March 2014 – Building a better South

March 31, 2014March 30, 2014

Haunting success, Montrose, Ga.

This old Cadillac hearse in Montrose, Ga., advertises a clever local success — a ghoulish Halloween sensation called Haunted Montrose. What apparently happened is some local residents took an abandoned house in the small Laurens County town and converted it into a spine-chilling attraction open a few days each year. Just walking around the area, which has a creepy corn field, abandoned vehicles and more, might give you the Willies.

But from another perspective, it’s an interesting way in which a small community — 154 people — has put itself on the map in a non-agricultural time of the year to generate extra revenue. On April 2: Another photo from Haunted Montrose.

Montrose, located in central Georgia, has a relatively low poverty rate of 11.2 percent, although 30 percent of its children live in poverty. Some 23.6 percent of residents of Laurens County (population 48,434) live in poverty, according to Census data

March 29, 2014March 30, 2014

Brick shell, Montrose, Ga.

At one of the main intersections in Montrose, Ga., sits this abandoned brick shell of a building that is across the street from the Montrose Baptist Church along U.S. Highway 80.

The building had few clues as to its past use, but it may have been part of an agricultural business, such as a farm supply store.

Montrose, located in rural Laurens County in central Georgia, is home to 154 people and a relatively low poverty rate of 11.2 percent, although 30 percent of its children live in poverty. Some 23.6 percent of residents of Laurens County (population 48,434) live in poverty, according to Census data

March 27, 2014

Friendly, Wrightsville, Ga.

Wrightsville, Ga., bills itself as the “friendliest town in Georgia,” as highlighted by the town water tower near Brown Memorial Baptist Church on Vally Street.

Wrightsville, county seat for Johnson County in east middle Georgia, is home to about 2,200 people, 35 percent of whom live in poverty. Some 46 percent of the town’s residents are white; 53 percent are black.

Johnson County, part of the Dublin Micropolitan Statistical Area, has just under 10,000 people, 21 percent of whom live in poverty.

March 25, 2014March 24, 2014

Rusted roof, Wrightsville, Ga.

Here’s a shot of another shack along the railroad tracks in Wrightsville, Ga., which bills itself as the “friendliest town in Georgia. Earlier photo.

Johnson County, part of the Dublin Micropolitan Statistical Area, has just under 10,000 people, 21 percent of whom live in poverty.

March 23, 2014March 24, 2014

Down by the tracks, Wrightsville, Ga.

Wrightsville, Ga., bills itself as the “friendliest town in Georgia,” but conditions don’t look too great along the railroad tracks. The above shack on East Trilby Street appeared to be abandoned, but you can imagine how the walls rattled when trains clicked by in the old days.

Johnson County, part of the Dublin Micropolitan Statistical Area, has just under 10,000 people, 21 percent of whom live in poverty.

March 21, 2014

Gopher tortoise, Ridgeland, S.C.

This bronze of a gopher tortoise is the focal point of a community square in Ridgeland near the southern tip of South Carolina.

According to a marker at the park, which is adjacent to the railroad tracks around which the town grew after 1860, Ridgeland originally was known as “Gopher Hill” because of the abundance of tortoises (Gopherus Polyphemus) that inhabited the sand hills of the area. The reptiles, which live up to 60 years, spend much of their life in deep burrows. Now an endangered species, they’re not too abundant these days.

Ridgeland has been the seat of Jasper County since it was created in 1912. Before then the railroad tracks of the Charleston & Savannah Railroad served as the boundary between Beaufort and Hampton counties and Ridgeland was split between them.

Ridgeland grew by 60 percent from 2000 to 2010, when the population was just over 4,000 people, according to Census figures. Jasper County, population 25,833, is just over the river from Savannah, Ga. Its location near the metro area likely is why poverty in Jasper County (21.4 percent) is half that of Allendale County to the north. Ridgeland has a poverty rate of more than 24 percent.

March 19, 2014November 16, 2014

Parched, Dublin, Ga.

The peeling paint on the doors of this building on Madison Street in Dublin, Ga., illustrates the tough time that parts of the Laurens County community are having. Nearby in one direction is the tallest building in town, an old bank now empty. A few doors away on the other side, a pool hall is for sale.

Dublin suffered during the recent recession as the unemployment rate for Laurens County, where Dublin (population 16,201) is the county seat, rose to 13.8 percent in July 2011. Two years later it was about two points lower, but was down to 9.4 percent in December 2013, according to federal government data found at this site.

Some 23.6 percent of residents of Laurens County (population 48,434) live in poverty, according to Census data

March 17, 2014March 17, 2014

Old gin, Allentown, Ga.

Behind the Four Corners Bank in Allentown, Ga., is this decaying facility, the old Hardwicke-Etter Ginning Systems building.

It’s located in Wilkinson County across a field from the old Melton store, also closed.

Today, Wilkinson County has fewer people (9,577 in the 2012 Census estimate) than it did in the 1940s (11,025 people) when my dad was a boy here before moving to the “big city” of Macon with his family. About three in five people are white, with most of the rest being black. Poverty is about 20 percent.

More from QuickFacts from the U.S. Census.
More from Wikipedia.

March 15, 2014March 17, 2014

Melton store, Allentown, Ga.

H.C. Melton General Merchandise, Allentown, Ga.

Here’s a recent picture of the H.C. Melton store in the Wilkinson County town of Allentown, Ga., which we featured here back in August.

This photo, taken by longtime Georgia journalist Elliott Brack, holds a special place in his heart, he explains in GwinnettForum.com:

“Several of my relatives lived and still live in this town and I was born near there. One cousin is on the City Council. My uncle once clerked for H.C. Melton. I remember spending many a day with my cousins in the area, often visiting the store, and pulling soft drinks for five cents out of the circulating cold water of the coolers, then emptying a package of peanuts into the drink bottle. We sat on the bench on the porch at the front of the store and enjoyed our purchase. Yes, this photo holds special memories.”

More from QuickFacts from the U.S. Census.
More from Wikipedia.

March 13, 2014March 12, 2014

Lambs, Dudley, Ga.

If you’re driving on U.S. Highway 80 through Dudley, Ga., just after the big “Jesus is coming soon” sign, you’ll see a pasture full of sheep on the left inside the town limits near Sixth Street. Here’s another shot highlighted on March 11.

Dudley, home to fewer than 500 people, is about seven miles west of Dublin, Ga., the county seat of Laurens County. Some 23.6 percent of residents of Laurens County (population 48,434) live in poverty.