Saddlebag Tenant House, Bulloch County

Bulloch County GA Adabelle Area Vernacular Farmhouse Photograph Copyright Brian Brown Vanishing South Georgia USA 2015

This simple farmhouse is located near Adabelle, just south of Statesboro. I believe it was associated with the Croatan Indian community that once thrived in the area.

Bulloch County GA Adabelle Area Croatan Indian Community Vernacular Farmhouse Photograph Copyright Brian Brown Vanishing South Georgia USA 2015

A nearby historic marker tells the store of the Croatan community: In 1870 a group of Croatan Indians migrated from their homes in Robeson County North Carolina, following the turpentine industry to southeast Georgia. Eventually many of the Croatans became tenant farmers for the Adabelle Trading Company, growing cotton and tobacco. The Croatan community established the Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Adabelle, as well as a school and a nearby cemetery. After the collapse of the Adabelle Trading Company, the Croatans faced both economic hardship and social injustice. As a result, most members of the community returned to North Carolina by 1920. The tribe to which these families belonged became known as the Lumbee in the early 1950s.

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