Category: Georgia

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Old one-room school, Montgomery County, Ga.

 

Old Memory Schoolhouse, Montgomery County, Ga., by Brian Brown. All rights reserved.
Old Memory Schoolhouse, Montgomery County, Ga., by Brian Brown. All rights reserved.

This decaying, tin-roofed building apparently is a one-room school remembered as the old “Memory School” northeast of Mount Vernon, Ga., in rural Montgomery County.

Vanishing South Georgia photographer Brian Brown, who snapped the shot last month along Thompson Pond Road, says, “I first thought it looked like a farmhouse, but these small rural schools often look like this.”

These days, Montgomery County and the area around

ount Vernon seem strapped, but interestingly, the population is about 50 percent bigger than it was in the late 1960s when Brack visited.  In 2012, the estimated population was just under 9,000 — some 3,000 more people than in the 1970 Census.  More.

Some 21.6 percent of people in the county live at or below the federal poverty level.

Copyrighted photo by Brian Brown, courtesy of the photographer.  All rights reserved.

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Old farmhouse, Montgomery County, Ga.

Old farmhouse, Montgomery County, Ga. Copyright W. Brian Brown. All rights reserved.
Old farmhouse, Montgomery County, Ga. Copyright Brian Brown. All rights reserved.

South Georgia photographer Brian Brown enjoys snapping pictures of old farmhouses on his great site, Vanishing South Georgia.  This board-and-batten farmhouse on the Mount-Vernon-Alston road in the Georgia heartland is typical, he writes on his site:

“This is one of the largest concentrations I’ve found of this iconic early South Georgia style.  …  I’d advise anyone who likes historic rural architecture who happens to be in the area of Montgomery County to find these roads. The structures located on them represent a quickly vanishing aspect of South Georgia’s agricultural heritage.”

These days, Montgomery County and the area around Mount Vernon seem strapped, but interestingly, the population is about 50 percent bigger than it was in the late 1960s when Brack visited.  In 2012, the estimated population was just under 9,000 — some 3,000 more people than in the 1970 Census.  More.

Some 21.6 percent of people in the county live at or below the federal poverty level.

Copyrighted photo by Brian Brown, courtesy of the photographer.  All rights reserved.

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Old stores, Mount Vernon, Ga.

Old storefronts, Mount Vernon, Ga.
Old storefronts, Mount Vernon, Ga.

These two old buildings on Church Street in downtown Mount Vernon, Ga., caught the eye of photographer Michael Kaynard.  Both seem to be old stores. the left of which seems to be re-purposed as a hair salon.  The right one appeared empty.

Kaynard observed that people in Montgomery County seemed proud of the renovation of the county courthouse, which was nearby.  But in the square around the courthouse, there weren’t many active businesses.  “I spoke with a young woman in city hall and two of the businesses I asked about had been closed since before she arrived there” several years back, he said.

Georgia photographer Brian Brown of VanishingSouthGeorgia.com also enjoy these two Church Street buildings, saying here that they’re his two favorites in Mount Vernon.

These days, Montgomery County and the area around Mount Vernon seem strapped, but interestingly, the population is about 50 percent bigger than it was in the late 1960s when Brack visited.  In 2012, the estimated population was just under 9,000 — some 3,000 more people than in the 1970 Census.  More.

Some 21.6 percent of people in the county live at or below the federal poverty level.

Photo by Michael Kaynard, May 2013.  All rights reserved.

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Montgomery Monitor, Mount Vernon, Ga.

Montgomery Monitor, Mount Vernon, Ga.
Montgomery Monitor, Mount Vernon, Ga.

As a boy in the late 1960s, photographer and Better South President Andy Brack visited this building a few times a year because his father, Elliott Brack, published “The Montgomery Monitor” every week.

“I’d go with Dad as he made his weekly rounds to get the news to fill up this small paper,” Brack remembers.  “There was a nice older lady who worked there every day who would watch me for awhile.  On a lot of visits, I’d go across the street and get a haircut that would have passed any military inspection.

“It was fun riding to and from Mount Vernon and seeing all of the different scenes between there and our home in Jesup, some 75 miles to the south.  More than anything, those trips outside of Jesup contributed to a lifelong love of open, rural landscapes, like those found throughout the Southern Crescent, and the love of just traveling to see different things.”

These days, Montgomery County and the area around Mount Vernon seem strapped, but interestingly, the population is about 50 percent bigger than it was in the late 1960s when Brack visited.  In 2012, the estimated population was just under 9,000 — some 3,000 more people than in the 1970 Census.  More.

Some 21.6 percent of people in the county live at or below the federal poverty level.

Photo by Andy Brack, May 2013.  All rights reserved.

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To get to the other side, Fitzgerald, Ga.

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Yes, this is a photo of one of those crazy Burmese chickens in Fitzgerald, Ga., crossing the road to, ahem, get to the other side.  These chickens, pests to some and paragons of community pride to others, roam the town’s downtown streets.  While they mostly scamper away from prying photographers, some like this rooster occasionally to taunt vehicles with face-offs on the streets.

Just over 9,000 people live in Fitzgerald, the county seat of rural Ben Hill County.  Some 31.6 percent of people live in poverty, according to Census figures. More.

Links:

Photo by Andy Brack in May 2013.  All rights reserved.

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Burmese chickens of Fitzgerald, Ga.

A Burmese rooster struts its stuff in downtown Fitzgerald, Ga.
A Burmese rooster struts its stuff in downtown Fitzgerald, Ga.

