Thanks to Michael Williams for confirming the identification.
Fraternal Lodge, Tallahassee
The community of Tallahassee is an historic African-American settlement about 5 miles north of Hazlehurst. It likely gets its name from the nearby highway, which was once the Savannah-Tallahassee Road and one of only two roads passing through the county in the early 1870s. This structure, located adjacent to the Tallahassee Missionary Baptist Church, is likely a fraternal lodge.
Filed under --JEFF DAVIS COUNTY GA--, Tallahassee GA
Tallahassee Missionary Baptist Church, Jeff Davis County
This congregation was established in 1884. It’s one of the oldest African-American congregations in Jeff Davis County.
Filed under --JEFF DAVIS COUNTY GA--, Tallahassee GA
Dogtrot House, Jefferson County
This house is remarkably well-preserved, though the open hall is now used for storage.
Filed under --JEFFERSON COUNTY GA--
Omaha Springs Hotel, Circa 1900, Jefferson County
The Omaha Springs Hotel (built in the early 1900s) is among the last surviving resort hotels of the mineral springs era, a time when the purported healing properties of the state’s abundant natural springs attracted visitors from all over the country. Many locations featured hotels and cabins but most have long been demolished. In A Preliminary Report on the Mineral Springs of Georgia (Atlanta, 1913), state geologist S. W. McCallie noted: This group of springs…are situated in a dense grove at the base of a rather precipitous hill-slope…One of the largest of the springs from which a sample of water was secured for analysis flows something like 100 gallons per minute. The main improvement consists of a well-built hotel of 24 rooms. The water from these springs is said to have a considerable sale in Augusta…and is well suited as a table water.
The structure is a private residence and can only be seen from a gate. Without the longtime stewardship of the Fleming family, who owned and maintained the property for decades, this treasure would surely have not survived.
Filed under --JEFFERSON COUNTY GA--
Abandoned Bank, Matthews
I’ve been able to find very little information about Matthews. It was well established by the late 19th century and was incorporated in 1904, though the area was likely inhabited much earlier.
Filed under --JEFFERSON COUNTY GA--, Matthews GA
General Store, Matthews
It’s amazing that three landmark general stores survive in a community as small as Matthews. This example is the most endangered, but relatively stable.
Filed under --JEFFERSON COUNTY GA--, Matthews GA
