Tag Archives: ruins

-Georgia, Atlanta NPU, Houses, National Register of Historic Places

Walking Atlanta’s Neighborhoods-Whittier Mill Village

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Continuing my plan to walk Atlanta’s neighborhoods, in January, my randomizer chose NPU D, which is in northwest Atlanta near the Chattahoochee River. After doing some scouting along Google Street View, I chose Whittier Mill Village.

Whittier Mill Village was established to house workers of the Whittier Textile Mill. In 1895, Whittier Cotton Mills of Lowell, Massachusetts expanded operations to the South. Choosing Atlanta, mill houses were constructed that workers could rent for $1 per week. The village expanded in the 1920s.

Like so much manufacturing in the United States, the mill closed in the 1970s. the area gradually fell into decline. Most of the mill buildings were demolished in 1988 after arson attempts. The remains of the carpenters’ shop and the mill tower still stand, so if you are looking for brick ruins, head here.

This used to be the village store.
-South Carolina, Abandoned, Black History, Churches and Temples

The Ruins of Wesley Chapel ME Church in Wilkinsville, South Carolina

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I don’t remember how I found out about this church, but it’s been on my list for a while to photograph. I finally got the chance to do so this past weekend.

Located in Cherokee County, South Carolina, the Wesley Chapel Methodist Episcopal Church is right at the crossroads of Wilkinsville, a town of approximately 700 people. Wilkinsville is southeast of Gaffney. For those unfamiliar with Gaffney, it’s the town with the big peach butt in the sky off of I-85.

Often when I am researching the history of a place that isn’t well known, I am uncovering a lot of details through news articles and, for churches and cemeteries, obituaries. I must commend the research of Tom Taylor at Random Connections. He did a remarkable deep dive into the history of the Wesley ME Church. If you want in-depth research, please head to his site.

In a nutshell, the congregation was formed in 1915. The stone structure was built in the 1940s after a storm damaged the previous building. While the cemetery is still active and well-maintained, the church closed by 1970.

Wesley Chapel Methodist Church
Wilkinsville SC Nov 15, 1943
Willie Edward Corry, School Teacher
Architect And Builder
Directors
Levi Garrett, A. C. Corry, James Love,
G. Dewey Harris
Workers
Jossie Love, Ressie Rodgers, Addie Corry
Strossie Mae Harris
Treasure
John Davis, Beatrice Jefferies
Secteary
Vestor Harris, Ninnie Hambright
Geo W. Davis, Emily Davis

Image from the September 1, 1971 photo spread on Wilkinsville in The Gaffney Ledger
-Alabama, Cemeteries, Churches and Temples, Vernacular Headstones

The Ruins of Harmony Hill Church and Cemetery of Chambers County, Alabama

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I learned about Harmony Hill Cemetery when an account I follow posted images of a ledger stone with marbles. Marbles are one of my favorite folk art finds on headstones, and I will document them whenever I can. I was in Chambers County looking for the William “Rock” Jackson grave markers and decided to find this cemetery.

Note the brick piers.

The cemetery can be found on a dirt road west of Oak Bowery. The easiest path into cemetery lead me to what I believe are the remains of the Harmony Hill Baptist Church.

Research has not given me much information. According to FindAGrave, the earliest burial is 1891. The most recent obituary is from 1971, which matches the last burial in the cemetery. Jeffie Allison (1887-1981) is one of five members of the Allison family buried here.

One of the dozens of field stones in the cemetery.
I believe this to be an old grave marker.
This is the grave of Lucy Presley (1871-1927). Her headstone is a common handmade one that can be seen in the South. Her grave ledger is decorated with marbles.
Close-up of Lucy Presley’s headstone
These are the graves of brothers James and Luke Moody. They died within six days of each other in 1903. A records search doesn’t show why they died so close to each other.
Patsie Jones (d. 1922)

If you know more about this church and cemetery, please let me know.

-Georgia, Abandoned, Black History, Churches and Temples

The Ruins of O’Neal AME Church-Henry County, Georgia

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I found this church on FindAGrave. I cannot locate any history of the church. The earliest burial is in 1871. That death date means that at least the congregation existed soon after the Civil War, which means it is a freedman church. There are sixteen listed burials with birth dates that indicate they were likely born into slavery. There was no cornerstone to indicate when the church was built. The last listed burial was in 1951. I could not find the cemetery to document the headstones. I will be going back with a friend to see if another pair of eyes will help me locate the cemetery.

The ruins of the church are fascinating. It’s clear that the door and one window were bricked in at some point, but this wasn’t done for all the windows and what I suspect was the entrance to the preacher’s office.

Baptismal pool
Side view
Front door
Front window
Bricked in window
One obituary mentioning the church as O’Neal ME Church
A death certificate stating “Old Oneal”
-South Carolina, Churches and Temples, National Register of Historic Places

Pon Pon Chapel of Ease-Colleton County, South Carolina

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A chapel of ease is a place of worship set up by the parish church to provide easy access for parishioners to worship without traveling a long distance. Pon Pon Chapel of Ease was one of the houses of worship.

At first a wooden building was constructed in 1725. A brick church was completed in 1754. It burned to the ground. It was rebuilt from 1819-1822. It burned, too, in 1832.

Over the years, the chapel has become more unstable as storms have gone through the area. In 2020, Hurricane Matthew further destabilized the building when it damaged the front edifice of the building.

-Mississippi, Houses, National Register of Historic Places

Windsor Ruins-Clairborne County, Mississippi

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Located not far off the banks of the Mississippi are the Windsor Ruins. Designed by architect Dave Shroder for Smith Coffee Daniell, a cotton planter, the home was built between 1859-1861. According to the 1860 census, Daniell enslaved close to 200 men, women, and children in Mississippi and Louisiana to build his wealth. It is known that enslaved labor helped construct the large mansion.

Twenty-nine columns, crowned by iron Corinthian capitals, set the footprint of the home. Four iron staircases flanked the home. One set of staircases still exist and are located at the entrance of the chapel at Alcorn State University which is not far from the ruins.

In 1861, Daniell passed away shortly after the home was completed. During the Civil War, the home was initially used as a lookout until federal troops took the nearby port of Bruinsburg. The Union troops used the home as a hospital and a lookout. After the Civil War, the Daniell family continued to live in the home. It burned in 1890 after a guest dropped cigarette ashes on building materials.

Until the 1990s, the look of the home was only a guess until a drawing made by a Henry Otis Dwight, a Union officer, was discovered in his belongings. It is believed he drew the home when General Ulysses S. Grant and Union troops took over the Windsor home during the Civil War.

March 20, 1936 photo for the Historic American Buildings Survey (Library of Congress)

The land and the ruins stayed in the family until it was given to the state of Mississippi in 1974.

Front view of home on March 20, 1936 for the Historic American Buildings Survey (Library of Congress)
1940 photo by Marion Post Wolcott (Library of Congress)