Georgia Natural Wonder #171 - Pine Mountain - Big Lazer Creek - Talbot County. 1,751

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Georgia Natural Wonder #171 - Pine Mountain - Big Lazer Creek - Talbot County

O.K. I am reaching for the Natural Wonder on this post, but the Pine Mountain Ridge is found in 3 counties and we have already covered Harris and Meriwether Counties. To be inclusive, we are going to cover Talbot County today. Now we covered the drive along Hwy. 190 with GNW #169. Much of that drive and those houses are technically in Talbot County.


Pine Mountain in Talbot County.

Magic Hill (foot of Pine Mountain)

Now we talked about how Manchester was Magic City in our earlier post linked above. We are now finding that spot is actually in the Talbot County portion of Manchester. "Magic Hill", in Talbot County, is located at the foot of Pine Mountain. It is so named because of the illusion that a car with its brakes released appears to roll uphill on the road. Not a car in park, but rather in neutral, so that makes more sense.


Woman and park ranger, with German shepherd dog, look at sign for "Magic Hill," near Manchester in Talbot County, Georgia, September 1932.

Big Lazer Creek Wildlife Management Area

But for a distinct and new Georgia Natural Wonder, Talbot County is home to Big Lazer Creek Wildlife Management Area. This is an American Whitewater designated waterway, and by the time I finish these Natural Wonders of Georgia, I will have probably recounted them all.



Big Lazer Creek Wildlife Management Area is located in Talbot and Upson counties. This 7,200-acre property offers hunting opportunities for deer, turkey, small game and waterfowl.



Big Lazer Creek Public Fishing Area is a 195-acre lake located on the 5,900-acre Big Lazer Creek Wildlife Management Area. There is a picnic area, a boat ramp and primitive camping available on this facility operated by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.



The area is open to fishing year round, sunrise to sunset, and offers anglers excellent opportunities for Bluegill, Channel Catfish, Crappie, and Largemouth Bass.



Approximately 15 acres of standing timber remain along the old creek channel and around a small island. The upper end of the lake is fairly shallow, averaging less than five feet deep.



Fish attractors have been installed around the fishing pier to improve fishing. This is one of Georgia's many wildlife management areas.



There are four primitive campgrounds for visitors to stay at. All camps must be in designated campgrounds, unless otherwise indicated or posted at the WMA check station. Camping or driving motor vehicles upon wildlife food plantings is prohibited.



Camping or establishment of a campsite shall be limited to a period of time not to exceed 14 consecutive days unless the campsite is vacated and all personally owned property or physical features of the campsite are removed for a period of not less than seven days. A new campsite may not be re-established within one mile of the vacated campsite. So don't go trying to live out here, you back to nature extremist. Loaded firearms are prohibited in camping areas, except for those with a valid weapons carry license. Campers are responsible for their own trash.



The 2018 Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage hosted by the Georgia Botanical Society was a nice romp through the counties of Upson, Meriwether, and Talbot during the first week of May. The area is considered to be within the Southern Outer Piedmont area and our sites were largely on or near the Pine Mountain ridge. Our first field trip was to Big Lazer Creek WMA.



We started our hike near Potato Creek. As we waited for everyone to arrive, we explored the roadside, pointing out good native plants as well as pesky weeds. The sunny side of the road had a beautiful population of false indigo bush (Amorpha fruticosa) that was just starting to bloom. The bees were loving it.


Amorpha fruticosa

Once inside the wooded portion, we found blooming partridgeberry (Mitchella repens) and plenty of familiar plants that enjoy good moisture, like silverbell (Halesia sp.). We were looking for something really special, however, and after about 30 minutes, we found it: Eastern fringed catchfly (Silene polypetala or Silene catesbaei). Although this species is propagated by several nurseries, it is rare in the wild because of habitat destruction and listed as G2/S2 endangered (both in the state and at the federal level).


