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Thursday, October 30, 2014

Road Trip 16: Riddleville Georgia's 1917 Corner Beauty

Riddleville is a crossroads between Bartow and Sandersville where Highway 242 crosses 231.


I think it's "J Y Bryan & Sons 1917." It has one of those dogeared corner entrances I like so much, lot's of fine brick detailing too. The diagonal "honors" and "activates the corner by facing in. You'll find this in our best feeling corners.


20140929_173911 2014-09-29 Riddleville Georgia drive Home from Hilton Head
Apart from the visual appeal the cut corner is a gift to the street. It lets you see around the corner a bit, makes you feel a bit safer.

We've seen these before.

20140929_165612 2014-09-29 Midville Georgia City Hall Jones at Troot Street Drive Home from Hilton Head
Midville City Hall.

And were still seeing these. And it's a fine thing.

20141029_151455
Kevin Gillespie's restaurant, Gunshow in Glenwood Park has a massive corner column in keeping with its bulky building. It's a good look.


Saturday, October 25, 2014

Road Trip 15: Tiny Bartow Georgia is Imagible, Legible, and Memorable thanks to Patsy Jordan

Bartow is still stuck in my head.

It looked like somebody has just "picked up" you know what I mean? When guests were coming over, my mom would tell everybody to pick up and she'd come in behind us to straighten up. Your mom too I'm sure.

And though downtown Bartow was mostly empty and closed, it felt clean and comfortable and it felt like somebody cared about it.

We encountered three landmarks right off: the water-tower, the Johnson-Josey-Jordan House, and the caboose.


The water tower is right smack in town and there were people in there on this late Monday afternoon.

The tower was enough for me but we when we turned our heads to the right, there was a perfect house in a  perfect yard.

20140929_171740 2014-09-29 Magnolia Mornings Bed and Breakfast Bartow Georgia Johnson-Josey-Jordan House  drive Home from Hilton Head
It's the Magnolia Mornings Bed and Breakfast in the 1860 Johnson-Josey-Jordan House. I think Sherman went right by here. If you want to stay here for the Masters, Augusta National is about 60 miles away.

Patsy Jordan (R.I.P.) ran it. She must have made sure everyone in town picked up.
"(Patsy Jordan) Museum founder and bed and breakfast operator the heart and soul of Bartow, Ga." - Atlanta Journal-Constitution
20140929_171805 2014-09-29 Bartow Georgia Drive Home from Hilton Head
Magnolia Mornings isn't the only pretty house in Bartow. This is almost next door.

20140929_171846 2014-09-29 Bartow Georgia Drive Home from Hilton Head
And there's the caboose. Looks like the old depot is now the Bartow Museum. I'm pretty sure Patsy had her hand in this.

A good time to look at the map.


Downtown has a "green" with the depot at the north end. It feels like the two commercial strips reach out to embrace you. If this was a county seat, there'd be a beautiful if intimidating courthouse there, a landmark that blocked the view.

20140929_172147 2014-09-29  Bartow Georgia Drive Home from Hilton Head
The former business side of the depot looks good, a shady spot to await the train.

20140929_172044 2014-10-29 Bartow Georgia
This the Railroad Avenue strip, it's empty but not quite abandoned.

20140929_172038 2014-10-29 Bartow Georgia drive home from Hilton Head
It's baseball cap is pulled down low over the eyes.

20140929_172056  2014-10-29 Bartow Georgia
1900 in marble between rusticated bands with a hint of acanthus leaves. I'm embarrassed that I didn't get out of the car a peek inside.

20140929_172114 2014-10-29 Bartow Georgia
Noble cornice, triumphal triple arches and recessed double doors with transom, worth all the TLC it can get.

20140929_172127 2014-10-29 Bartow Georgia
High style anchors the north end of the strip.

20140929_172236 2014-09-29  2014-10-29 Bartow Georgia downtow commercial strip Drive Home from Hilton Head
I wish we had one of these in my neighborhood.

We would have stayed longer but we were were trying to reach Sparta before dark.

See more of Bartow at Brian Brown's "Vanishing South Georgia."

Friday, October 24, 2014

Road Trip 13: In the Middle of Midville Georgia

Highway 17 isn't main street in Midville, so we turned south on Jones Street to North Railroad, Trout, and Kilpatrick. But we were in a hurry to reach Sparta before dark.


This was a good start but I can't find it on the map.

20140929_165612 2014-09-29 Midville Georgia City Hall Jones at Troot Street Drive Home from Hilton Head
City hall or the once city hall.

20140929_165621 2014-09-29 Midville Georgia City Hall Drive Home from Hilton Head
Nice cornice.

20140929_165806 2014-09-29  Midville Georgia Trout Street Mansion Drive Home from Hilton Head
A beauty on Trout Street.

20140929_165836 2014-09-29 Drive Home from Hilton Head
Also on Trout. This shape warms my heart. See the steeple of Midville United Methodist Church on the left?

Wish we'd had more time.

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Road Trip 12: We Missed Most of Millen Georgia but Hope to Return

Driving north on 17 our introduction to Millen was this mansion in the middle of a low-rise housing project.


This can't be the only one, can it? But we were in a rush hoping to make Sparta before dark.

20140929_161542 2014-09-29 Drive Home from Hilton Head Millen Georgia
We took a jog west on Cotton Avenue. Commercial on the north side.

20140929_161629 2014-09-29 Drive Home from Hilton Head Pal Theater Millen Georgia
Millen's Pal Theater looks fine for now.

20140929_161757 
Losing the innards of the basket handle arch.

