This isolated oxbow is a tributary of the Altamaha River.
McIntosh County, Georgia
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Fort Barrington Park
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Juvenile White Ibis
This young bird was spotted in Waterfront Park.
Darien, Georgia
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Southern Soul Barbeque
I rarely feature open businesses on any of my websites, but some places are so extraordinary they deserve a mention. One such place is the unlikely St. Simons landmark, Southern Soul Barbeque. You might have read about in Garden & Gun, Southern Living, or The New York Times, or seen it on the Travel Channel, or the popular Food Network show, Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives. But none of those outlets can compare to a visit in the flesh. Owners Griffin Bufkin and Harrison Sapp transformed this 1940s gas station into a mecca for barbeque and soul food lovers and their fans are legion. There’s a great beer selection and a good variety of sauces for different tastes.
Everyone probably has his own favorite dish. Mine is the first meal I ever ate here. The pulled pork with mac & cheese and collard greens was truly heaven on a plate. The white bread was a fitting accompaniment to this holy trinity of Southern cuisine.
You know it’s going to be good when the employees who work in the heat and smoke all day still have a smile on their faces.
Books like the Southern Foodways Alliance’s classic series, Cornbread Nation, take up shelf space with modern culinary classics ranging from The Whole Hog Cookbook and Southern Belly to Pickles, Pigs & Whiskey and Smoke and Pickles. As a reader and book collector, I was amazed!
St. Simons Island, Georgia
http://www.southernsoulbbq.com/
https://www.facebook.com/SouthernSoulBBQ
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Cast Net Shrimping
Sapelo Island, Georgia
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Christmas at Ashantilly
Ashantilly is a center of cultural life in McIntosh County and one of its biggest events is its annual Christmas open house.
McIntosh County, Georgia
http://ashantilly.org/blog/?page_id=2
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Black Island Creek
There was a thick fog on the mainland side of Black Island Creek looking toward Black Island.
McIntosh County, Georgia
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18th Century Tympanic Icons of Midway Cemetery
Tympana are the semi-circular arches atop early headstones, usually featuring an iconic relief sculpture. In early America, the most common of these icons is the “winged death” head, usually represented as a cherubic face or skull above a pair of wings. New England churchyards and burying grounds abound with these earliest forms of American sculpture, but they’re rarities in the Deep South. Charleston has the largest concentration, with other examples scattered around the low country of South Carolina; Savannah has a few examples but Midway has the best variety in Georgia.
Tympanum detail of the James Wilson stone. Slate. Date of death not visible, as the headstone is half-buried (see first photo).
Tympanum detail of the Elisabeth Way stone, 1792. Sandstone. In regards to design, this is the most important headstone at Midway. In Early Gravestone Art of Georgia & South Carolina (UGA Press, Athens, 1986), Diana Williams Combs wrote: “As far as I know, the nimbus has not been employed elsewhere during this period of American gravestone art. In this context it emphasizes the salvation of the deceased.”
Tympanum detail of the Susanna Stacy stone, 1780. Slate.
Tympanum detail of the Margaret Stacy stone, 1792. Slate.
Tympanum detail of the Sarah Winn stone, 1767. Slate.
Tympanum detail of the Sarah Stevens stone, 1767. Slate
Tympanum detail of the James Osgood stone, 1793. Marble.
There’s always a nice view of Midway Congregational Church (1792) across US Highway 17 from the famous brick wall surrounding the cemetery.
National Register of Historic Places
Midway, Georgia
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Cay Creek Wetlands Interpretive Center
Cay Creek Wetlands Interpretive Center is one of the best day trips in Coastal Georgia. Located at 189 Charlie Butler Road in Midway, the center has ample parking, picnic tables, and a boardwalk which covers several different ecosystems. It’s a place for reflection, as well as a haven for amateur naturalists, birdwatchers and anyone who enjoys the outdoors. Best of all, it’s free and open to everyone, through the daylight hours seven days a week. There isn’t an actual “center” as yet, but excellent interpretive signs located along the boardwalk provide ample information about the environment and its inhabitants.
Your walk begins in a freshwater tidal swamp, full of oak, cypress, and bay trees. Irises were already sprouting in January (below).
