The Pendleton-Graves was built in 1820 as a plantation plain house. Purchased in 1853, Edmund Pendleton expanded it to share with his large family. It was then purchased by R. A. Graves in 1880 and had it transformed into the Queen Anne Victorian that you see today.
The home was abandoned and then purchased by Nancy Stephens in 1889. She attempted to restore the house. In 1993, she sold her home. It’s since changed owners several times, with the home staying empty.
The Bank of Sparta is located on the main thoroughfare of Broad Street in Sparta, Georgia. Despite applying for a charter fifteen years prior, the Bank of Sparta was approved to open as a bank in February 1904.
The bank was only for a few years. By April 1921, it was closed by state bank regulators when it was determined that the bank leaders were mishandling bank deposits. John D. Walker first served as the First National Bank of Sparta president. He then came to serve as the president of the Bank of Sparta. By 1921, he escaped to Texas to avoid prosecution for mishandling and the embezzling of bank funds. Depositors lost all of their money.
An interesting part of the sidewalk in front of the building is that there are still some vault lights. Vault lights were created to provide lighting in basements. The surface area is flat, but many of the vault lights would be angled to guide light into other basement areas.
While most of the glass appears clear, the glass can take on a purple hue. This (dis)coloration is caused by manganese dioxide, which will begin to change colors in response to sunlight. Silica was the main ingredient of the vault lights. Manganese dioxide was added to refine and set it.
So the next time you are walking in a historic downtown area, look down to see if you can locate any vault lights.
The Mt. Sinai Holiness Church of God sits just off the road in Emanuel County. Based on the name, this congregation was likely a Church of God in Christ (COGIC) denomination. While open to all races, members in the churches are mostly African American. Georgia’s historic resource database indicates that the church was built in 1945. According to Google Street Views, this church was active until at least 2014.
Built in 1915, the Noah’s Ark AME Church is considered one of the freedmen’s churches since the congregation was formed soon after the end of the Civil War.
Founded in 1787 by Richard Allen, Allen served as the first minister for Bethel AME Church in Philadelphia. The fastest growth in the AME churches occurred post-Civil War in the South. During Reconstruction, church membership grew to 400,000 parishioners.
This Craftsman-style home is tucked into a corner at the back of Crestlawn Cemetery. For the number of times I have visited this cemetery, I have managed to miss it until recently. Tax records indicate the home was built in 1910. Crestlawn Cemetery wasn’t established until 1916.
The original owners were the Allen family, Cora and Frank and their sons, James and Horace. Frank Allen served as the sexton for Crestlawn Cemetery until his death in 1946. Both James and Horace lived in the home after their parents passed. Horace was the last Allen to live here when he passed away in 1975.
Credits to Archive Atlanta for the initial information on the house.
The Miller-Anthorne-Williams House is a one-story hipped roof house with Greek Revival details. Built in the years immediately after the Civil War, it is a contributing property to the Lore Historic District in Eufaula.
