Tar-paper house, Gough, Ga.

Tar-paper house, Gough, Ga.
Tar-paper house, Gough, Ga.

VanishingSouthGeorgia.com photographer Brian Brown snapped a photo of this tar-paper house in rural Gough, Ga., last month.

Gough (pronounced “GOFF”), located about 10 miles west of Waynesboro in eastern central Georgia, is in Burke County, which had about 23,125 people in 2012.  The population is evenly split in the numbers of white and black residents (49 percent each).  Its population peak was in 1920 when it had almost 31,000 people; its low point was in 1970 when it had 18,255 people.

The county, located between Augusta and Statesboro, has a median household income of $32,188.  Some 28.6 percent of people live in poverty, according to a five-year Census estimate.

Photo taken in by Brian Brown.  Copyrighted; all rights reserved.

Lodge, Gough, Ga.

Lodge, Gough, Ga.
Lodge, Gough, Ga.

 

VanishingSouthGeorgia.com photographer Brian Brown writes, “The white building in the foreground is the Gough Lodge of the Prince Hall Masons, an African-American fraternal association. Agricultural warehouses can be seen in the distance.”

Gough (pronounced “GOFF”), located about 10 miles west of Waynesboro in eastern central Georgia, is in Burke County, which had about 23,125 people in 2012.  The population is evenly split in the numbers of white and black residents (49 percent each).  Its population peak was in 1920 when it had almost 31,000 people; its low point was in 1970 when it had 18,255 people.

The county, located between Augusta and Statesboro, has a median household income of $32,188.  Some 28.6 percent of people live in poverty, according to a five-year Census estimate.

Photo taken in by Brian Brown.  Copyrighted; all rights reserved.

Bob & Bob Grocery, Gough, Ga.

Bob & Bob Grocery, Gough, Ga.
Bob & Bob Grocery, Gough, Ga.

 

VanishingSouthGeorgia.com photographer Brian Brown says this store is a step back in time, with its old Coca-Cola sign and gas pumps right at the front door.  “There’s also a restaurant next door, though I’m not sure if it’s open. The store was quite busy, though. It was late in the afternoon so the light was a bit harsh.”

Gough (pronounced “GOFF”), located about 10 miles west of Waynesboro in eastern central Georgia, is in Burke County, which had about 23,125 people in 2012.  The population is evenly split in the numbers of white and black residents (49 percent each).  Its population peak was in 1920 when it had almost 31,000 people; its low point was in 1970 when it had 18,255 people.

The county, located between Augusta and Statesboro, has a median household income of $32,188.  Some 28.6 percent of people live in poverty, according to a five-year Census estimate.

Photo taken in by Brian Brown.  Copyrighted; all rights reserved.

Abandoned church, Gough, Ga.

 

Old church, Gough, Ga.
Old church, Gough, Ga.

 

VanishingSouthGeorgia.com photographer Brian Brown says this old vernacular church, likely from the turn of the last century, is on private property near Gough, Ga., but can be seen from the road.

Gough (pronounced “GOFF”), located about 10 miles west of Waynesboro in eastern central Georgia, is in Burke County, which had about 23,125 people in 2012.  The population is evenly split in the numbers of white and black residents (49 percent each).  Its population peak was in 1920 when it had almost 31,000 people; its low point was in 1970 when it had 18,255 people.

The county, located between Augusta and Statesboro, has a median household income of $32,188.  Some 28.6 percent of people live in poverty, according to a five-year Census estimate.

Photo taken in by Brian Brown.  Copyrighted; all rights reserved.

Tenant cabin, Gough, Ga.

19th century tenant cabin, Gough, Ga.
19th century tenant cabin, Gough, Ga.

The owner of this property in rural Burke County, Ga., told VanishingSouthGeorgia.com photographer Brian Brown that this 19th century tenant cabin is still in use today.

Gough, located about 10 miles west of Waynesboro in eastern central Georgia, is in Burke County, which had about 23,125 people in 2012.  The population is evenly split in the numbers of white and black residents (49 percent each).  Its population peak was in 1920 when it had almost 31,000 people; its low point was in 1970 when it had 18,255 people.

The county, located between Augusta and Statesboro, has a median household income of $32,188.  Some 28.6 percent of people live in poverty, according to a five-year Census estimate.

Photo taken in by Brian Brown.  Copyrighted; all rights reserved.

Historic marker for tourism, Burke County, Ga.

Historic marker, Ivanhoe farm, Burke County, Ga.
Historic marker, Ivanhoe farm, Burke County, Ga.

Rural areas in Georgia may start experiencing an uptick in tourism thanks to a state-sponsored program to highlight what was once topic-non-grata — Union Gen. William T. Sherman’s slashing March to the Sea.

The Georgia Department of Transportation is providing almost $700,000 to the nonprofit Georgia Civil War Heritage Trails Inc., to erect interpretive historic markers along routes used by Union and Confederate armies almost 150 years ago around Atlanta and along the Sea campaign.

In the photo above, re-enactors appeared at the unveiling of a new marker at Ivanhoe, the Dye family farm in Burke County.  According to Molly Dye Franklin, who provided the picture, the farm was home to a Nov. 26, 1864, skirmish between Union and Confederate troops — one of more than 100 skirmishes across the Peach State. She said the effort could help rural counties like Burke County, which needs tourism and help to rise above endemic poverty.

Burke County, which had about 23,125 people in 2012, is evenly split in the numbers of white and black residents (49 percent each).  Its population peak was in 1920 when it had almost 31,000 people; its low point was in 1970 when it had 18,255 people.

The county, located between Augusta and Statesboro, has a median household income of $32,188.  Some 28.6 percent of people live in poverty, according to a five-year Census estimate.

Photo taken in November 2014 by Molly Dye Franklin.  All rights reserved.