I first photographed the Lone Star Benevolent Society Hall in January 2022 with my friend Brian Brown. When I visited Waynesboro last week, I drove by to see how it looked. Much to my dismay, the hall had collapsed. I know Burke County did experience significant damage from Hurricane Helene. I could not find any information about its demise.
It was a contributing property to the Waynesboro Historic District. The image below is from the National Register of Historic Places nomination packet.
Aurora Lodge No. 54, Free and Accepted Masons, Prince
Hall Affiliate, and New Aurora Chapter No. 60, Order of the Eastern Star, are located across the street from Thankful Missionary Baptist
Church. Aurora Lodge No. 54 was started in 1883. The two-story, brick building was constructed in the 1950s. The organizations meet on the second floor. At one point, a store was open on the first floor.
The Thankful Missionary Baptist Church in Waynesboro, Georgia, was founded in 1878. It was part of the Walker Baptist Association, which comprised of Black churches in and around the greater Augusta, Georgia area.
The two-tower church differs from many of the two-tower churches seen around the rural South. Most include a gable in the middle. This one utilizes a flat roofline. The church was built in 1923 in the Romanesque Revival style. Romanesque Revival, in its most modest form, like this church, includes brick, towers, and arched entranceways.
Built in 1898, the Lone Star Benevolent Society Hall is one of the oldest buildings in the Black community in Waynesboro, Georgia. Benevolent societies provided death insurance to their members while also providing a place for members to gather. Here is a great article on the history of benevolent societies.
Notice the “lone star” cutouts in the bell tower.
Thank you to Emmett McNair for helping identify this building.
Once a wholesale grocery distribution location, the brick building was built in 1898 by local merchants. W. C. Hillhouse managed it. It’s a contributing building to the Waynesboro Historic District.
Located in Waynesboro, Georgia, Magnolia Cemetery (aka as the Waynesboro City Cemetery) features several original Victorian monuments.
