Owned by Clark Paulk in the 1930s and 1940s, Pine Ridge is nearly forgotten today. It’s located between Ocilla and Lax.
For another view:
http://vanishingsouthgeorgia.com/2008/11/20/pine-ridge-store-irwin-county-2/
Archive for the –IRWIN COUNTY GA– Category
Pine Ridge Store, Irwin County
Posted in --IRWIN COUNTY GA-- with tags --IRWIN COUNTY GA--, Copyright Brian Brown, {Most Endangered Historic Places in South Georgia}, {South Georgia Architecture}, {South Georgia Country Stores} on February 17, 2012 by Brian BrownMasonic Lodge, 1885, Irwinville
Posted in --IRWIN COUNTY GA--, Irwinville GA with tags --IRWIN COUNTY GA--, Copyright Brian Brown, Irwinville GA, {South Georgia Architecture}, {South Georgia Fraternal Lodges}, {South Georgia Landmarks} on February 16, 2012 by Brian Brown
From: Willie Mae Smith, The Ocilla Star, 23 August 1973
“History tells us that the first and oldest Masonic Lodge in original Irwin County was Irwin Lodge #212, which was granted a dispensation in 1856 and later was granted a charter…this old lodge barely had time to get a good start before the South was faced with what turned out to be almost total devastation…
During and after the Civil War the nearest lodge to Irwinville was the Western Light lodge in Abbeville, which originated from the old Irwinville lodge. Sometime in the 1880s, David Hogan donated an acre of land in Irwinville for the purpose of erecting a Masonic lodge…the new lodge was constituted as Lodge #315, with these members coming from Western Light in Abbeville: Reverend O. D. Mulkey, Z. T. Player, John J. Luke and Lemuel Taylor. The lodge was constituted by John A. Tomberlin on November 28th, 1885…Charter members were: William M. Gibbs, Worshipful Master; Jonathan Smith, Senior Warden; John J. Luke, Junior Warden; John Walker, Senior Deacon; Cornelius Clements, Junior Deacon; David M. Hogan, Treasurer; R. W. Clements, Secretary; and C. A. Johnson, Tyler. Other brethren included: W. J. Clements, Lemuel Taylor, Z. T. Player, and Reverend O. D. Mulkey…
In 1885, Irwin County was not too thickly settled. Plantations were many miles apart and the members of the Masonic Lodge had to travel a good many miles on horseback or by a buggy to come to their meeting. These men were working and making a living for their families and disliked the idea of leaving them alone at night. After due consideration, they decided to hold their monthly meeting each third Saturday morning at 10 o’clock, thus making this a daylight lodge, which it remains today, the only daylight lodge left in the state of Georgia…”
Judging from meeting schedules, I don’t believe this is still a “daylight lodge”, but apparently, when Willie Mae Smith wrote this article in 1973, it was.
For another view:
http://vanishingsouthgeorgia.com/2009/10/26/masonic-lodge-irwinville/
Irwinville Farms House, Thomas Road
Posted in --IRWIN COUNTY GA--, Irwinville Farms, Irwinville GA with tags --IRWIN COUNTY GA--, Copyright Brian Brown, Irwinville Farms, Irwinville GA, {Most Endangered Historic Places in South Georgia}, {South Georgia Architecture}, {South Georgia Farmhouses}, {The Great Depression in South Georgia} on February 16, 2012 by Brian Brown
Commissary, Stillwater Road
Posted in --IRWIN COUNTY GA-- with tags --IRWIN COUNTY GA--, Copyright Brian Brown, {South Georgia Agriculture}, {South Georgia Architecture} on February 16, 2012 by Brian Brown
This is located between Irwinville and Waterloo.
Blue Farmhouse, Tyler Road
Posted in --IRWIN COUNTY GA-- with tags --IRWIN COUNTY GA--, Copyright Brian Brown, {South Georgia Architecture}, {South Georgia Farmhouses} on February 15, 2012 by Brian Brown
Here’s a shot of the same house, made in December 2008:
http://vanishingsouthgeorgia.com/2008/12/21/blue-house-tyler-road/
I believe this is actually two old put-together tenant farmhouses (sharecropper shacks). I knew people who lived here about ten years ago, and the walls and floors were very uneven, leading me to this conclusion. The clapboard exterior walls have been covered with vinyl siding, but still, it’s a neat little house.