Silene catesbaei

The population we found was happily blooming in a sunny opening in the woodland canopy. Several of us left after that and traveled further into the WMA to a recommended viewing area for the shoals spiderlily (Hymenocallis coronaria) along the Flint River. We were advised that the lilies were not quite blooming yet but expected to see beautiful views of the river regardless.



Our first attempt to find the recommended area was incorrect, but we enjoyed the spot we found anyway and it had beautiful views of the shoals. We saw lots of beautiful and blooming mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia), Virginia sweetspire (Itea virginica), and partridgeberry (Mitchella repens).


Kalmia latifolia

On our way back to the car, we found a blooming dutchman’s pipevine (Aristolochia tomentosa) complete with last year’s seed pod and this year’s caterpillar!


Aristolochia tomentosa

We left there and found the right path. Although the lilies were not yet blooming in mass, we found plenty of interesting plants to admire. I was excited to find, for the third time ever, a population of wild oakleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia). This population is even closer to where Bartram originally found it in 1775. We found more of what we found at the earlier site plus reticulated clematis (Clematis reticulata).


Clematis reticulata

We found alumroot (Heuchera americana) growing on rocks, black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia), fringetree (Chionanthus virginicus), mouse-eared coreopsis (Coreopsis auriculata), even blooming poison ivy!


Heuchera americana

There are Dove Fields.



And a middle Georgia shooting range.



American Whitewater.


Lazer has slides and shoals.

The stream is very pretty and remote. No gauge. In lieu of that, at the put-in bridge at Sunshine Road, I've measured down from a seam in the concrete bridge piling.


Train over upper Lazer Creek.


Creek above and west of Sunshine Road pretty but not for running.

Once the water was 24' below the seam while the Flint was near flood; another time it was 36' below the seam. Lazar's flow was ample but not big each of these times. 


Heavy flow Lazer Creek flows into Flint River.

Considerable flatwater separates the rapids, of which there are mostly Is and a couple worthwhile IIs.



The riverwide stairstep ledge near Coleoatchee Ck confluence is either a III or an impressive II.



Swims could be long and lumpy but the routes are straight through and recovery (eventual) not a problem.

The Creek does flow into the Flint River and this is GNW #67.



Flint River in Talbot County Georgia.



Natural Wonders of Middle Georgia.



Directions - Driving

From Talbotton: Take US 80 east 4 miles; turn left on Po Biddy Rd. go 6.5 miles; turn left on Bunkum Rd. and go 1.2 miles to check station.


Flint River, cyber exploring Talbot County.

Talbot County, Georgia

Well that was a pretty good Natural Wonder of Georgia and its affords us a pretty good history tangent of Talbot County.



Talbot County is a county located in the west central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. The 2010 census showed a population of 6,865. The county seat and largest city is Talbotton.

History

Talbot County was created from a portion of Muscogee County by a December 14, 1827 act of the Georgia General Assembly. It was named after the late Georgia governor Matthew Talbot. Taylor County was created from a portion of Talbot County in 1852.



Talbot was president of the Georgia Senate when Gov. William Rabun died on Oct. 24, 1819, so he assumed the office of governor. The General Assembly subsequently elected John Clark as governor. Clark took the oath of office on Nov. 5, meaning Talbot served as governor for a total of only 11 days.


Family Cemetery.

Talbot County was created by an act of the Georgia legislature in 1827.



The county was formerly a part of Muscogee County. It is located thirty miles northeast of Columbus and sixty miles west of Macon in west central Georgia. The Flint River forms the northeastern boundary, and Talbotton is the seat of the 393-square-mile county. Both the town and the county are named for Captain Matthew Talbot, who served as Georgia's governor for a short time in 1819. Collinsworth Institute and Talbotton Female Academy (later LeVert College), one of the first schools for females in Georgia, were located in Talbotton.


Old Federal Road Marker.


The marker was moved to stand opposite the Lockhart-Cosby Plantation house on Georgia Highway 208.