As the boardwalk reaches the observation tower, the freshwater swamp is intermingled with salt water. Almost a third of the tidal salt marshes on the Atlantic Coast are located in Georgia, along with many freshwater tidal swamps and marshes. Only specific plants are able to thrive in salt water environments, so the plant life begins to change, if subtly, in this zone.
A short walk up the observation deck affords a birds eye view.
Just past the observation tower, the transition becomes more obvious, as marsh grasses begin to dominate the hammocks.
In winter, you’ll see the red berries of native hollies (Ilex).
The last stretch of the boardwalk opens into brackish marsh, with the transitional swamp and marsh visible in the background.
Here, you’re surrounded by marsh grasses and can smell the salt in the air.
Native cedars, often covered in lichen, are scattered around the marsh.
This is the view at the end of the boardwalk. You’ll want to return!
Raymond Cay (1803-1885), namesake of Cay’s Creek.
This was originally known as Salter’s Creek but was changed in honor of Raymond Cay’s nearby plantation.
Midway, Georgia
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Fort King George, 1721
The first British outpost in present-day Georgia, Fort King George was built and commanded by Colonel John “Tuscarora Jack” Barnwell in 1721, under the auspices of South Carolina Governor Francis Nicholson. Upon its construction it was the southernmost fort in Bristish North America, manned by His Majesty’s Independent Company of Foot. The British claimed the land along the Altamaha River as part of the South Carolina colony as a protection against Spanish forces, who sought to expand their reach northward from Florida. Colonel Barnwell died in 1724 and a mysterious fire claimed the fort in 1726. Rebuilt, it remained in use as a garrison until 1732 when it was officially abandoned. Upon its ruins General Oglethorpe founded Darien in 1736.
The blockhouse was built of cypress logs. Its construction proved no simple matter in the wilderness of Coastal Georgia. Though Nicholson and Barnwell had requested fit young soldiers, they were instead supplied with members of the Regiment of Invalids, veterans who in one way or another were not capable of heavy service. The British welfare system of the day allowed them light duty and by 1722 about 100 soldiers were sent from a hospital in Port Royal, South Carolina, to Fort King George.
From embrasures (gun-port) on the top level of the blockhouse, soldiers kept watch over the Altamaha River delta. Guardhouses, or sentry towers, were also essential to the site’s security.
None of the original fortification survives; the structures seen today were built using original plans in 1988. Besides the blockhouse, an officers’ quarters and workshop were also reconstructed.
Barracks were located at the rear of the property and provided quarters for His Majesty’s Independent Company of Foot.
Black Island Creek flows behind the barracks.
National Register of Historic Places
Darien, Georgia
http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/history-archaeology/fort-king-george
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Reconstruction of a Scottish Highlander’s Colonial Cottage
Located at Fort King George, this is a reconstruction/replica of a Scottish Highlander’s cottage. It’s the style of dwelling some of the earliest settlers of Georgia would have called home and it’s very primitive, with dirt floors, mud walls, and a wattle frame. It’s hard to imagine how difficult life must have been for those pioneers.
There’s a secluded pond on the walk to the cottage.
The interior is quite small and it’s impossible to imagine a family of any size living in such a space.
A depiction in the museum shows the formal dress of a Scottish Highlander around the time of Darien’s founding.
Darien, Georgia
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Cherub Ornaments of Bonaventure Cemetery
Andrew Granger (1902-1904)
In cemetery symbolism, cherubs almost always represent departed children. Bonaventure has numerous incarnations of these and I’ve chosen some of its best examples. The variety among different carvers is remarkable to me. Also known as winged babies or winged heads, cherub ornaments were most abundant in the late Victorian era, due especially to high infant mortality rates.
Dorothy Miles Willcox, d. 1907
Mary Catherine Roberts (1923-1926)
Mary J. Schwarz (1901-1902)
John N. Schwarz (No date discernible)
Dieter Infant
Savannah, Georgia
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Driftwood Beach
To access Driftwood Beach, park in the small lot just past the Villas-by-the-Sea condominiums. After walking through this maritime oak forest you’ll find a “boneyard” full of fallen trees, gradual victims to the ravages of wind and salt-spray. In springtime, you’ll see lots of thistle.
