Altamaha, Tattnall County
Founded in 1868, the church still holds services on the first Sunday of each month.
Pearson’s United Methodist Church, Georgia
Category Archives: 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..
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.
Lovett House, Georgia
Sardis, Screven County
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.
First McCanaan Baptist Church, Georgia
Sardis, Burke County
The Old McCanaan Missionary Baptist Church, now the First McCanaan Baptist Church, was founded in 1875. Many of the founding members were sharecroppers from the nearby Millhaven Plantation. It served as a spiritual gathering place the Black men and women of the area. The first building for the church was lost due to fire. By 1912, the new building was erected, which the congregation still uses today.
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001 for as an excellent example of Gothic Revival in a rural Southern church.
Noah’s Ark Baptist Church, Georgia
Keysville, Burke County
Noah’s Ark Baptist Church was organized in 1864 in Burke County, Georgia. It was one of the founding churches for newly freedmen and women in Burke County. Starting under a brush arbor, the congregation moved into a tenant located near where their current church building stands.
Noah Smith donated land to build the first church. after the first two buildings were destroyed by wind and fire, They moved to their following location, where two more buildings were built. The building above was built in 1883 at a cost of $1900. It was in use until 2006. The congregation is now active at a new sanctuary.
Ma Rainey, Georgia
Columbus, Muscogee County
Gertrude “Ma” Rainey Pridgett (1886-1939) is considered the “Mother of Blues.” Columbus, Georgia was her home which is where she was born.
She started performing by the age of 14 and began touring as part of vaudeville and minstrel shows. Known for her dynamic performances, Ma Rainey made a name for herself as she toured the country.
The Ma Rainey house, now a museum, was the home that Ma purchased for her mother and where she moved into upon her return to Columbus. Initially, the home was the typical shotgun that can still be seen in the neighborhood, but Rainey had a new two-story home built. She lived there until her death in 1939. The house was saved from demolition by neglect by committed Columbus preservationists. It was put on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 1992.
Ma Rainey rests in Porterdale Cemetery, which was once known as the Colored Cemetery. It was put on the NRHP in 1980.
Opened in 1924, the Liberty Theatre was a segregated theatre that hosted Ma Rainey and other Black artists. Rainey eventually purchased the theater. It was put on the NRHP in 1984.