In 1836 the last of the Creek Indians were forcibly removed from the area, and growth was rapid up until the time of the Civil War (1861-65). By 1850 Talbot was the fifth largest county in the state. The total population was 16,534, just over half of whom were slaves. Cotton production at the time reached 18,800 bales per year. The production of cotton, peaches, and livestock made Talbot one of the wealthiest counties in the state. With the infestation of the boll weevil in the early 1920s, cotton production decreased steadily.



Between 1992 and 1997, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, land use for farms in Talbot County decreased 5 percent, from 38,313 acres to 36,481 acres. The average size of farms increased from 302 to 329 acres in this same period, while the number of full-time farms decreased from 46 to 40. During the same period, crops accounted for 10 percent and livestock for 90 percent of the market value of agricultural products sold. Talbot County has a 95-acre industrial park located southwest of Talbotton on U.S. Highway 80.



Hunters know Talbot County for its large deer.



The county also holds a popular fall festival and car rally. Nearby attractions include Pine Mountain, Warm Springs and Franklin D. Roosevelt's Little White House, the Roosevelt Warm Springs Institute for Rehabilitation, Callaway Gardens, Columbus, and the Flint River Recreation Outdoor Center. According to the 2010 U.S. census the county's population was 6,865, a slight increase from the 2000 population of 6,498.



The Talbot Energy Facility, located in Talbot County, is one of the plants owned by Oglethorpe Power Corporation, the largest electric power cooperative in the United States.



Oglethorpe Power's plants are capable of generating a combined 5,790 megawatts of capacity.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 395 square miles, of which 391 square miles is land and 3.4 square miles is water.


Nancy Hanks train runs through Talbot County.

The county straddles the fall line of the Eastern U.S., and thus northern areas of the county are hillier compared to southern areas of the county. The Fall Line Freeway runs across the southern portion of the county, following Georgia State Route 96 from Geneva to Junction City. The far northern portion of the county is part of the Pine Mountain Range, with elevations in this areas exceeding 1,000 ft on the highest peaks of the mountains.


Flint River.

The northeastern three-quarters of Talbot County is located in the Upper Flint River sub-basin of the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin. The southwestern quarter, west of Junction City, is located in the Middle Chattahoochee River-Walter F. George Lake sub-basin, while a narrow sliver of the western border, east of Waverly Hall, is located in the Middle Chattahoochee River-Lake Harding sub-basin.

Communities

Cities

Talbotton

Talbotton population was 970 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Talbot County. Talbotton was founded in 1828 as the seat of the newly formed Talbot County. Both the county and the town were named for Governor Matthew Talbot.


Talbotton


The passenger/freight depot of the Talbotton RR which connected Talbotton to Bostick, GA now known as Junction City. It operated from 1881 until it was abandoned in 1957.


Talbotton.

Talbotton may be best known in history as the place where the immigrant Straus family got their start in retail sales in the 19th century. In 1896, the family acquired R. H. Macy & Co. in New York.

Founder of Macy's

After leaving Bavaria, Lazarus Straus dispensed his merchandise over several states searching for a home for his family.


Lazarus and Sara Straus.

He settled in Talbotton and his store was the first in a series that led to Macy’s, one of the leading department stores in the world. Straus and his sons, Isidor, Nathan, and Oscar, are among those men in American Jewry of whom all Jews are most proud. Isidor as a merchant, Nathan as a pioneer in public health, Oscar as one of the earlier career diplomats, and all as philanthropists and patriots, have won national acclaim.




Looking north on North Jefferson Avenue; the Straus homesite is one block away.


Another marker leading to Straus house site.


Straus Home Site Marker.


House Site Marker in Talbotton.


Straus House today.

Son drowned on Titanic.

