Charles Duckett (1860-1947) was a prominent businessman in Laurens, South Carolina. He owned multiple businesses, most notable were a funeral home and lumberyard. He was considered one of the most successful Black lumberyard owners in the South. This Eastlake style home is in need of some serious love, though. It was hard to photograph, but a tree has fallen on the left side of the house. There was a fundraiser listed in 2020, but I couldn’t find any other info on future plans.
Oak Bowery is a small community in Chambers County, Alabama, It consists of only a few homes and churches.
The Early Star Lodge #395, Morning Star Chapter #734 of the Prince Hall Free & Accepted Masons call this building home. It sits on the campus of the St. Luke CME Church.
Dr. Scipio S. Johnson was a prominent member of Augusta’s Black community and lived at 1420 Twiggs Street in the Bethlehem neighborhood He lived in the Craftsman-style brick home from its construction in the 1920s until he died in 1940. Dr. Johnson graduated from the Haines Normal and Industrial Institute in Augusta. He graduated from Lincoln University in Oxford, Pennsylvania, and Howard University in Washington, DC. Dr. Johnson was a pharmacist and operated Johnson Drug Store out of his house on Twiggs Street.
I am glad to say that this home was fully restored. Images of the house can be seen in an article on The Augusta Chronicle.
The Penny Savings Loan and Investment Company is located at the corner of James Brown Boulevard and Laney-Walker Boulevard. The bank was founded on September 10, 1910, by prominent Black businessmen. The bank’s initial success led to the construction of this three-story building in 1925. Designed by noted architect G. Lloyd Preacher, it served as an anchor of the “Golden Blocks” Business District. Unfortunately, the bank closed in 1928 due to financial struggles.
The building has largely been vacant since its closure.
The State Theatre opened in 1940 on Highland Avenue in the historic neighborhood of Centennial Hill. It operated as a movie theater for the Black community until at least 1955. Over the years, it underwent several name changes, including the Nu Art Theatre, the Ritz Theatre, and the Art Theatre. By 1995, the building had been repurposed as a nightclub called Top Flight Disco. In 2008, it reopened as the Rose Supper Club Inc., which operated until its closure in 2013. It is now vacant.
Wayman Chapel AME Church was founded in May 1867 and built in 1882. It is named after Bishop Alexander Wayman, the seventh bishop of the AME Church.
The church’s striking architecture, featuring classic Gothic Revival elements, honors “Mother Bethel,” the founding AME church in Philadelphia. The church is still active today.
