I’m not sure about the history of this house, but I believe it was built around 1910. I knew a lady who was born here in 1917.
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Craftsman Farmhouse, Ben Hill County
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Rock Outcrops, Reubin Lake
Known locally as “The Rocks”, this site in the Salem community of northwestern Ben Hill County seems out of place in the Coastal Plain landscape surrounding it. It’s been an area landmark for at least a century but there is no general access. I’m unable to give directions to the site.
For years these geological features were informally identified as Ashburn formations (Wharton, The Natural Environments of Georgia, Atlanta, 1978, et al.) , after the first well-documented site of this type, located off Highway 41 north of Ashburn. Since I’m not a geologist, I don’t know if they’re related to the well-known Altamaha formations (or Altamaha grit). I suspect they may be grouped together at this point. Recent scholarship suggests they may be remnants of coral reefs near the ancient shoreline. Still others believe they’re meteoric in origin.
It’s looks quite small from some perspectives but the largest rock is actually nearly twenty feet high.
Boulders like the ones seen below can also be found in random nearby locations.
This is an important natural heritage site and I hope it remains in pristine condition for years to come.
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Union Veterans’ Graves, Evergreen Cemetery, Fitzgerald
When I was home for Thanksgiving I stopped by Evergreen Cemetery to visit relatives and was proud to see that someone had placed American flags on all the veterans’ graves, likely a project for Veterans Day. These Union veterans’ graves are in the oldest part of the cemetery.
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Smith’s Service Station, Fitzgerald
This old service station was built in the late 1940s or early 1950s and though it’s had many owners over the years is best known as Smith’s Service Station. Along with a few other long-derelict structures in the city, it’s scheduled for demolition in the near future.
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Tobacco Barn, Ben Hill County
This tarpaper-sided barn on Sweetpea Road has been hidden by trees for years.
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Central Christian Church, 1906, Fitzgerald
South Main-South Lee Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
One of Fitzgerald’s oldest and most beautiful churches, this is now home to the congregation of Faith Baptist.
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Tobacco Barn, Ben Hill County
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Lee House, Circa 1910, Fitzgerald
South Main-South Lee Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
This Craftsman-style home was built, circa 1910, by a local bank president who soon thereafter sold it to a Mr. Lee, who was a member of the bank’s board. Robert E. Lee (no relation to the Confederate general I presume) seems to have been the primary owner at least through the 1940s. His wife operated a private kindergarten in the house for many years. It was likely a rental property for some time thereafter. In the mid-1970s, Steve & Joanie Young began a restoration of the house which is still evident today. My good friend, Blaine Bostelman lived in the house in the early 1990s and completed cosmetic restorations. I appreciate him sharing some of the history.
Frances Hiers (Coota) Whitworth shared this: My life long friends,”Brother” Massee, Edna Earl Steed, James Lineberger, Eleanor McClendon, Mary Ellen Newcomer and Jerry Heller went to Mrs. Lee’ s kindergarten! I have pictures of a rust color house with ‘ chillun posing on the front steps and also on the seesaw in the back yard. Also had a goldfish pond. Lyman Brewer tells the story that he got expelled from Mrs. Lee’s kindergarten the first day he went because he pushed a little girl in the goldfish pond!!! Our snack was graham crackers and orange Kool-Aid!! We played a lot OUTSIDE and colored inside! Learned to take turns and always do what Mrs. Lee said to do!!! I’m so thankful and blessed to have been brought up in Fitzgerald in the 1930s and 40s!! “Coota” Hiers Whitworth. F.H.S class of 1947
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Male Longleaf Pine, Ben Hill County
Most people are familiar with pine cones. But those are the woody, female cones. Not everyone would recognize this herbaceous bloom as the male cone, but it’s a beautiful thing in its own right. The longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) was once the dominant tree of the South, covering 92 million acres throughout the region. Today, it survives on just 3 million scattered acres. Responsible landowners have begun to plant them in an effort to restore habitat and state agencies throughout the South manage them on public lands. For a beautiful illustrated work on the subject, check out Longleaf, Far as the Eye Can See, from the University of North Carolina Press. For a volume that speaks lyrically of the ecology of our wonderful South Georgia forests and the human culture they’ve always supported, read my friend Janisse Ray’s Ecology of a Cracker Childhood. (See links below).
http://uncpress.unc.edu/books/11869.html
http://milkweed.org/shop/product/395/ecology-of-a-cracker-childhood/
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Piedmont Azalea, Ben Hill County
Rhododendron canescens is a familiar harbinger of spring that can be seen blooming along wooded roadsides throughout the South this time of year. Its common names include Native Azalea (a general term for numerous native rhododendrons), Piedmont Azalea, Mountain Azalea, Honeysuckle Azalea, Sweet Azalea, Pinxterflower, among others.
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Harvey & Lydia Jay House, 1934, Fitzgerald
This home was built by local architect Lauren Parrott for $5000 in 1934 for Harvey & Lydia Jay. Mr. Jay was a well-respected Fitzgerald attorney for many years and also served as mayor. Thanks to his daughter, Lydia, for the history.
South Main-South Lee Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
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Gable-Front House, Fitzgerald
The Italianate eave brackets give this a bit more character than the average gable-front house.
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Abandoned Tenant House, Ben Hill County
I’ve been photographing this house in the Salem community for ten years and it hasn’t changed at all. It’s built in a T-pattern, with the left side likely added at some point to accommodate a growing family. Mateus Brown notes that it has always been referred to as the Shelley place.
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Gopher Tortoise, Ben Hill County
Sometimes it’s hard to imagine that this species is threatened because I see them quite often in my rambles on dirt roads throughout South Georgia, but it faces numerous challenges. Gopher Tortoises (Gopherus polyphemus) are emblematic of the upland pine habitat that once blanketed the Southeast but are now greatly reduced due to changes in land usage and myriad environmental factors. The Gopher Tortoise Council is a wonderful place to find information of these beloved symbols of our Southern forests.
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Student Nurse Dormitory, Fitzgerald
This Pueblo Revival house is located across the street from the site of the former Fitzgerald Hospital. Though a private residence today, it served as a dormitory for student nurses from the 1930s through the early 1960s.
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Shotgun House, Fitzgerald
This is one of just a few shotgun houses still standing in Fitzgerald.
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Episcopal Vicarage, Fitzgerald
Though I don’t believe it was built for the purpose, this house served for many years as the vicarage of St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in Fitzgerald. It is now abandoned and in need of restoration.
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Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake, Ben Hill County
Few creatures engender more fear and misunderstanding than the Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake (Crotalus adamenteus). I personally think they’re beautiful, but they should always be respected at a distance. I don’t encourage anyone to get as close as I did when making this photograph. But let them live. They’re one of our best allies in regards to reducing rodent populations and they’re an important indicator of the health of our broader ecosystem. The Georgia-based Orianne Society, which is focused primarily on the preservation of the Indigo Snake (Drymarchon couperi), also works to preserve this species.
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Hardwood Swamp, Ben Hill County
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Wilson’s Snipe, Ben Hill County
Folklore suggests that a snipe hunt is a fool’s errand. But snipe are real birds, if rarely encountered. The term sniper comes from the difficulty hunters of this bird face. It’s well-camouflaged and flies in such an irregular pattern that a clean shot is nearly impossible. I was very lucky to see this Wilson’s Snipe (Gallinago delicata) on Thanksgiving morning.
And in a flash, he was gone.
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