The son of Lazarus Straus was Isidor Straus and he was co owner of Macy Department stores after his father died. He was a director in several charitable organizations. He and his wife were aboard the Titanic. His early manhood in Georgia involved association with the Confederate Government Commissioners, as an agent for the purchase of supplies, he ran the blockade of Europe. So he loved sailing the ocean. When the ship hit the iceberg Mr Straus was offered a seat aboard a lifeboat, he refused until all women and children had gotten off the ship. He urged his wife Ida to get on a lifeboat but she refused. She promptly and emphatically exclaimed: “No! I will not be separated from my husband; as we have lived, so will we die together;”



Ida had her maid board a lifeboat and gave her the mink coat that she was wearing. They were last seen together on the deck of the Titanic. Isidors body was recovered from the water but Ida was never recovered.


Memorial in New York. 40,000 attended funeral and Andrew Carnegie was among those who spoke.
 
Woodland

Woodland population was 408 at the 2010 census. Located in the north central section, this is one of the newer community, being formed July 30, 1908. Before Woodland was formed, the only building was the Presbyterian Church. The spot was selected by A.B. & A Railroad to be a station (rather than Bellvue, a mile further south) The chief engineer of the surveying company was Boonyman, but there was already a station by that name. So Woodland was selected after C.S. Woods of Virginia, who had purchased the surrounding lands and laid off the town lots.


Woodland.

The Georgia General Assembly incorporated Woodland as a town in 1908.
   
Junction City

Junction City population was 179 at the 2000 census. Junction City was platted at the site of a railway junction, hence the name.



It was initially known as Bostwick, an early settlement on the Southwestern Rail Road, the railway that ran between Macon and Columbus. Later it served as the juncture of the Talbotton Railroad line with the Southwestern, and still later, the Atlantic, Birmingham & Coastal. Located in the 16th Land District. When Bostwick got its first post office in 1881, the US Post Office discovered there was another Bostwick in Georgia, so the name of the community was changed to Paschal. Junction  City grew up around Paschal, and when it was incorporated in 1906, most of Paschal was also included. Junction City was an important shipping point for the sand "mined" there. The Georgia General Assembly incorporated Junction City as a town in 1906.


Susie Agnes Hotel, 1902, Bostwick

Built by John Bostwick, Sr., to accommodate burgeoning railroad traffic in the area, the Susie Agnes remains the crown jewel of Bostwick. Mr. Bostwick had purchased a large tract of land in the area and, encouraged by rapid growth, divided a portion of it into lots which became the town bearing his name.
   
Geneva

Geneva population was 114 at the 2000 census. The community's name is a transfer from Geneva, in Switzerland. Previously an existing & prosperous farming community, with a but a few businesses, it quickly became one of the most wealthy trading centers for this area upon the completion of the Muscogee Railroad Company's track in 1852. Geneva was widely and enthusiastically promoted as a new shipping point to plantations in Talbot Co and neighboring counties, to newly arriving settlers, businessmen, farmers, commercial endeavors, peddlers plying their trade, freight companies, passenger lines real estate speculators, and the building trade, contractors, carpenters. Various entertainment, such as sight seeing excursions, picnics and cookouts, were held to attract the interested and the curious.


Geneva Baptist Church.

Notable political figures, such as President Millard Fillmore, and his entourage, and others were given much fanfare and publicity. Figures vary, but between 1875-1880, Geneva was receiving more cotton than any point between Columbus and Fort Valley, with an average of 10,000 bales received & shipped each year. Guano fertilizer, cotton, corn, & other produce was shipped through Geneva. Most of the town businesses burned March 24, 1865, including the railroad depot and freight station, the Koockogey Hotel and stores nearby, and most of the cotton warehouses. When Columbus fell to the Yankees April 16, 1865, the Union army headed for Macon, passing through Geneva. They torched most of the remaining stores. The Georgia General Assembly incorporated the Town of Geneva in 1870.
   
Manchester (part)

We covered Manchester extensively with GNW #169.

