This 70s landmark was once one of the most popular restaurants in Valdosta. Today, just an empty building and this old sign remain. I’ve been told that Burt Reynolds used to pass through Valdosta on occasion and always picked up a pile of barbeque at C. H. Mitchell’s when he was there. Don’t know if that’s true, or just urban legend, but I like it.
Filed under --LOWNDES COUNTY GA--, Valdosta GA
It seems appropriate that my 4,000th posting on this website would focus on a place like Hazel’s Cafe because it’s just the sort of place with the sort of history I’m always searching for. Located on St. Simons Island, in the historic African-American community of South End, Hazel’s was owned by Hazel and Thomas Floyd. Thomas, a veteran of World War II, settled here with his wife shortly after World War II and soon thereafter they started this business, which would be a staple of St. Simons life until it closed in 1978. With new homes and condos dotting the island today, it’s a nice step back to a time when St. Simons, like all of the Georgia coast, was anchored by small but thriving communities who looked to family and friends as well as the rich coastal waters surrounding them for sustenance and survival. Hazel was known to go crabbing in season and bring back her catch for the night’s special of deviled crab. I’m sure they were legendary dishes in their time. Melissa Lee has an excellent tribute to this St. Simons icon here:
Filed under --GLYNN COUNTY GA--, St. Simons Island GA
All Images Above:
Pioneer Cabin in Winter, Tulip Road, Ben Hill County, 2002 - © Brian Brown
In preparation for an upcoming documentary, I’ve been reviewing my archive of over 2,000 photographs made on various film cameras before I made the switch to digital in 2007. I’m sharing some of them here and hope they are of interest. Amazingly, most of these structures are gone now and remind me why I do what I do. The images above, of a wintry landscape adorned with a crude pioneer cabin with a fieldstone chimney, were among my first favorites. I had 8x10s printed and looked at them with a sense of awe at the loss that was accelerating around me. As with many of the places I shoot, I’ve wished many times that I’d returned to this quaint little cabin for more photographs. I’m not quite sure when it was demolished but it was gone before 2010. Such stories of loss motivate me to photograph nearly everything I can that I believe to be of cultural or historical value and I hope my work inspires others to pick up their cameras and do the same in their neck of the woods.
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Hunter’s Bar-B-Que, Irwin County, 2002 – © Brian Brown
Hunter’s was a local favorite and welcome stop for travelers along Highway 32 for years. They even had parking for semi-trucks. Their goat sandwich, with chips & Coca-Cola was my favorite. Though Hunter’s closed not too long after this photo was made, it’s legendary barbeque sauce has been resurrected by the Hutto family, who now operate the location as Hutto’s Barbeque. It’s just as good!
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Peach Road Farmhouse, Irwin County, 2001 – © Brian Brown
This house was demolished by 2010.
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Pigs in Winter, Starling Road, Ben Hill County, 2001 – © Brian Brown
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House with Kudzu, Cadwell, Laurens County, 2005 – © Brian Brown
This house is a little out of place in context to the other images in this archive, but it represents some of my first efforts to travel outside my immediate local area.
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Loony Layton’s Store, Waterloo, Irwin County, 2002 – © Brian Brown
I can’t count how many times I passed this store traveling between Fitzgerald and Tifton over the years, though I honestly don’t remember it ever being open. It was razed in early 2012. (I’m not sure of the spelling of the owner’s name, but thanks to Dale Bledsoe for the information.)
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Both Images Above:
Thompson Road Farmhouse, Irwin County, 2002 – © Brian Brown
This house was also an early favorite of mine. It was razed in 2007.
For another view of the house, one of my all-time favorite images:
http://vanishingsouthgeorgia.com/2008/08/01/thompson-road-farmhouse-irwin-county/
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Valley Grove Victorian, Irwin County, 2003 – © Brian Brown
This Folk Victorian, long a landmark in the area, was demolished before 2007.
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Player Cemetery Road Tobacco Barn, Ben Hill County, 2002 – © Brian Brown
This barn was razed in 2009.
http://vanishingsouthgeorgia.com/2008/10/03/tobacco-barn-player-cemetery-road-2/
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Mt. Calvary Baptist Church, Ben Hill County, 2003 – © Brian Brown
Union Baptist Church, Ben Hill County, 2002 – © Brian Brown
The two churches pictured above are among Ben Hill County’s most historic African-American congregations.
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Snow Shower, Dogwood Lane, Fitzgerald, 1989 – © Brian Brown
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Wooden Shingle Farmhouse, Ben Hill County, 2001 – © Brian Brown
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Burning Beaver Dam, Irwin County, 2002 – © Brian Brown
If you’re in Wrightsville around lunchtime, stop here for a great old-fashioned meal. It has a wonderful view of the courthouse and surrounding square. I had fried chicken, turnip greens, fresh creamed corn, and hoe cakes. The sweet tea was perfect, too…
Filed under --JOHNSON COUNTY GA--, Wrightsville GA
A local favorite, Shabazz’s eclectic architecture is a kitschy landmark on Victory Drive.
Filed under --CHATHAM COUNTY GA--, Savannah GA
Though the post office across busy U. S. Highway 301 is designated as Dover, this is actually Cooperville. The old Paradise Restaurant and Howard Johnson’s Motor Lodge were among numerous businesses that took advantage of the busy automobile traffic on U. S. Highway 301, a primary route for tourists along the Atlantic seaboard in the days before interstates.
This sign is among the most-photographed landmarks remaining in the area.
Cooperville was a center of religious educational and social activity in the antebellum era. It was established by William Cooper about 1790 when he acquired the 1100 acres originally granted to Noble Jones. His home, later added to by his brother, George Cooper, stood about 1/2 mile west of this marker. The village was the home of Wilson C. Cooper, the educator who established nearby Cooper College; George Cooper II, inventor of the “Cooper plow” also lived in the area…
http://www.gpb.org/news/2010/08/20/lazy-little-us301-towns-boomed-before-i-95
Filed under --SCREVEN COUNTY GA--, Cooperville GA
The orange-and-blue color scheme suggests that this was once a Howard Johnson’s.
Filed under --SCREVEN COUNTY GA--, Cooperville GA
2011
Circa 1975
First opened at a nearby location in 1940, and once known as the Shrimp Boat Restaurant, Archie’s was long a Darien landmark and a favorite stop for travelers along the busy Coastal Highway (US 17). As traffic moved off 17 and onto nearby I-95, business slowed and the restaurant was closed by 2006.
Filed under --MCINTOSH COUNTY GA--, Darien GA
