Stranger Things fans will recognize this as The Creel House, but its real name is The Claremont House. Located in Rome, Georgia, the Claremont House was built in 1882. The Second Empire home with Gothic Revival elements was constructed for Hamilton Yancey, a prominent local attorney and businessman, and his wife, Florence.
For more photos, visit The Old House Life’s post on the home.
Albany, Georgia, is home to the state’s largest remaining Lustrons. There are eight homes, all in the M02 style. According to The Macon Telegraph, Tom Malone and Deming Whiting erected the first Lustron in Albany, Georgia, in May 1949. The home was shipped from the Columbus, Georgia Lustron Corporation.
The Albany homes are within a mile or so of each other. All but one are lived in or used as a business. Some have been modified, but the hallmark tripartite windows can be seen in all homes.
By using the Albany phone directory, I determined who the original owners were of each home. Their names are under each image with the original color.
Most people know that Martin Luther King, Jr. Was first buried in South-View Cemetery in Southwest Atlanta and then The King Center. He was entombed into four different crypts over time.
After his murder on April 4, 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee, the King family and the city of Atlanta quickly got ready for his funeral. On April 9th, his first crypt was used at South-view Cemetery. The crypt was created by the Roberts-Shields Memorial Company.
After King’s death, Coretta Scott King immediately envisioned and founded The King Center. Land was identified and King was relocated on January 14, 1970. A new crypt was built by the same company.
The permanent dais was built in 1976 and the third crypt was constructed. Like the others, it was built out of Georgia marble.
When Coretta Scott King passed away in 2006, the Robert-Shields Memorial Company made the final double crypt.
Credit to Liz Clappin for providing the information on the Roberts-Shields Memorial Company.
In Americus, Georgia, there is one extant Lustron House. There are less than 20 remaining in the state. Lustrons are prefabricated metal houses designed by Carl Strandlund. In 1946, the federal government provided $15 million in emergency loans to help build new homes for returning GIs from World War II. Strandlund purchased a factory in Columbus, OH, and later secured an additional $25 million in loans. Despite producing around 3,000 Lustrons, the federal government repossessed the company in February 1950, and Strandlund was forced to declare bankruptcy later that year.
Horace King was an accomplished builder and architect. He is known for his bridges, but he also designed other buildings.
The Albany Bridge House was built by King in 1858. King was born into slavery but was granted privileges to build around the South. Albany’s founder, Nelson Tift, hired him to build a bridge across the Flint River. The bridge was built with an adjoining bridge house to serve as the official gateway to the town where the town could collect tolls.
Over the years, the bridge house served as a smith shop and an auto parts store. It now functions as the Albany Welcome Center.
Located on W. Whitney Avenue in the southwest part of Albany, Georgia, the Mt. Zion Baptist Church and the Albany Civil Rights Institute visually connect Albany’s past with Albany’s present. Founded in 1865, Mt. Zion Baptist Church has long been a fixture in the Black community in Albany. As a freedmen’s church, it was the first African American Baptist church in Albany. On November 25, 1961, the first Albany Movement meeting occurred at the church. The church played a pivotal role during the Civil Rights Movement and galvanizing activists in Southwest Georgia. It was also the location where the Freedom Singers held their first performance. The meetings were so well attended that people would overflow into the street into Shiloh Baptist Church, serving as a meeting place for activists and a sanctuary for those seeking justice. Leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr, John Lewis, and Ralph David Abernathy attended and spoke at the meetings.
Adjacent to the church, the Albany Civil Rights Institute is dedicated to preserving the rich history of the Civil Rights Movement in Southwest Georgia. Housed in the rehabilitated Old Mt. Zion Baptist Church, the institute features exhibits, interactive displays, and a digital oral history database that bring the stories of the past to life1. Visitors can explore the struggles and triumphs of the movement through photographs, documents, and artifacts that detail the fight for voter registration, nonviolent protest, and economic boycotts. The church underwent significant restoration after the “Great Flood of 1994,” which caused extensive damage to the church.
Connected to the church, The Albany Civil Rights Institute, originally known as the Albany Civil Rights Movement Museum, opened in November 1998. Its mission is to educate about the Civil Rights Movement, especially in Southwest Georgia.
Below are images of the church from the National Register of Historic Places application before it is restored.