Unincorporated communities
   
Box Springs

Box Springs unincorporated community is located in the county's extreme southwestern corner, 12.2 miles southwest of Talbotton. Baker Creek is the county line with Muscogee Co. And that is only 2 or 3 miles from the East city limits of Columbus. A post office has been in operation at Box Springs since 1853. The community was named for a local spring that was boxed in and used as a watering stop for the railroad. Pipes were run from the "boxed-spring" to a water tower adjacent to the tracks. The name Boxed Spring was later changed to Box Springs, as it was easier to pronounce.


Post Office Box Springs.

The Georgia General Assembly incorporated the place as the "Town of Box Springs" in 1913. The town's charter was dissolved in 1931.
   
Centerville

Centerville was established in the 1820s as the county seat. Centerville then was located near the geographic center of Talbot County, hence the name. A square block was reserved in the middle of the town for a courthouse, but Talbotton, a few miles away, was chosen instead. Not much is known concerning the formation of the settlement. Apparently a Corporation was set up to sell the land. The Georgia General Assembly incorporated the place as the "Town of Centreville" in 1835. The Centerville Store became the hub of the community. Built about 1836, probably by John C. Boynton. The necessities of life could be found there, groceries, tools, clothing, dry goods, patent medicines, tobacco, notions, hardware, the latest news and gossip, and good conversation. The town once had its own school district, formed by an act of legislature in 1905. The town was an incorporated municipality until its charter was officially dissolved in 1995.


View of the Collinsworth Methodist church cemetery in Talbot County Georgia.
       
Po Biddy Crossroads

The settlement is located 4 mi east of Talbotton on U.S. Route 80. Po Biddy Crossroads acquired its name following a dinner party in the community where fried chicken was served. When a guest took the last piece of chicken, a female guest exclaimed, "there goes the last of the po' biddy!" (Georgia vernacular for "poor little chicken"). The name "Po Biddy" was later proposed by someone registering a filling station at the settlement, "and the community has borne the moniker ever since".


Po Biddy crossroads store.
 
Tax

Tax was an unincorporated part of Talbot County, located in the NW Flint Hill Dist in the early 1900's.  Tax was named because it was the place there county tax officials made a stop to collect the taxes.  R.C. and J O Fryer - Dealers in General Merchandise with the post office and cotton gin were the main establishments.   


Talbot County.

Ghost Towns of Talbot County.

Oh man there are 20 more ghost towns of Talbot County. Go to above link for details.


General Store Prattsburgh Georgia.

Politics

Like most majority-African-American counties in Georgia, Talbot is a reliably Democratic county. Between 1912 and 2016, Talbot County has only voted Republican twice, although it also voted for American Independent segregationist George Wallace in 1968.

National Register of Historic Places listings in Talbot County, Georgia

The Frederick A. Bailey House, located on U.S. Route 80 in Talbotton, Georgia, was built in 1837. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.





It is a two-story weatherboard house built upon a brick pier foundation infilled with lattice slats.

Blount - McCoy Maxwell House



Built for John Thomas Blount, this Greek Revival cottage was later owned by the McCoy and Maxwell families. It became a focus of statewide attention when, on 5 April 1896, Emma Owen was shot and killed while visiting Jenny McCoy here. A local dentist, Dr. Will Ryder, had become enamored of Ms. Owen and had apparently been stalking her. At the time of the murder, Emma was sitting beside the front window of the home, in the company of her boyfriend, when Ryder fired shots into the parlor.  After committing the act, the doctor fled to his nearby office and attempted suicide, but was rescued by friends. He was later charged with murder but was lynched while awaiting sentencing. Blood stains from the murder are still visible on the wood floorboards and the house is widely believed to be haunted.

Newton P. Carreker House



This eclectic Late Victorian was built by Newton P. Carreker. It’s usually to referred to locally as the “Liberty Bell House” for the cutouts in the gables.

The Elms



Robert H. Dixon, a state senator and state representative, owned this land from 1827-1857 and built the main house, seen above, circa 1840. The property was sold to Daniel G. Owen (1830-1892) in 1858, and was held by his heirs until 1967. Owen was a Confederate soldier, taken prisoner by the Union, who came back to a different plantation after the war. He was a model post-bellum farmer. Instead of dwelling on the loss of his slaves, he went about making the property work with one-third the labor of plantations of similar size.


