Tag Archives: Telfair County

-Georgia, Houses

Lumber City’s Captain John L. Day House after Hurricane Helene

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Lumber City is located in Telfair County, Georgia, one of the hardest-hit counties during Hurricane Helene. These photos of the historic Captain John L. Day house show the extent of the damage to one home in the town of less than 1,000 people.

Built in the early 1880s, the Day house is a rare brick Italianate house. It was built for Captain John L. Day, a steamship captain who ran boats along the Ocmulgee and Oconee Rivers. It is believed the ironwork was forged by Captain Day, a talented millwright and pattern maker. The ironwork was designed to resemble the rails on a steamship.

According to tax records, the home recently sold. Recent photos can be seen on the Old House Dreams listing. The listing photos clearly show that windows were either further damaged or destroyed completely. Almost every tree had been uprooted.

View through a first-floor window into what looks like an entryway to an office. Note the window on the ground.
-Georgia

Reviving Gene Theater McRae: A Telfair County Landmark

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Designed by Georgia architect Bernard Webb, the Art Deco building was built in the 1950s and named after the former governor, Eugene Talmadge, who hailed from Telfair County. At one point, the building featured a black and white background that mimicked the MacRae clan plaid from Scotland to honor the many Scottish citizens who had settled in Telfair County.

In 2015, the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation put it on its Places in Peril List as it had not been in use since 2005 and had begun to show signs of wear and tear. Fortunately, an upholsterer is currently using the building. She was cleaning up the space to get ready to open it when my friends and I stopped to photograph it.

-Georgia, Hotels and Motels

Historic Willard Hotel in Helena, Georgia

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In Telfair County, on the edge of town, is the Hotel Willard. The first time I drove by this building, it was surrounded by trucks, and there was no way to get a good photo. This trip was successful.

Rural Telfair County was hit incredibly hard by Hurricane Helene, so my friends and I weren’t sure what might still be standing or overly damaged. Thankfully, this 1893 hotel is still in good shape and is being restored. I don’t know if it will stay as a hotel or not. It’s worth a stop to see the brickwork and windows.