Category Archives: –PIERCE COUNTY GA–
Porter House, Circa 1900, Blackshear
Featuring elaborate fretwork on the front porches, this Plantation Plain takes on an unusually Victorian appearance.
Filed under --PIERCE COUNTY GA--, Blackshear GA
Belvin House, 1875, Blackshear
This is said to have served as the Pierce County courthouse from 1875-1902, having been condemned and moved by the Donaldson family to this location in 1903. It is best known today as the Belvin House, for owner Robert Belvin. Other owners over the years included Charlie Davis and Gene Baker. The Blackshear Times references Pierce County historian Dean Broome in validating the courthouse identify. The GeorgiaInfo page on Pierce County states that the courthouse was torn down in 1902, but I’m deferring to the local sources on this for now.
I’m a bit curious as to why a marker outside the house calls it the Belvin Home, with no reference to it being the old courthouse. If that is indeed what it was, the name should be changed to reflect it. The most likely scenario is that the old courthouse, which was said to be in bad condition in 1902, actually was razed and some of the lumber was salvaged to build this house. If so, the date of the house should be 1903, not 1875. I hope to get some feedback from Pierce County.
Filed under --PIERCE COUNTY GA--, Blackshear GA
Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Depot, 1917, Blackshear
Built to replace the Savannah, Florida & Western depot which burned in 1917, this structure was used by the Atlantic Coast Line and Seaboard Coast Line for passenger and freight service and handled freight as late as the 1970s. It now houses the Pierce County Heritage Museum.
National Register of Historic Places
Filed under --PIERCE COUNTY GA--, Blackshear GA
Pierce County Jail, 1894, Blackshear
This served as the county jail until 1926, when another facility was constructed near the courthouse. This facility served as the city jail until 1976, as well as police headquarters. It has been empty for many years and will hopefully be restored in the near future.
National Register of Historic Places
Filed under --PIERCE COUNTY GA--, Blackshear GA
Cotton Gin, Patterson
Carol Harper writes: My Grandaddy, John Henry Harris, built this cotton gin along with gins in Jesup, Cordele, and Sylvester. My father, William H. (Bill) Cooper, managed the Patterson Gin and was chief ginner there for many years. After my Grandaddy’s death and the devastation of cotton crops by the boll weevil, the gin was dismantled, my parents purchased the business, and what was once a cotton gin became a farm supply and custom fertilizer spreading operation. My two younger brothers, Bill Jr. and Charlie, and I considered ourselves very fortunate to have grown up surrounded by the sight and smell of King Cotton. Our Mother, Jean Harris Cooper, managed the gin office while Daddy ginned the cotton. Today, once again, I am proud to write cotton grows on my farm in Pierce County.
Filed under --PIERCE COUNTY GA--, Patterson GA