His waterworks, built in 1886, was considered his greatest modernization and received much attention in the press.  The water tower is the tall feature covered with vegetation.

LeVert Historic District



Straus-LeVert Memorial Hall


The Straus-LeVert Memorial Hall on College Avenue in Talbotton is a former LeVert College building turned community center. Lazrus Straus, a Belgian immigrant and Talbotton merchant, in part supported the school.



This beloved landmark was built as the LeVert College for Young Women by Lazrus Straus, a Belgian merchant whose business was the forerunner of the Macy’s chain. This was a Methodist school and merged with Collingsworth Institute in 1879. It closed in 1907 and was used as a public school until 1926. Many years after moving away from Talbotton and founding Macy’s, the Straus family made gifts to ensure the preservation of this important structure.


Octavia Walton LeVert

Madame Octavia Walton LeVert, for whom the LeVert Female College was named, was the granddaughter of George Walton, a Georgia Signer of the Declaration of Independence.

Lockhart-Cosby Plantation


Across from Federal Road Marker, so I guess this home was on the Federal Road.

John Frank Mathews Plantation



David Shelton House



Martin and Lucretia Stamper House



Talbot County Courthouse



The Talbot County Courthouse, on Courthouse Sq. in Talbotton, Georgia, was built in 1892.



It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.



It was designed by architects Bruce & Morgan in Queen Anne style and " is smaller and more picturesque than many of their courthouses."



It has a tall, pyramidal topped clock tower on the east, and a squat bell-capped tower on the west, linked by a gable.



It has a Romanesque arched entryway.

George Washington Bonaparte Towns

George W. Towns was a U.S. Representative, and the 39th Governor of Georgia from 1847 to 1851. He was a former resident of Talbotton.




George W. B. Towns House


George Washington Towns Historical Marker


Marker is at Hwy 208, Talbotton.

Weeks-Kimbrough House



The Weeks-Kimbrough House, on Washington Ave. (U.S. 80/GA 41) in Talbotton, Georgia, was built around 1845. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. It was a one-story Greek Revival house which was built with mortise, tenon and peg construction. Its porch was supported by 12 fluted, simplified-Doric columns. It was deemed "of architectural significance because it is the only remaining example of a style prominent in this area before the Civil War; it is significant in local history because its builder-owner, John Weeks, was an important cotton merchant in this community.



Before the Civil War, Talbot County was one of the largest and most important cotton-producing counties in Georgia. In 1860, 2.2 percent of the state's cotton was produced there. Of the 132 counties in Georgia at the time, only seven produced more cotton than Talbot County. The house is a rare example of the excellent proportions, craftsmanship and simplicity of this time."

Pew-Hill House, 1852, Talbotton



This grand home was built by attorney Joseph Pew and later to sold to a Dr. Hill, who was a professor at the LeVert Female College. Walton B. Hill, who was a Chancellor of the University of Georgia, grew up here. It’s presently being restored.

Zion Episcopal Church



Zion Episcopal Church (consecrated 1853) is a historic Episcopal parish church founded in 1847 in Talbotton, Georgia, the county seat of Talbot County. It is a fine and unusual example of the English Tudor and carpenter-gothic style, influenced by Richard Upjohn, in a rural southern setting. The church was funded by wealthy planters from coastal Georgia and South Carolina who had created an unusually affluent community on the southern frontier by settling together in the forested piedmont of the Chattahoochee Valley – formerly remote Muscogee-Creek territory.



The church today, although lacking a regular congregation, is maintained as a chapel by St. Nicholas Episcopal Church in nearby Hamilton, which hosts services in the space regularly.

