Aurora Lodge No. 54, Free and Accepted Masons, Prince
Hall Affiliate, and New Aurora Chapter No. 60, Order of the Eastern Star, are located across the street from Thankful Missionary Baptist
Church. Aurora Lodge No. 54 was started in 1883. The two-story, brick building was constructed in the 1950s. The organizations meet on the second floor. At one point, a store was open on the first floor.
Sasser, Georgia, has an approximate population of 250. It is situated along the Columbus Southern railway and had a population of 412 in 1930. The downtown area boasts a traditional main street thoroughfare seen in so many small towns. One building was once painted with an advertisement for Coca-Cola, and the other is Ballard’s Obelisk Flour, a Kentucky flour company that ceased operation in 1951. Their ghost signs persist today.
The Coca-Cola Bottling Company was built in 1940 in Albany, Georgia. It was active until the early 2000s. In 2010, the building was donated to Sherwood Baptist Church, which now uses it as a community center.
Spartanburg Coca-Cola began in 1902 in a building behind the Spartan Inn. The fourth and final building was opened in 1936. The Art Deco construction was designed by local noted architect James Frank Collins, who designed the Masonic Temple, Spartanburg General Hospital, and Wofford and Converse campuses. The building was in use until 2017. It then sat abandoned until 2023, when plans were made to save the building and turn it into a mixed-use facility.
Hogan’s Store is a familiar landmark for anyone driving Highway 78 south of Lexington, Georgia.
Located halfway between Glennville and Eufaula is the Frog Pond Turf Store. Frog Pond Turf is an active landscape company. I assume this was once a company store.
