Join me at the Hapeville Depot Museum on Saturday, May 18th at 2 PM to learn about the Hart and Flat Rock Cemeteries. RSVP at info@hapevilledepot.org.
See you there!
Hear Me Speak about the Flat Rock and Hart Cemeteries
An Unidentified School in Franklin County, Georgia
Southwest of Carnesville, Georgia, on Highway 59, you will pass the Ebenezer Methodist Church Cemetery and the Hebron Lodge. I have driven past the Hebron Lodge and never stopped. I also had not noticed a building that looked like an early 1900s school at the top of the hill. Imagine my surprise when I did see it. Sadly, I cannot determine the history of the building. Since it shares the land with the lodge and cemetery, I wondered if it was once called the Ebenezer School or Hebron School. This did not help in my search. If you know anything about this building, please let me know.
The Historic Hebron Presbyterian Church, Cemetery, and Academy of Banks County, Georgia
Founded in 1796, the Hebron Presbyterian Church congregation in Banks County is one of the earliest congregations in north Georgia. The church was built in 1883 and is representative of many rural churches found in the South with the double doors at the entrance, which were used separately by men and women when the sexes did not sit next to each other during church services.
The Hebron Academy is tied to the earlier school on the church’s campus. The first school building was constructed in 1855. At the time, it was a rare school that educated white schoolchildren and the children of the enslaved. The slaveholder could grant permission for anyone they held in bondage to be educated. This continued until a Georgia state law was passed to prevent the education of anyone held in bondage. In 1910, the current school building was constructed, and the old building was moved to be used as a parsonage.
The church’s cemetery highlights a mixture of tombs and markers used over the years. From the head and shoulders grave markers, sometimes called discoids, and the cairns represent earlier markers. Additionally, since it is still an active cemetery, modern markers are mixed throughout it.
The Former Ebenezer Methodist Church in Ashland, Georgia
The Hebron Lodge occupies what was once the Ebenezer Methodist Church in Ashland, Georgia. The congregation of Ebenezer was founded in the 1820s. Their first church was on the same plot of land. In 1882 a new church was built by the congregation. It is the one that stands today.
The congregation dissolved in the 1960s. At some point the Hebron Lodge #564 took over the space and now use it as a meeting place.
John McConnell House-Franklin County, Georgia
The John F. McConnell House was built in 1906. According to the National Register of Historic Places, this Georgian plan house has three cut stone chimneys and six fireplaces. A local brick mason, William O. Brown, built the fireplaces, who apparently would mark the year and the number to indicate how many chimneys he had built. He marked one chimney with 1906 #255. His chimneys can be found throughout the area.
The home has Victorian details that can be seen on the porch and the gable. I am quite fond of this house.
The Grave of Sideways, the Dog-Atlanta, Georgia
Located on the west side of Tech Tower at Georgia Tech is the grave of a beloved terrier known as Sideways. Sideways fell from a car window at the Varsity when she was an 8-week-old puppy. She was taken in by Annie Schofield, a boarding house owner, whose home was at 109 North Ave NW. She was known as a dog lover and would eventually nurse Sideways back to health. Her home was between the Varsity and Smith Residence Hall on campus.
Sideways’s fall required that she needed surgery. After her recovery, Sideways walked at an angle, hence, her name. Schofield cared for her until she was eight months old. In an interview with the Atlanta Journal, Scholfield shared, “One day, however, a bunch of sailor boys from Tech passed the house, and Sideways went out to see them. They played with her, gave her that funny name, and from that time on, she was at Tech more than she was at my home.” She became a beloved figure on campus. She would attend classes, march alongside the drill team, and even lead the football team onto the field. She was even kidnapped by UGA students near the 1946 Tech and University of Georgia football game. GT students went to Athens and took her back.
According to a 1947 article about Sideways in The Atlanta Journal, the beloved terrier did not have one student she stuck by. All Tech men would take care of her. She would be escorted into the dining hall for meals or be taken to the restaurant College Inn for a treat of a milkshake and steak. She even attended class.
Unfortunately, Sideways died at a young age after accidentally eating rat poison. Her death made front page news. The beloved pup was buried near Tech Tower. Student Council treasurer Roy Barnes worked to get a grave marker made by McNeel Marble Company (Morgan McNeel was a Tech alum and former football star.) At the marker dedication, Dean George C. Griffin gave the eulogy where he said, “The greatest secret of success is the ability to get along with people. I think this small animal had that quality.”
Over the years, Sideways’s grave became where students would leave mementos for good luck during exams. Usually, it is change, but now you can find drinks, candy, notes, and anything else that Tech students think would help them be in the protective graces of Sideways.