History

Zion Episcopal, much like other Southern planter churches and chapels of ease, is a notable confluence of both the wealth and fashion of southern planter societies, and of the simplicity and locality of rural southern religious buildings. The church was built in 1848 and consecrated in 1853, as a mission of the then-single Diocese of Georgia, under the leadership of the Rev. Richard Johnson — who is sometimes quoted in his journaling of travel across the deep south and southwest. Funded by Talbotton's unusually frontier-eager planter elite, and by rice planters whom Johnson had served in South Carolina, the building is a perfect survival of an international architectural movement that saw its own provincial manifestation in the backcountry of the old southern frontier.


Exterior of the East Window, 1936.

Architecture

Zion Episcopal Church is considered to be an excellent and early example of English country Tudor revival. Built in the neo-gothic architecture that was increasingly the desired style of the mid 19th century, it was probably inspired by the designs of Richard Upjohn, the architect most famously of Trinity Church Wall Street, which became popular by the dispersal of his book: Upjohn's Rural Architecture. The one room church is built of vertical boards, and features a central three-part bell tower, a gallery built for the slaves of worshipping planters, and lancet windows with plantation shutters. It is built completely out of local Heart Pine, with nails and iron from a Talbotton blacksmith and unpainted, giving it a deeply dim and rural look. And, while bearing a relationship to Richard Upjohn's designs, it stands apart in its particularly Tudor style, with perpendicular carpentry arches supporting the galleries, decorative battlements, and a trefoil theme in the pitched roof. The interior firings, namely the altar, communion rail, box pews, lectern and pulpit, are all built from native Walnut, and the ceiling beams are rare white cedar logs cut from Talbot County forests. The organ, made by Pilcher, was installed in the west end on the gallery in 1850 and is still working condition.



It is the oldest and only working hand-pumped Pilcher organ in the United States. The Church stands in an oak and cedar grove in the LeVert Historic District of Talbotton — dominated by large neo-classical columned plantation houses. The large and deliberate slave gallery, unaltered since the Civil War, reflects the religious schooling of enslaved people by George's Episcopal bishop and the parishioners of Zion.

Today

Talbotton remained a fairly isolated community and the church never had more that 12 families. The Church was placed on the National Register for Historic Places in 1974. It has not had regular Sunday services for over fifty years but is still carefully maintained by the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta.


The marker and the rear of the Zion Episcopal Church.

The Church has never been modernized, refitted or altered, and remains the oldest church building in the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta.

Services

Holy Eucharist is offered at Zion Episcopal Church in the afternoon of the Second Sunday of the month.



Other Historical Markers Talbot County



At Talbotton on Jan. 26, 1846, the First Meeting of the Supreme Court of Georgia was held in the dining hall of the old Claiborne Hotel.


Looking north on Washington Avenue (Georgia Highway 41) in Talbotton. The courthouse is to the left.

Talbotton United Methodist Church





William Bartram Trail



Double Bridges




Pleasant Hill Manor is seen in background of Double Bridges marker.


The home was built in 1834. Minty's Division and Wilson's Cavalry passed by the home on April 17-19, 1865.

Belleview


Old Belleview Marker


Belleview Marker in middle of nowhere, looking north on Georgia Highway 41 toward Old Alabama Road (the intersection marked in the distance) and the town of Woodland, approximately one mile north.

Notable people Talbot County

Bohagon rapper born in Talbotton.



John W. Bower, signatory to the Texas Declaration of Independence, member of the House of Representatives of the Republic of Texas, and Chief justice of Refugio County, Texas; born in Talbotton.

 

Charles Henry Jones, journalist, editor, and political figure, born in Talbotton.
   


Clarence Jordan, farmer and New Testament Greek scholar; born in Talbotton.
 

Father of Hamilton Jordan. 

Lady, American rapper; born in Talbotton.

   

Elizabeth Evelyn Wright, founder of Voorhees College; born in Talbotton.



Whew, Talbot County Georgia. Our GNW Gals display their Tail Bottom for Talbotton Georgia.