts to (312-869-0898)thank you.
It is no longer there. Don’t know what happened to it…
I know what happened to it, because I’m the one who saved it from the scrappers trying to haul it off.
I love this kind of photography and look for places of old myself – where is this bus? The VP of the Macon Camera Club and I are coming down to Fitzgerald Friday to shoot Young’s Chapel but would like to shoot a few old memories as well.
Thank you
Wonderful shots of a great old bus.
Brian,
That old Studebaker bus really brings back memories of early days riding school buses on South Georgia sandy and sometimes muddy roads. When in 1949 I started school at Excelsior School in Snipesville, Georgia, all the roads in the area were dirt routes. The yellow buses were common at that time but significantly differed from the modern ones inside. On occasion when Mr. Homer Chainey’s Ford bus was in need of repair, the county would send out an old sub-bus. I don’t remember the model or make but it had benches inside instead of the modern upholstered seats that face the front. In the center of the bus was a long bench and on each interior side a bench. These three benches ran from the front to the back of the bus. They were made of wood and were worn slick by the bottoms of students who had ridden them over a period of time. As the bus lumbered over the washboard roads, it was quite difficult to stay in one place. You were often bounced around, so you had to constantly reposition yourself on the benches. This was especially so for those who actually carried books with them and could not hold on with both hands.
Most rural kids were used to buses. They would ride one bus to their elementary school and then another to their consolidated high school in town. In our situation, it meant that many of us had to ride approximately 36 or more miles a day. It was 13 miles from Snipesville to Hazlehurst and then another 3 or 4 miles from Excelsior to our houses. Now days some probably still do this bus riding routine.
Brian thanks for another South Georgia memory.
Jesse Bookhardt
Love the stude bus!
David Miller
Sent from my iPhone
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You should send this to Bluebird in Fort Valley. They may want to come get the old thing for their museum.
Hi Brian – I really enjoyed the Studebaker School Bus photos. I frequently brake for rusty vehicles in TN and understand the attraction. Looking forward to your e-mails in 2015. Happy New Year.
Thanks, Debbie! I love the old vehicles, too. Happy New Year to you, as well.