Opened in 1902, the Wallace Grove Church and School were built after land was donated by W. P. Wallace in 1901. (My assumption is that this is William Pierce Wallace, who was a local banker and merchant in the area.) The one-room schoolhouse was used until the 1960s to educate Black schoolchildren.
The school fell into disrepair. In 2011, the congregation came together to restore the school. With assistance from the community, the school was fully restored in under a year. It is the only extant turn-of-the-century schoolhouse still standing in its original location.
Source: Wallace Grove Board Info with Madison Morgan Conservancy
“Henry B” engraved onto an outside wall of the school
This is oldest known home in Morgan County, Georgia. It was built around 1805. This plantation plain is on remarkably well-maintained land. I understand there is a plan to stabilize and save the home.
Built in 1906, this house is part of the Nolan plantation, Morgan County, Georgia. It is the second Nolan home on the property. The other one is supposedly still standing but isn’t easily accessible. The Nolan family built their wealth on the backs of enslaved labor prior to the Civil War. After the war, they switched to a sharecropping method of farming. There’s been talk for several years to preserve the home, but restoration has not been started. The Madison-Morgan Conservancy have been trying to get work done. The home was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2015.
This home is likely pre-Civil War based on the other homes in the area and its style.
During the pandemic, I have spent a lot of time in my car traveling backroads looking for places to photograph. This pre-Civil War home was an unexpected find.
When I moved back to Georgia in 2013, I was already an avid photographer. My first weekend trip upon my return was to Madison. After living up north for over a decade, I had asked friends to suggest a place for me to get out of Atlanta. They recommended Madison. For those of you know Madison, you know why they recommended it.
This house, the Foster-Thomason-Miller house, was the first house that made me pull my car over immediately. Just doing a google search will show you I am not the first person to be enamored with this house.
After decades of being abandoned, it is finally being restored.
For more more photos and additional information I recommend:
