When I photographed this building in Dublin, I assumed it was a fraternal lodge, but I could not confirm its identity. After looking at tax records and newspaper searches, the building was built in 1930. In the sixties, there are references to different families living there. I do not know if it was always an apartment building, but it did serve as one for a time.
Clayton and Katie Dudley moved to Dublin from Cordele in the late 1800s. They started several businesses that provided goods and services to the Black community. This building started as a grocery store run by the family. Later they began the funeral home in this space as the C. D. Dudley & Son, Undertakers & Embalmers in 1922.
Herbert “Hub” Dudley was the son of Clayton and Katie Dudley, who started several businesses in Dudley. At the corner of Jackson and Truxton Streets, the family opened up a motel, gas station, and cafe to accommodate Black travelers.
Dudley opened up this space to provide food for the Black officers of the United Services Organization, hence the name “Retreat.” After the conclusion of World War II, Dudley continued to serve food, but now It was to the general public. Well-known acts such as Little Richard, Rosetta Tharpe, and James Brown stopped by the restaurant; sometimes, they entertained patrons. It was a full-service restaurant that offered such treats as fresh doughnuts, ice cream, and Coca-Cola.
Established in 1859 by Reverend George Linder, Strawberry Chapel AME is the oldest African American church in Laurens County, Georgia. It sits on the land that was once the Cooper Plantation. The church was likely built sometime after the Civil War. A newer church is on the other side of the trees.
Reverend George Linder was the founder of the Strawberry Chapel AME and one of the Original 33, Georgia Black legislators who were forcibly removed from office in 1868.
Linder was a prominent citizen in Laurens County who ran a successful farming operation on land near Strawberry Chapel. He had two wives. His first one passed away right after the conclusion of the Civil War. They had six children. He and his second wife had another ten children.
Outside of Strawberry Chapel, Linder is credited with founding two other Black churches in the county, one was Mt. Pullen AME Church, and the other was New Bethel AME Church. A newspaper article stated that he gave over $100 to start a local church.
St. Paul AME Church was founded in 1877.
