Category Archives: Historic Photos

-Georgia, Black History, Historic Photos, Schools

Boggs Academy-Keysville, Georgia

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Burke County

Boggs Academy, now the Boggs Rural Life Center, is a former boarding school that served the Black community of Keysville, Georgia. Founded in 1906 by the Board of Missions for Freedman, Presbyterian Church, it educated students in the grades 9 through 12. The reputation of the school grew, and it educated Black students from all over the country. Closing in 1984, it was the last remaining boarding school built for the education of Black youth.

The campus is quite large and some parts are being restored. These photos show only a few of the buildings in existence.

Boggs Dining Hall
Boggs Dining Hall
Classroom Building
Classroom Building
Classroom Building
Gymnasium
From the February 14, 1925 issue of The True Citizen
-Georgia, Historic Photos, Stores

R. E. Ringer General Merchandise Store-Carroll County, Georgia

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Built in 1927, the R. E. Ringer General Merchandise store is located south of Carrollton, Georgia. The store was owned by Richard E. and Etta Ringer. In 1933, it was documented as part of the Historic American Buildings Survey by the photographer Andy Hall. It was documented as an important example of a rural commercial building.

Historic American Buildings Survey photos courtesy of the Library of Congress.

-Georgia, Abandoned, Black History, Historic Photos, Rosenwald Schools, Schools

Smithville School-Smithville, Georgia

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The Smithville School opened in 1928 and stayed open until May 1955. It was a four-teacher-type school. Afterward, the building was converted into apartments. It now sits empty.

Image is from the 1976 Smithville Historical Committee’s Smithville, Georgia…a glimpse into the past.
-Georgia, Historic Photos, National Register of Historic Places, Schools

Apalachee School-Apalachee, Georgia

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The Apalachee School was built in 1911 to replace a small frame building (pictured below) that was built in 1890. The two-story school was in use from 1911-1951. The Georgian Revival structure was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000.

From the 1915 Educational Survey of Morgan County
-Georgia, Cemeteries, Churches and Temples, Historic Photos, National Register of Historic Places

Episcopal Church of the Redeemer-Greensboro, Georgia

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Organized in 1863, the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer is the only Episcopal church in Greene County. The church building was designed and constructed in 1868 by J. O. Barnwell. It is an example of Gothic Revival architecture. The first rector was Joshua Knowles. He and his wife are next to the church building.

It was put on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.

1939 photo in the Historic American Buildings Survey (Library of Congress)
Black History, Historic Photos, National Register of Historic Places, Rosenwald Schools, Schools

Eleanor Roosevelt School-Warm Springs, Georgia

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red brick school with side door

Built in 1936, the Eleanor Roosevelt School was the last Rosenwald school built. This was four years after the funding had officially stopped, but President Roosevelt had convinced the Rosenwald fund to follow through on a promise to build a school in Warm Springs. It was built as a five-teacher school and served the local community as a school until 1972 when integration officially closed it.

In 2020, the school was purchased by the Williams siblings, Voncher and Debron, through the Georgia’s Trust for Historic Preservation Revolving Fund. You can follow along on the restoration and donate by visiting their site.

Images are from “Builders of goodwill ; the story of the State agents of Negro education in the South, 1910 to 1950” by S. L. Smith