A short or long walk will reveal some of the most stunning scenery on the Georgia coast.
Jekyll Island, Georgia
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Oatland Island, Savannah
Built in 1927 as a retirement home for the Brotherhood of Railroad Conductors, the “main building” today serves as an educational center for the surrounding Oatland Island Wildlife Center. It is quite typical of institutional architecture of its era and subsequently served as a Public Health Service hospital in World War II. Until being surplussed in 1973, it was used as a development laboratory by the Centers for Disease Control. The Chatham County Board of Education has owned it since then and it serves over 20,000 students and visitors each year as a wildlife education facility today. To movie buffs, the building may be familiar to viewers of the John Travolta movie, The General’s Daughter, as it was used as a set location. And Martha Barnes adds this interesting bit of Savannah trivia: People who read Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil will remember the main building as where Luther Driggers worked and actually developed the chemical used in today’s flea collars, but in the book he was always about to poison Savannah’s water supply.
Carol Suttle, a Savannah native and Oatland’s most enthusiastic ambassador, contacted me several months ago about photographing the old water tower at the entrance to the center; it’s scheduled to be demolished and it’s one of her favorite structures on the island. Touring the island and its natural features with Carol and photographer Mike McCall was a real treat, and I hope to revisit in the future. Located just past downtown Savannah on the Islands Expressway (US 80), it’s often overlooked by tourists heading to Tybee Island but is well worth a visit! See the link at the end of this post for specifics about admission and other particulars.
David Delk, Jr., built this cabin in 1837 in the Taylor’s Creek community near Gum Branch in Liberty County. It was moved and reconstructed here by the Youth Conservation Corps in 1979. The layout is of the Scots/Irish or “shotgun” design (not to be confused with the more common and more recent shotgun “house”), a vernacular form common in early Georgia.
Martha Phillips Youngblood writes that the corn crib pictured above was originally owned by her grandfather, Thomas Hilton Phillips, and was moved here from Treutlen County.
The two abandoned structures pictured above are remnants of the bureaucratic era on the island. A hand-crafted boat from the 1970s can also be seen on the property.
Gopher Tortoises (Gopherus polyphemus), as well as wolves and bison can be easily seen on the property.
Beautiful Richardson Creek runs adjacent to the island.
http://internet.savannah.chatham.k12.ga.us/schools/oat/default.aspx
Chatham County, Georgia
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Union Brotherhood Society, 1932
William McKinley Walthour, Sr., founded the Union Brotherhood Society or “The Society” in March 1932 to help provide for the proper burial of Negro citizens. During this period of segregation and Jim Crow Laws, Negroes were uninsured and had to use homemade pine boxes to bury their loved ones. The organization collected dues of ten and twenty-five cents monthly from its members; enabling them to have death and health benefits. The Society with 34 members still exists in 2006 with death benefits of $140.00 and sickness benefits of $10.00. At funerals, the Society members dressed in black and white, wore badges and greeted each other as Brother and Sister. Anniversay celebrations, known as the “Society Turning Out,” had a worship program followed by fellowship, fun and games. The founding members were: William Walthour, Sr., Frank Baker, Willie Stevens, Joe Bowers, Wilhelmina Walthour, Beatrice Bowers, Gus Williams, Priscilla Maxwell, Rose Bell Roberts, Ben Maxwell, Sarah Jane Walthour, Joe Walthour, George Walthour Sr., William Brown, Rev. R.W. Monroe and Janie Stevens. Less than an acre of land was purchased and a building, structured similar to an old T-shaped church, was built by The Society members for their meetings and gatherings at this location in 1932. This monumment is a tribute to their unity, vision and community concern. Source: Historical marker placed in 2007 by the Liberty County Historical Society.
Such relics of the Jim Crow era are fading fast and are tangible evidence of a different world. It’s a shame to see this old building in such disrepair, but I’m glad Liberty County made the effort to mark this significant part of its history. (Though maps locate this at Midway, it’s a bit further inland).