20140929_161906 2014-09-29 Millen Georgia train and train station Drive Home from Hilton Head
Cotton Avenue fronts the tracks. Millen must be a great train watching place: "Awesome N(orfolk) S(southern) Action in Millen, GA 2/15/14" is indeed awesome.

20140929_162138 2014-09-29 Millen Georgia Drive Home from Hilton Head
We found this kitty-cornered from the courthouse at College and Harvey. Look at those tall windows.

But we were out of time. We stopped at McDonalds at the intersection of 17 and 23 then headed west toward Midville.




Sunday, October 19, 2014

Road Trip 11: Scarboro, Georgia's Perfect Terminated Vista and Triangular Green

This tiny place is not to be missed. Fortunately you can't miss it so take an extra five minutes and stop in Scarboro.

About 5 miles up Highway 17 north of Rocky Ford we found a near perfect terminated vista. It looks like you are going to drive smack into a building, a place that stops the eye.

You put something pretty in a terminated vista. In Scarboro it's this little church.


Scarboro Baptist is atop a tiny rise on a triangular green, grand red steps to the portico.

"In 1839 (Scarboro) became Station No. 7 on the Central Rail Road and served this (sic) one of the very oldest rail roads in the United States...."

On the green there's a white church, a blue house, and a gray house. Scarboro Road, a shortcut to the Ogeechee River, passes a ruin and the cemetery.


The Scarboro triangle.

20140929_160208 2014-09-29 big blue house Scarboro Georgia
The Blue House.

IMG_3012 2014-09-29 Scarboro Georgia boat 
Boat cubby.

20140929_160231 2014-09-29 Scarboro Landing Bait and Tackle Scarboro Georgia
The gray house seems to be a riverside store neither abandoned nor busy on this Monday afternoon.

IMG_3015 2014-09-29 Ruin on Scarboro road near cemetery Scarboro Georgia
The ruin is on Scarboro Road where it starts sloping down to the Ogeechee.

The cemetery is across the street from the ruin. We didn't have time to explore be we wanted to.

Of course Brian Brown has been there with Vanishing South Georgia.

That's about all there is, do stop.

Friday, October 17, 2014

Road Trip 10: Rocky Ford, Georgia

Rocky Ford proper isn't on Highway 17. We turned southwest on Rocky Ford Road and drove just past the railroad tracks where we found City Hall.


On Rocky Ford Road the buildings are close to the street.

20140929_154603 2014-09-29 Rocky Ford Baptist Church Rocky Ford Georgia
Rocky Ford Baptist is right on the sidewalk. It feels good.

20140929_154650 2014-09-29 Rocky Ford Georgia white house
This big old house is right out there for us to enjoy.

20140929_155039 2014-09-29 Rocky Ford Georgia
There's a handful of elegant small houses along the tracks.

20140929_155006 2014-09-29 Drive Home from Hilton Head Rocky Ford Georgia Post Office
The PO.

20140929_155149 2014-09-29 Drive Home from Hilton Head Rocky Ford Georgia Policeman and Police Car
We spoke to the police officer. He could not have been nicer.

Downtown Rocky Ford has been on HGTV's reZONED. Greta Newton bought downtown Rocky Ford.



Cool, huh?

Greta Newton has a blog - best blog quality to town size ratio I've ever seen.






Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Road Trip 9: Oliver, Georgia the Beautiful Speed Trap?

When you are flying up Highway 17, the speed limit signs come on fast. But that wasn't our particular problem.

We could have gotten a ticket for going too slow in Oliver Georgia. It's a little gem about 20 miles east if Stateboro. We drove around Oliver in the rain. Glad we did.


The only sign we saw directed us to municipal court.

IMG_2994  2014-09-29 Oliver GA Police car and municipal court
Here it is on Schoolhouse Road.

We turned up Clark Street and hit Railroad Avenue, Old Louisville Road and took a little jog to Kildare. We'd have gotten out of the car if it wasn't raining.

IMG_2985 2014-09-29 Oliver Georgia

IMG_2987 2014-09-29 Oliver Georgia

 IMG_2988 2014-09-29 Oliver, Georgia


IMG_2989 2014-09-29 Oliver, Georgia

IMG_2990 2014-09-29 Guyton GA Little Ogeechee Baptist Church
Little Ogeechee Baptist Church is on Old Louisville Road

 IMG_2993  2014-09-29 Oliver GA Little Ogeechee Baptist Church 
Thanks to Brian Brown at Vanishing South Georgia we have some good information on the Little Ogeechee Baptist Church. I hope Historic Rural Churches of Georgia is on the way.
"Church was used in a movie in 1974 called 'Buster and Billie'”

"The church was established 222 yrs ago. The present structure is the third in the history of the church and was build in 1912. There is a grave yard attached to the church property."
20140929_150618   2014-09-29 Oliver GA Yellow house Drive Home from Hilton Head
Corner of Railroad and Schoolhouse.

20140929_150935 2014-09-29 Oliver GA  city hall Drive Home from Hilton Head
We found City Hall.

20140929_150844  2014-09-29 Oliver GA  post office Drive Home from Hilton Head
And the post office.

IMG_3002 2014-09-29 Oliver GA Oliver's on 24 church
We took a little jog up Highway 24 and found Oliver on 24 which sure looked like a church.

IMG_3005 2014-09-29 Oliver GA Oliver's on 24 church
Maybe a meeting place / wedding chapel now.

IMG_3006 2014-09-29 Oliver GA Oliver's blue house
There's a pretty blue next door with some stabilizing columns, a good sign.

20140929_150658   2014-09-29 Oliver GA sandy road near yellow house Drive Home from Hilton Head
Hope to come back on a pretty day.



20140929_151613 2014-09-29 Oliver GA Oliver's on 24 church tk selfie
Next stop: Rocky Ford.