Built in 1922, the Hawkes Children’s Library in West Point, Georgia was the dream of Albert King Hawkes (1848-1916) who believed rural areas should have access to libraries, too. An Atlanta optometrist, he had hoped to build at least 100 libraries, but he died before seeing any built. The West Point library was designed by architect L. B. “Chip” Robert’s firm. It was built by the construction firm, Batson and Cook, a company that still exists today.
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.
This Gothic Revival home is located in West Point, Georgia. Built in 1872, it has been home to the Lovelace, Hayes, and Dunn families over the years. It is a contributing property to the Eastside Historic District.
William Rufus “Rock” Jackson (1808-1892) was a gin operator, miller, and headstone carver who lived and worked in Chambers County, Alabama. Jackson became known for his carving and made many tombstones for his family and community members using local green schist or steatite. Also known as soapstone, steatite is mainly composed of talc, which makes it relatively soft.
Mount Hickory Cemetery outside of LaFayette, Alabama
Jackson’s markers, characterized by their distinctive green-blue coloring, can be found throughout eastern Alabama. Colloquially, the stone was also called “blue marble.” The headstones feature a variety of symbols with recognizable lettering. According to Cox (2010), who wrote their thesis on Jackson’s tombstones, the most common elements are hearts and fern branches, but there are dozens of designs in the over 400 markers they documented. Markers have been identified in four counties.
Mount Hickory Cemetery outside of LaFayette, Alabama
So far, I have documented the vernacular headstones in three cemeteries: Long Cane Baptist Church in Troup County, Georgia (top image), Mount Hickory Cemetery in Chambers County, and Concord Primitive Baptist Church in Randolph County. One thing I noticed is that not all headstones were oriented toward the east, so it made photographing the headstones a challenge. I will document more headstones during future visits to eastern Alabama.
Mount Hickory Cemetery outside of LaFayette, Alabama
If you want to know more, I highly recommend Monica Norton Cox’s thesis about Rock Jackson. It can be found here.
Mount Hickory Cemetery outside of LaFayette, AlabamaMount Hickory Cemetery outside of LaFayette, AlabamaMount Hickory Cemetery outside of LaFayette, AlabamaMount Hickory Cemetery outside of LaFayette, AlabamaMount Hickory Cemetery outside of LaFayette, AlabamaMount Hickory Cemetery outside of LaFayette, AlabamaMount Hickory Cemetery outside of LaFayette, AlabamaMount Hickory Cemetery outside of LaFayette, AlabamaMount Hickory Cemetery outside of LaFayette, AlabamaMount Hickory Cemetery outside of LaFayette, AlabamaMount Hickory Cemetery outside of LaFayette, AlabamaMount Hickory Cemetery outside of LaFayette, AlabamaMount Hickory Cemetery outside of LaFayette, AlabamaMount Hickory Cemetery outside of LaFayette, AlabamaMount Hickory Cemetery outside of LaFayette, AlabamaMount Hickory Cemetery outside of LaFayette, AlabamaConcord Primitive Baptist Church in Wadley, AlabamaConcord Primitive Baptist Church in Wadley, AlabamaConcord Primitive Baptist Church in Wadley, AlabamaConcord Primitive Baptist Church in Wadley, Alabama
The congregation was founded in 1868 by freedmen and women of Troup County, Georgia. Initially, they met under a bush arbor. The church was built in 1906. An active church, baptisms were held in the nearby creek until recently, according to this article in the LaGrange Daily News.
I believe the wooden structure is a school since the history of the church states their first church building was built at the turn of the century. It also resembles the many one room schoolhouses that dot Georgia’s landscape.
The cemetery contains a mixture of prefabricated and handmade markers. It also includes at least two Eldren Bailey markers.
Mother Mary Clay (1859-1941)
I believe this marker was made in the likeness of the church.
Chollie Cameron, d. 1942
There were several markers in the cemetery that a similar angel and crown motif.
Bob Florence (1869-1946)
This marker contains the addition of P, 8, and S to the crown and wings. I am uncertain what means.
This marker did not have a name, but I was intrigued that the star was on the front and back side of the marker.
Katie Ruth Crowder, d. 1963
This is one of the Eldren Bailey markers in the cemetery.
Long Cane Baptist Church was founded in 1829, and this church was built soon after that between the years of 1834-1837. The upper windows indicate where the enslaved church members sat in the upper gallery. The church size is quite large for an antebellum church, especially a rural one.
According to the info provided on FindAGrave, three area cemeteries were going to be flooded with the creation of the West Point Dam, and those cemeteries, Potts Cemetery, Sheppard Cemetery, and Wilkinson Cemetery, were located to the church’s cemetery in 1962.
Horace King, 1807-1885, was considered the preeminent bridge builder in the South. It is believed he built over 100 bridges, most of them being in Alabama and Georgia. King was born into slavery in Chesterfield County, South Carolina. His enslaver, John Godwin, earned a bid to build a bridge over the Chattahoochee River. King moved with Godwin to Girard, Alabama, to begin the project.
In 1846, Godwin decided to no longer hold King in bondage. I have also read that King purchased his freedom. At this point, King’s services were in high demand to build bridges. He moved freely throughout the South. He is credited with building bridges at many points over the Chattahoochee River and other rivers. Outside of bridges, he built homes and warehouses. He also built the freestanding spiral staircase in the Alabama State Capitol.
Spiral staircase at Alabama State Capitol. (Photo credit- Library of Congress, HABS)
In 1839, he married free woman, Frances Gould Thomas. They had four boys and one girl. For whatever reason, the grave markers for the four boys have the birthdate of 1844. Based on census records, which can be incorrect, I believe Washington King was born in 1840, Marshall in 1842, John in 1846, and George in 1850. All of the children were involved in the construction company that they called the King Brothers Bridge Company.
The long approach of the Red Oak Covered Bridge is located outside of Woodbury, Georgia in the community of Imlac. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The graves of Horace and Marshall King in the Mulberry Street Cemetery complex are located in LaGrange, Georgia. The city of LaGrange has been restoring this part of town and recently added a covered bridge to honor King.Johnson Mill Bridge in Harris County, Georgia (courtesy Digital Library of Georgia
Websites store cookies to enhance functionality and personalise your experience. You can manage your preferences, but blocking some cookies may impact site performance and services.
Essential cookies enable basic functions and are necessary for the proper function of the website.
Name
Description
Duration
Cookie Preferences
This cookie is used to store the user's cookie consent preferences.
