Tag Archives: abandoned

-Georgia, Abandoned, Black History, Churches and Temples

Mother Easter Baptist Church – Moultrie, Georgia

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Mother Easter Baptist Church was founded in 1894 in Moultrie, Georgia, by Rev. James O. Kelley and several community leaders. The church was named in honor of “Mother Easter,” believed to be Easter Smith, a widow who allowed worship services to be held in her home before the church was built. After early growth and multiple relocations due to fires in 1903 and 1905, the congregation purchased this location in 1906.

Rev. Kelley served as the first pastor, followed by a succession of leaders who guided the church through rebuilding and expansion. Notable growth occurred under Rev. J.J. Strickland from 1942 to the late 1950s, when membership increased significantly and the church was remodeled with an added annex. In 1962, Rev. Emory Harrison Hopkins became the church’s first full-time pastor. The congregation moved into their current structure in 1985.

-Georgia, Abandoned, Churches and Temples

Meansville Baptist Church in Meansville, Georgia

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Meansville Baptist Church is located in Pike County, Georgia. Built in the 1880s, the church is a classic gabled-roof church in rural Georgia. The congregation built a new church, and this building was converted to a residence at some point. The building was abandoned many years ago.

-Alabama, Abandoned, Uncategorized

The Quirky Roadside Hive of Prattville, Alabama

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Heading south out of Prattville, Alabama, towards Montgomery is a dome-shaped building in the center of a parking lot. It’s the final vestige of Stuart’s Red Devil Lake, a recreation area built in the 1930s. It was billed as “Montgomery’s Finest and Most Unusual Recreation Center.” One unusual feature is the dome, which served as a fountain in the lake. Patrons could get free admission if they purchased Red Devil Gas, a series of gas stations owned by the lake owner. Unfortunately, a dam broke at Red Devil Lake in 1939, permanently closing the recreation area.

Advertisement in the June 16, 2024 Montgomery Advertiser
Photo from the June 24, 1936 Montgomery Advertiser. You can see the dome on the left side of the photo.
After the lake closed, a restaurant called the Water Wheel opened. Despite being abandoned, it still stands.
A frequent advertisement in The Mongomery Advertiser

-Georgia, Abandoned, Churches and Temples

Rural Hill Church in Webster County, Georgia

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There isn’t much information on this church. A historic resources survey lists the build date as 1906, but there isn’t additional information included. Newspaper archives show Rural Hill, near Bottsford, existed as early as 1889. There are references to Rural Hill Church in The Dawson News. FindAGrave lists a cemetery with that name, but it is not on the church’s property but a mile or so away. I will update the post if I learn more information about it.

-Georgia, -North Carolina, -South Carolina, -Tennessee, Abandoned, Cemeteries, Famous People, Hotels and Motels, Houses, National Register of Historic Places, Signs, Stores, Vernacular Headstones

The Year in Review-Top Ten Posts of 2024

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Thank you for joining me in my travels around the South. It’s been a great year of wandering backroads and a few main ones. If I learned anything, it is that people love abandoned houses, buildings with unexpected histories, and (in)famous graves.

Cleveland DeLuxe Cottages-A Georgia Motel with a Connection to the Cabbage Patch Kids
The Grave of Moses Harshaw-The Story of “The Meanest Man Alive” in Clarkesville, Georgia
The Krispy Kreme of Spartanburg, South Carolina
Lone Oak Motel in Toccoa, Georgia was the Final Home of R&B singer Dee Clark
Briarcliff, The Mansion of Asa “Buddie” Candler Jr. In Atlanta, Georgia
The Graves of The McCrary Twins-World’s Largest Twins
The James and Lily Gaines House of Adairsville, Georgia
The William Knight House-The First Lustron Built in Georgia Still Stands Today
The Tent Graves of Stamps Cemetery in Putnam County, Tennessee
Coca-Cola Building of Spartanburg, South Carolina
-Georgia, Abandoned, Houses, National Register of Historic Places

The James and Lily Gaines House of Adairsville, Georgia

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The James and Lily Gaines House was built by Prussian architect, John Schmitz, in 1901 as a “Honeymoon House.” Schmitz relocated to Bartow County after serving in the Civil War as a Union soldier. His architectural work can be seen throughout Bartow County.

The home is a rare example of a brick Queen Anne home in Georgia. Built into a hill, the home faces downtown and the rail line. It is believed the bricks came in via the rail since there isn’t a record of a brick manufacturer in the area until 1906.

A long-rumored story about the home is that it was a hospital with a tunnel to the nearby funeral parlor. Unfortunately, this does not seem to be verifiable. It did serve as a hotel at one point.

Information on the house was culled from Maggie Ball’s research of the home.