Altamaha, Tattnall County
Founded in 1868, the church still holds services on the first Sunday of each month.
Pearson’s United Methodist Church, Georgia
The Feral Cattle of Sapelo Island, Georgia
Sapelo Island, McIntosh County
I was aware of the wild cows of Sapelo Island because of different books and articles I’ve read. I was not aware until the morning I took this photo that they are known to charge. I am grateful I had a conversation with a resident who shared a story of a run in with the cattle.
It was my last day on the island, and I wanted to make sure I didn’t miss any road or path that was ok to travel by golf cart (many roads are too rough for the carts to travel safely). I turn down one path, and as I am traveling, I see ahead of me between 10 to 15 cows. It was a mixture of older cows and their calves. They immediately started to run towards me. I quickly did a 180 as fast as I could on a Sandy road in a golf cart.
As I turned around to see if they were still running towards me, only a bull was left. I quickly snapped a photo on my phone and left.
Sapelo is the only barrier island, and one of the few places in the United States with wild cattle. This is a great article that discusses the Sapelo cattle, which are believed to be tied, minimally, to the time RJ Reynolds Jr. had farming operations on the island or when there were plantations on the island.
I am certain I didn’t say a word, but I know I was shouting many a cuss word as I was trying to get away. I will not forget this experience.
Behavior Cemetery, Georgia
Sapelo Island, McIntosh County
Behavior Cemetery is an active cemetery believed to have been in existence prior to the Civil War. It now serves as a burial ground for the descendants of the earliest Black families who have called Sapelo Island home.
The cemetery was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996. The cemetery features many handmade markers that span several decades and more recent granite markers. Burial patterns are not in rows, and the older burials towards the middle and back of the cemetery.
Farmers’ Alliance Hall, Georgia
Sapelo Island, McIntosh County
Built as the Sapelo Island outpost for the the Colored Farmers’ Alliance and Cooperative Union, the Farmers’ Alliance Hall serves as gathering place for Sapelo Islanders and their descendants. It was restored in 2008 under the guidance of the Sapelo Island Cultural and Revitalization Society, an organization, an organization dedicated to saving the historic resources on the island..
St. Luke’s Baptist Church and School, Georgia
Hog Hammock, McIntosh County
Founded in 1884, St. Luke’s Baptist Church is still an active church with services every other Sunday. It was formed by former members of the First African Baptist Church. The church was initially called the 2nd Baptist Church. Current structure has been in use since 1902.
St. Luke’s also had one of two Rosenwald Schools on the island. Everything I’ve read states that the school is still standing and is being used by the church. If that is the case, this is the school, but it has been heavily modified. I hope to get confirmation that this is the building.
Hutcherson Cemetery, Georgia
Meridian, McIntosh County
This is a family cemetery where the family name is either Hutcherson or Hutchinson. Based on the repetition of names, this cemetery has been in use for a hundred years. It is still an active cemetery as seen by the last photo. Throughout the cemetery, there is pvc pipe next to markers. In most of them, there were silk flowers placed inside like a small vase.
Isle of Hope Union Baptist Church, Georgia
Savannah, Chatham County
Founded in 1872, this church is still active. It’s not the same congregation as the Isle of Hope Baptist Church. The current structure was built in the 1940s.
Pin Point Heritage Museum, Georgia
Savannah, Chatham County
Located in the A. S. Varn and Son Oyster and Crab Factory, the Pin Point Heritage Museum, the museum shares the story of the freed men and women who founded the Pin Point community in 1890. It showcases the Gullah/Geechee culture.
Residents of the community can trace their lineage to the men and women who were once held in bondage on the Sea Islands. According to the Heritage Museum website, “With the property continuing to be passed down generation to generation, it is now believed to be the largest African-American owned waterfront property on the East Coast.”
Pin Point Cemetery, Georgia
Pin Point, Chatham County
Pin Point Cemetery shares land with the Sweetfield of Eden Baptist Church. It’s a small cemetery in the heart of the fishing community founded by freedmen and women from the Sea Islands. I cannot discern if the Pin Point Cemetery and Sweetfield of Eden graveyard are the same or if there was a boundary line that was no longer apparent.
St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church and School, Georgia
Burroughs, Chatham County
Built in 1896, St. Bartholomew’s Church is the longest continuing Black Episcopal congregation in the state. The school, now the parish hall, was built in 1897.
The Victorian elements of the church make it a standout in rural church architecture. It was placed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
The church is still active with services offered twice a month. They are held in the afternoon, which is a long-standing tradition of the church.
Sunbury Missionary Baptist Church, Georgia
Liberty County
The Sunbury Missionary Baptist Church formed out of the Sunbury Baptist Chirch (c. 1806). During an 1846 census, the church had 161 men and women in bondage that enslaved by the white members of the church.
In June of 1866, this church was founded. they held services until 1918, the it was decided to relocate the church to the current site.
Houston Baptist Church, Georgia
Port Wentworth, Chatham County
Founded in 1886 by Reverend Ulysses S. Houston of the First Bryan Baptist Church in Savannah, the Houston Baptist Church was founded to provide for the spiritual needs of the men and women of Rice Hope Plantation. The church, and the adjoining cemetery, sit on part of the land that used to make up the plantation. When built, it took over the footprint of a praise house that existed there during slavery.
The church was active until the 1970s. Unfortunately, it fell into disrepair, and it almost collapsed after a storm in 2007. The community chose to rebuild the historic church. It presently is a museum that focuses on the Black history of the surrounding community.
For earlier photos before restoration and more history, please read The Houston Museum Project.
Palmer School, South Carolina
Centenary, Marion County
Built in the later part of the 19th Century, the Palmer School is the oldest schoolhouse remaining in Marion County. The school and the adjacent cemetery are named after David Palmer, an SC legislature.
It operated until the 1920s educating white school children from the area.
After years of neglect, the school is going under restoration. You can see older photos of the school on the South Carolina Picture Project website.
Wesley United Methodist Church, South Carolina
Jacksonboro, Colleton County
Talbird Cemetery, South Carolina
Hilton Head, Beaufort County
Talbird/Tabor/Talbot Cemetery is the largest Gullah cemetery on Hilton Head Island. On one side are condos and the other is Skull Creek. The cemetery’s founding is in the 1800s, but the exact date is not known. The Mount Calvary Missionary Baptist Church tends to the cemetery that experienced significant damage during Hurricane Matthew.
