Altamaha, Tattnall County

Founded in 1868, the church still holds services on the first Sunday of each month.
Founded in 1868, the church still holds services on the first Sunday of each month.
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 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.
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..
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.
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.
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.
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.
Flanked by condos and one of the many golf courses on Hilton Island is an historic cemetery called Braddock’s Point Cemetery. While the earliest death date on a marker is during the Civil War, it is believed this also served as a burial ground for the people held in bondage at the nearby Braddock Point Plantation.
One of the burial practices with the Gullah Geechee people is to bury their loved ones with personal items. Sometimes it is the last dish they used, or another object of importance. Braddock’s Point Cemetery illustrates older and more modern interpretations of this practice.
From the historical marker, “Established on Edisto Island about 1686 by Scotch dissenters, this is the second oldest Baptist organization in the South. For many years a branch of First Baptist Church in Charleston, Euhaw declared itself a separate church in 1745 after relocating to this vicinity from Edisto Island. A sanctuary was built 6 mi. NE in 1751; it burned in 1857. The first sanctuary on this site was built in 1860. It burned in 1904 and was replaced by the sanctuary in 1906, which is still used for occasional services. The present sanctuary nearby was built in 1982.”
The church was built for the wealthy planters who used Grahamville as a summer home. The sanctuary was built to hold over a 1000 people, most of those seats being taken by the enslaved people of the church members.
Built in 1920 for $3250, this two-teacher type schools was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2017. There is a current fundraising campaign to restore the school.
Built in 1929, it served as the only Black school in Hampton until the high school was built in 1947. It then served as the lunchroom for the new high school.
It now serves the community as a Black history museum. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.
This is the view that caught my attention drive g down the road. No one else may see this, but I was reminded of one side of the House of Seven Gables.
The Lovetts have businesses that still carry their name, and a cemetery that is located less from where this house stands.