If you want to visit a place where the chickens and roosters roam free in the downtown, check out Fitzgerald in Georgia’s heartland.  Burmese chickens, introduced by state officials in the 1960s to be a game bird like turkeys and quail for hunters, didn’t make it the public’s mind.  And despite an attempt to get rid of the colorful birds, they survived. (More on their history.)

Locals apparently then thought of them as pests for their free-range habits (they’re so, pardon the pun, cocky that they face off with cars in the street), but grew to embrace them so much that there’s now a Wild Chicken Festival in March in the town’s downtown historic district.

Not everyone in Fitzgerald loves the chickens, but talk about an innovative way to bring in tourists and bolster the local economy!

Just over 9,000 people live in Fitzgerald, the county seat of rural Ben Hill County.  Some 31.6 percent of people live in poverty, according to Census figures. More.

Links:

Photo by Andy Brack in May 2013.  All rights reserved.

 

 

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What’s this guy doing, Leary, Ga.

Videographer in Leary, Ga.
Videographer in Leary, Ga.

There’s not a lot that seems to go on in rural Leary, Ga., a southwestern agricultural village in Calhoun County.  So when a videographer shows up and starts filming local statues and buildings, people get to talking.  Unfortunately, the camera crew wouldn’t tell anybody why they were filming abandoned buildings, this statue, the old railroad stations and more.  Today’s photo is the fifth and last in a series that profiles what Leary looks like.

Leary, which had 610 people in the 2010 Census (56 fewer than 10 years earlier) is predominantly poor and black.  Three in four residents are black.  Some 36 percent of the people in Calhoun County live at or below the poverty line, according to the 2010 Census.

There’s not a lot of businesses in Leary.  Its train depot is closed.  Across the street from a busy convenience store is a full city block of deserted businesses and homes.  More than anything, Leary seems old and tired with little hope of a prosperous future.  Notes photographer Michael Kaynard, “The downtown area had been deserted and the jail, post office and other businesses moved away and followed the highway.”  Other than the store, the only thing that appeared to have some activity was a peanut plant, which operates seasonally.

Photo by Andy Brack of the Center for a Better South, May 2013.  All rights reserved.

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Old station, Leary, Ga.

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Old railroad station, Leary, Ga.

The old railroad station in Leary, Ga., looks solid, but it’s slowly decaying, much like the rest of the small Calhoun County town is.  You can’t see it in this photo, but vines cover the back wall of the station.

Leary, which had 610 people in the 2010 Census (56 fewer than 10 years earlier) is predominantly poor and black.  Three in four residents are black.  Some 36 percent of the people in Calhoun County live at or below the poverty line, according to the 2010 Census.

There’s not a lot of businesses in Leary.  Its train depot is closed.  Across the street from a busy convenience store is a full city block of deserted businesses and homes.  More than anything, Leary seems old and tired with little hope of a prosperous future.  Notes photographer Michael Kaynard, “The downtown area had been deserted and the jail, post office and other businesses moved away and followed the highway.”  Other than the store, the only thing that appeared to have some activity was a peanut plant, which operates seasonally.

Photo by Andy Brack of the Center for a Better South, May 2013.  All rights reserved.

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Old buildings, Leary, Ga.

Old buildings flanked by peanut plant in background, Leary, Ga.
Old buildings flanked by peanut plant in background, Leary, Ga.

With a decaying old — but recently painted — building in the foreground, you can see an abandoned brick warehouse and a peanut business in the background of this photo of the small Calhoun County town of Leary.

Leary, which had 610 people in the 2010 Census (56 fewer than 10 years earlier) is predominantly poor and black.  Three in four residents are black.  Some 36 percent of the people in Calhoun County live at or below the poverty line, according to the 2010 Census.

There’s not a lot of businesses in Leary.  Its train depot is closed.  Across the street from a busy convenience store is a full city block of deserted businesses and homes.  More than anything, Leary seems old and tired with little hope of a prosperous future.  Notes photographer Michael Kaynard, “The downtown area had been deserted and the jail, post office and other businesses moved away and followed the highway.”  Other than the store, the only thing that appeared to have some activity was the peanut plant, which operates seasonally.

Photo by Andy Brack of the Center for a Better South, May 2013.  All rights reserved.

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Old buildings look a little better now, Leary, Ga.

Two abandoned houses next to a modern water tower, Leary, Ga.
Two abandoned houses next to a modern water tower, Leary, Ga.

Today’s photo, the second of  a five-part series of the small Calhoun County town of Leary, highlights two abandoned buildings near a modern-day water tower.  We’re told that the town painted the buildings a little while back so that they’d look better than they did when they unpainted and decaying.  At least now, the thinking goes, they look a little better.

Leary, which had 610 people in the 2010 Census (56 fewer than 10 years earlier) is predominantly poor and black.  Three in four residents are black.  Some 36 percent of the people in Calhoun County live at or below the poverty line, according to the 2010 Census.

There’s not a lot of businesses in Leary.  Its train depot is closed.  Across the street from a busy convenience store is a full city block of deserted businesses and homes.  More than anything, Leary seems old and tired with little hope of a prosperous future.  Notes photographer Michael Kaynard, “The downtown area had been deserted and the jail, post office and other businesses moved away and followed the highway.”  Other than the store, the only thing that appeared to have some activity was a peanut plant, which operates seasonally.

Photo by Andy Brack of the Center for a Better South, May 2013.  All rights reserved.