Liberty County, Georgia
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Hazel’s Cafe, Circa 1947
I panicked this morning when I heard a rumor that Hazel’s had been demolished, but concerned friends on St. Simons quickly checked and let me know it wasn’t true. To many, this place is as much a symbol of the island’s history as the lighthouse or Fort Frederica. Located in the nearly forgotten African-American community of South End, Hazel’s was owned by Hazel and Thomas Floyd. Thomas, a veteran of World War II, settled here with his wife shortly after World War II and soon thereafter they started this business, which would be a staple of St. Simons life until it closed in 1978. (Their house is to the right in the photograph). With new homes and condos dotting the island today, it’s a nice step back to a time when St. Simons, like all of the Georgia coast, was anchored by small but thriving communities who looked to family and friends as well as the rich coastal waters surrounding them for sustenance and survival. Hazel was known to go crabbing in season and bring back her catch for the night’s special of deviled crab. I’m sure they were legendary dishes in their time. Melissa Lee has an excellent tribute to this St. Simons icon here:
http://www.thepermanenttourist.com/hazels-cafe-2/
St. Simons Island, Georgia
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Old Brunswick City Hall, 1890
Construction of Alfred S. Eichberg’s monumental Richardsonian Romanesque Brunswick City Hall began in 1889 and the building was open for business in 1890. The clock tower was added in 1893 and features some of the most fascinating gargoyles on any building in Georgia. Today it’s been properly restored and is available as an event space.
National Register of Historic Places
Brunswick, Georgia
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Needwood Baptist Church, 1885
Portions of this church were originally built by freed slaves on nearby Broadfield (now Hofwyl-Broadfield) Plantation in the late 1870s, where it was known as Broadfield Baptist Church. It was removed to this location and took on its present appearance in 1885. It’s one of the most important remaining African-American vernacular churches in Georgia and a familiar landmark to travelers along U.S. Highway 17. It’s just south of the McIntosh County line.
Glynn County, Georgia
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Forsyth Farmers’ Market, Savannah
Every Saturday (from 9AM-1PM) year round, the South End of Forsyth Park is the place to be in Savannah. The Forsyth Farmers’ Market was founded in 2009 by six women who came together with the intention of supporting their common vision of a local food system that is good for the health of all people and the environment. They merged with the existing Starland market and sought permission from the city to allow a farmers’ market in historic Forsyth Park. The first market was on 9 May 2009…From the very beginning, the market has focused on food and food issues which is why it is a producer-only market (meaning all vendors have to be producing at least 75% of the products they sell) and allows only food and plant vendors. * from the Forsyth Farmers’ Market website
Organic vendors from all over the Low Country bring a wide variety of wholesome vegetables.
Fresh cut flowers, like these zinnias and sunflowers, are available in the spring and summer.
Products made from local crops are also on offer, like Vegetable Kingdom’s popular Hot Chow Chow.
Bell peppers, blackberries, and okra were in abundance when I was there.
All the vendors at the market accept cash, but if you’re bringing plastic, you have to buy tokens which are used like cash. They eliminate the “middle man”, i.e. the bank and its transaction fees. This way, vendors can concentrate on what’s most important: their wonderful produce and food items.
Visit them online for particulars, or better yet, make a point to visit them on any given Saturday! It’s an experience you won’t soon forget, and if you live near Savannah, you’ll likely return.
http://forsythfarmersmarket.com/
Chatham County, Georgia
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Stars & Stripes, Highway 80
Travelers to Tybee Island have undoubtedly seen this flag, flying proudly in the marsh on Highway 80 a bit west of Fort Pulaski.
Chatham County, Georgia
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LaRoche House, Crescent
This house likely dates to the 1870s, but that is just a guess. Bobbie Spikes identified it as her grandparents’ home when I first published the images in 2012. Teresa LaRoche Riley, whose father grew up here as well, recently shared a photo of the house on Facebook and that gave me the encouragement I needed to consolidate all my photos into one post. It is likely beyond repair, but it’s a wonderful remnant of a lost generation in Coastal Georgia.
The house still retains its original kitchen.
An interior view indicates it was occupied as recently as 20-25 years ago.
McIntosh County, Georgia
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