St. Cyprian’s Episcopal Church was consecrated in 1876 after it was built on land donated by Frances Kimble Butler Leigh. Rev. James Wentworth Leigh, an Anglican minister who had moved to McIntosh County in 1873 as Frances’s husband, obtained the church’s designs. It was built to resemble an English church. The newly freedmen built the church to serve as the Black Episcopalian church. The church was named after a martyred Black saint.
Unfortunately, the church was destroyed in an 1896 hurricane. It was rebuilt and severely damaged again in the 1898 hurricane. Completed in 1901, the church is one of the most complete tabby buildings on the coast.
The Whiteside-Green house is dated with an approximate build date of 1870. Believed to have been built by a local butcher, this picturesque cottage sits on the edge of Darien’s downtown. Its well-maintained landscape is filled with palm trees and Spanish moss.
This gabled-ell cottage was initially located in Darien, Georgia, on the “Young Triangle” (approximately Garrison Street and Highway 17). It was moved to Franklin Street in the 1940s after the widening of the highway and the building of a gas station.
At one time, the home had Greek Revival details, but those are essentially gone. The home had an addition that has since been removed. I am uncertain if it is being dismantled or restored. Either way, it is clear not much work has been done recently.
A few years ago, it seemed that the oldest commercial building in Georgia would be another case of demolition by neglect. The Adam Strain Building was built before 1820 and survived The Burning of Darien by federal troops during the Civil War. More recently, it was vacant for many years and had started to deteriorate to the point that the Georgia Trust for Historic Places had listed it as one of the state’s Places in Peril.
In February 2020, it was announced that Marion and Milan Savic of Marietta had purchased the building with the intention of saving it. Working with the teams from Ethos Preservation and Landmark Preservation, the Savics were able to restore it. Marion shared that the preservation teams designed new techniques for the restoration. For instance, an outside wall must be pulled closer to the building. The system was designed specifically for the building’s walls.
Window details
In July 2024, it looked like the building would be open for fall as a brewery. My friends and I decided to plan a trip for October to see the restoration and try the brewery. Unfortunately, it was not ready by the time for our trip to the coast. Luckily, mutual friends were able to connect us with Marion Savic who graciously offered to give us a tour.
A mural that was found when the clean-up process began.
The two-story building will open as the Tabby House Brewing Company sometime in the fall of 2024, so when my friends and I showed up, they were in the final stages of getting ready to open. The building has two floors with an upper and lower outdoor patio. In view of the river, it will be the place to grab a pint in McIntosh County and surrounding areas.
A view of the tabby inside the building
Outside of being a scenic place to visit, architecture and history nerds will appreciate the details the Savics kept to respect the building’s history and architecture. Patrons will be able to see a close-up of the Tabby. Much of the hardwood was salvaged from the building and reused.
From the historic marker, “On November 29, 1841, the cornerstone was laid for Darien Methodist Church on Vernon Square. This church, set afire twice by Federal troops in 1863, did not burn and became the rallying site for the rebuilding of Darien. Destroyed in 1881 by a hurricane, it was replaced in 1883 by the present sanctuary. The Women’s Society, begun in 1878, raised funds for rebuilding.”
Lawrence Daniels Bailey’s cause of death was “grippe,” which is the 19th Century term for the flu. He died at age 6 and is buried in St. Andrews Cemetery in Darien, Georgia. His marker was sculpted by John Walz. Many assume that Walz’s works are only in Savannah, but they can be found outside of Savannah. The cherub represents innocence and is a common symbol on children’s graves.
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