Precinct House, Waterloo
Posted in --IRWIN COUNTY GA--, Waterloo GA with tags --IRWIN COUNTY GA--, Copyright Brian Brown, Waterloo GA, {Most Endangered Historic Places in South Georgia}, {South Georgia Architecture}, {South Georgia Ghost Towns}, {South Georgia Precinct Houses} on February 15, 2012 by Brian Brown
The old precinct houses, or precincts as most locals call these little buildings, are quickly fading from the landscape in South Georgia. Irwin County has more of these than any other county I know of, and most have this same general style. For older views of the Waterloo precinct:
http://vanishingsouthgeorgia.com/2009/05/11/waterloo-precinct-house/
http://vanishingsouthgeorgia.com/2008/11/21/precinct-house-waterloo/
Macedonia Baptist Church, Irwin County
Posted in --IRWIN COUNTY GA-- with tags --IRWIN COUNTY GA--, Copyright Brian Brown, {South Georgia Architecture}, {South Georgia Churches} on February 7, 2012 by Brian Brown
Crystal Lake, Irwin County
Posted in --IRWIN COUNTY GA-- with tags --IRWIN COUNTY GA--, Collection of Brian Brown, {South Georgia Architecture}, {South Georgia Recreation}, {South Georgia Rivers Creeks & Lakes}, {The Civil War in South Georgia} on January 3, 2012 by Brian Brown
This postcard image shows the pavilion and beach at Crystal Lake in its early days as a tourist attraction, circa 1964. Well known to locals since the 1860s, Crystal Lake was originally known as Bone Pond, for Willis Bone, a Northerner who ran a grist mill at the site. One of the most infamous stories of Irwin County history relates that Bone, a Union sympathizer, gave refuge to runaway slaves and after one such runaway slave was discovered on the Bone property by Jack Walker, Bone shot and killed the loyal Confederate. After a search party located Walker’s remains, an impromptu “court” was called and Bone was hanged at the nearby county seat of Irwinville.
The lake has now almost completely dried up and is no longer open to the public. Owned by the Adcock Family of Tift County, it is leased as a hunting club today.
The story of Willis Bone was taken from Mark V. Wetherington’s excellent book, Plain Folk’s Fight: The Civil War & Reconstruction in Piney Woods Georgia (Chapel Hill, University of North Carolina Press, 2005).
SAVE THE IRWINVILLE POST OFFICE!
Posted in --IRWIN COUNTY GA--, Irwinville GA with tags --IRWIN COUNTY GA--, Copyright Brian Brown, Irwinville GA, {South Georgia Post Offices} on October 27, 2011 by Brian Brown
http://savethepostoffice.com/location/georgia/irwinville-ga
So now I’m going to use this forum to raise a little hell. As a proud Rural American, I want to tell those who would make decisions to deprive us of our community institutions that they should do away with other special interests first. Please leave your comments in support of the Irwinville Post Office, or any rural post office, and call or email Jay Roberts or Austin Scott and let them know how important you think this is. I think both Jay and Austin are proud of their rural roots and I believe both will do what they can to stop the closure of this historic post office.
New Website About Irwinville Farms
Posted in --IRWIN COUNTY GA--, Irwinville Farms with tags --IRWIN COUNTY GA--, Copyright Brian Brown, Irwinville Farms, {The Great Depression in South Georgia} on September 29, 2011 by Brian Brown
http://irwinvillega.wordpress.com/
If you enjoy the history of rural South Georgia during the Great Depression, you’ll enjoy this site. I’m using Library of Congress images, as well as feedback and personal items from people related to the Irwinville Farms Project. Irwinville Farms was one of many Farm Security Administration resettlement communities, and we’re quite lucky to have the large visual archive that we do to document the common folk of the 1930s. I love looking at the images, and I think you will, too. [The photograph above was made in May 1938 by John Vachon: "Rolling a cigarette. Irwinville Farms, Georgia."]
