This building sits next to what was once Scott’s Chapel CME Church. It’s now the Mercy Ministries. The building is a classic school building from the 1920s. While I don’t think it is a Rosenwald, the design was influenced by the Rosenwald design. Research isn’t shedding much light except tax records indicate it as the Sunday School building.
In July 2020, the antebellum mansion once home to the Stevens family burned to the ground after a lightning strike. The Greek Revival home was built in the 1850s in what became known as Stevens Pottery, Georgia. It was likely built with enslaved labor since the 1860 Slave Census listed the family holding 13 men, women, and children in bondage.
The current home looks quite similar to the old structure but with additional wings added to each side. Below is an image from Georgia’s Natural, Archaeological, and Historic Resources GIS website.
Founded by Henry Stevens in Baldwin County, “The Pottery,” as it was once known, built up around a sawmill and pottery. After the Civil War, the saw mill and pottery was the largest industry in Baldwin County. Remnants of the old pottery can still be seen through a fence and overgrowth.
I became interested in Stevens Pottery because I told that the Stephens Grave Covers were likely made and fired here, so I decided to visit the community. It does not seem that the two families are connected.
Located on a side street on the outskirts of Milledgeville is one of the most impressive folk funerary monuments I’ve had the opportunity to document. The arched entryway for the Randolph Cemetery honors the Knights of the Pythias, Lodge 47. I would assume, minimally, they helped build this arch, but they likely had a hand in the start of this cemetery
The first Black KoP lodge was started in 1880 in Mississippi. I have not located much history about the Black history of KoP lodges in Georgia.
The shield on the right represents the Knights of the Pythias. The F, C, and B stands for friendship, charity, and benevolence. They are often flanked by swords, battle axes, or a spear to represent the weapons they used to fight their enemies.
On July 27, 2023, it was announced that Governor Kemp authorized the demolition of four buildings on the Central State Hospital in Milledgeville, Georgia. The Walker Building is one of the buildings slated for completion, which isn’t a surprise because you can see the sky looking up through the windows. It was built in 1884 to serve as the admission ward for white males. It was used until 1974. It is my favorite building on the hospital’s campus.
Cedar Lane Cemetery, also known as Asylum Cemetery, served as one of four cemeteries for the population of Central State Hospital in Milledgeville, Georgia. While the earliest burials were at Memory Hill Cemetery, the city’s cemetery, this burial ground opened in 1854.
In 1997, a committed group of employees and volunteers worked to restore the cemetery under the guidance of the Georgia Consumers Council and the state of Georgia. They found many of the metal markers, known as stobs, in the nearby wooded area and edges of the cemetery. It is believed the grounds crew did this to make it easier to maintain the landscape. These metal markers were crafted on-site starting in 1911. They replaced the wooden markers that were in use. Since it was unknown where the markers were within the cemetery, the 2,000 stobs were placed in rows.
While most of the cemetery is without headstones, there are a handful of markers throughout Cedar Lane. Patients’ families placed the headstones.
Cedar Lane Cemetery and the other cemeteries are believed to be the final resting place for over 25,000 patients. After restoration, a memorial plaque was placed along with a gazebo and gates. A bronze angel, created by Don Haugen, was erected at the end of one of the roads.
Flannery O’Connor (1925-1964) was an American writer for her novels and short stories. Her final resting place is next to her parents in Memory Hill Cemetery in Milledgeville, Georgia. Despite being born in Savannah, Milledgeville was Flannery’s home. Her family moved there when she was fifteen and lived there until her passing at 39. Her childhood home and the family farm, Andalusia, still stand in Milledgeville.
Whenever I’ve visited her grave, there have been flowers and other mementos. When I took this photo, someone(s) had left behind coins as a sign that someone visited. The IHS symbol stands for Iesus Hominum Salvator, which means Jesus, savior of mankind, or it can stand for the first three letters of Jesus’s name, iota eta sigma.
