Category Archives: –BERRIEN COUNTY GA–
Abandoned Bank, Enigma
Filed under --BERRIEN COUNTY GA--, Enigma GA
Fogle-Shockley Hotel, 1886, Alapaha
From the Macon Telegraph, 24 March 1886:
“…a new hotel, two stories high, nicely fitted up and well kept. Dr. J.A. Fogle, one of the most clever men you
would met in a week’s hard riding, is the proprietor, but his time is mostly devoted to an extensive practice and to his well stocked drug store. The hotel is presided over by Mrs. Fogle, a lady of refinement and most pleasant
manner, ably assisted by her sister, Miss Fannie Leonard. The table is bountifully supplied with tempting fare, the
sleeping apartments are models of cleanliness and comfort, and the attention to guests is prompt and courteous. The commercial tourists are fond in their praise of it, and you know they are, generally speaking, a difficult set to
please. “
Alapaha native and well-known author Cynthia Shearer (The Wonder Book of the Air; The Celestial Jukebox) related this to me in an email:
“Later it was the Shockely Hotel, and the last proprietor of it, Ida Shockley Creech, sold it to an artist. The artist’s wife still lives there, I believe. I grew up in Alapaha, and ate many a Sunday dinner there…”
For another view of this hotel, now a private residence:
http://vanishingsouthgeorgia.com/2009/02/23/fogle-shockley-hotel-alapaha-1886/
If you’d like to know more about Cynthia Shearer visit her blog at:
http://thimblewicket.blogspot.com/
Filed under --BERRIEN COUNTY GA--, Alapaha GA
Virginia’s Beauty Lounge, U.S. Highway 82
This circa-1940s structure likely originated as a grocery store and later served as a beauty shop. Behind the crumbling structure is an old tourist court or motel, built to lure travelers off busy U. S. 82.
Filed under --BERRIEN COUNTY GA--, Alapaha GA
St. Ann Catholic Church, 1942, Alapaha
For a history of this congregation, originally known as St. Bridget’s, see:
http://vanishingsouthgeorgia.com/2011/03/11/st-bridgets-catholic-church-1902-alapaha/
Filed under --BERRIEN COUNTY GA--, Alapaha GA
Alapaha Colored School, 1924
This served the black community of Alapaha until 1954. Recently restored, it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a nice example of an African-American vernacular schoolhouse.
Please visit the wonderful Berrien Historical Foundation website for more photos, as well as a video of the Alapaha Colored School:
Alapaha Colored School Alumni, © Berrien Historical Foundation Limited
Filed under --BERRIEN COUNTY GA--, Alapaha GA
Abandoned Pyramidal Roof House, Ray City
To see an image of this same house, three years ago, visit this link:
http://vanishingsouthgeorgia.com/2008/12/02/abandoned-house-ray-city/
Filed under --BERRIEN COUNTY GA--, Ray City GA
St. Bridget’s Catholic Church, 1902, Alapaha
From the history, “Diocese of Savannah: 1850-2000″:
“A Catholic community established a church on the James C. Murray farm 2.6 miles from Alapaha in about 1840…The Catholic community was then known as Saint Patrick’s and was commonly called “Murray Church.” [As the need grew for a more substantial church than the log cabin located on the Murray farm] land was purchased near Alapaha Station in 1901 for the token sum of $25 from John J. Paulk…the new church, Saint Bridget’s, was completed in 1902…[by 1942, this structure was vacated and the present St. Ann's Catholic Church built]
This is now home to Greater Macedonia C. M. E. Church, and is undergoing renovation.
Filed under --BERRIEN COUNTY GA--, Alapaha GA
