Georgia Natural Wonder #197 - Hamburg State Park - Washington County (Part 1). 815

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Georgia Natural Wonder #197 - Hamburg State Park - Washington County (Part 1)

Hamburg State Park

Hamburg State Park is a 741 acre state park located near Jewell and Warthen in Georgia. It is home to a 1921 water-powered grist mill still operating today, and a museum with antique agricultural tools and appliances used in rural Georgia.



The park's location on the 225 acre Hamburg Lake makes it a great place for fishing. 



The state park took its name from the former industrial town of Hamburg, South Carolina.



Hamburg, South Carolina is a ghost town in Aiken County, in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was once a thriving upriver market located across the Savannah River from Augusta, Georgia in the Edgefield District.



It was founded by Henry Shultz in 1821 who named it after his home town in Germany of the same name. The town was one of the state's primary interior markets by the 1830s, due largely to the fact that the South Carolina Canal and Rail Road Company chose Hamburg as the western terminus of its line to Charleston. The town relied on its in-land port being the destination of cotton headed toward the ports of Charleston or Savannah for business. In 1848 Augusta siphoned much of the town's river traffic with the completion of the Augusta Canal. The town's decline was finalized in the 1850s when the South Carolina Canal and Rail Road Company extended its line into Augusta.



Hamburg State Park is located 20 miles north of Sandersville via Hamburg State Park Road off Ga. Hwy. 102. Hamburg State Park is rich in historical and natural resources, and provides programs to school groups, scout troops, and other organizations. Hamburg State Park charges a $5 parking fee. You can also purchase an annual pass that is valid at all Georgia State Parks for $50.

“Great experience at Hamburg State Park. The scenery is beautiful especially the waterfall over the dam at the Gristmill.”



With modern-day facilities amidst reminders of days gone by, Hamburg State Park offers a wonderful mix of history and outdoor recreation year 'round.  A campground offers shaded sites along the edge of quiet Hamburg Lake fed by the Little Ogeechee River. Open seasonally, this self-registration campground provides hot showers, water and electric hookups, and a dump station. Anglers can enjoy fishing for largemouth bass, crappie and bream, as well as boat ramps and a fishing pier. Wildlife enthusiasts should look for turtles, alligators, raccoons, deer, birds and numerous other animals that live within the park. The restored 1921 water-powered gristmill is still operational and used to grind corn during events. The park’s museum is also open during events, displaying old agricultural tools and implements used in rural Georgia.



If you are interested in participating in a program at Hamburg State Park please call the park office at 478-552-2393. A wide variety of programs are provide by the park staff on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Group size must be limited to 50 or less, and scheduled at least two weeks in advance.


There are alligators in the lake.

Special Events

Hamburg Arts and Crafts Festival is an annual event with many different sights, sounds, and smells tantalizing the senses. Guests are treated to homemade food, barbeque plates, funnel cakes, fried twinkies, cajun pork curls, and a wide variety of homemade items are sold. There are also several music groups and cloggers who provided entertainment.



Savannah River Council Girl Scouts enjoy their annual "Fun in Nature" program at Hamburg. They tour the mill and museum, then an educational nature talk is given by the park ranger and a guided nature hike along the trail.



Annual Forestry Day is sponsored by the American Forest Management Company. Students participate in a number of programs from the Georgia Forestry Commission and the staff at Hamburg State Park. Children participate in tours of the grist mill and museum. They also learn about basic tree identification, wildlife habitat, firefighting, and controlled burns.



Reservations, Accommodations & Facilities

    741 Acres
    225 Acre Lake
    32 Tent, Trailer & RV Campsites — Site-Specific
    1 Group Shelter (seats 50) — seasonal
    2 Picnic Shelters — seasonal
    Grist Mill & Museum — open during events
    Playground



Things To Do & See

    Boating — private boats permitted, 10 HP limit
    Camping
    Fishing
    Geocaching
    Hiking — 3.5 miles of trails
    Paddling
    Photography
    Picnicking
    Boat Rental
    Aquacycle, Canoe & Kayak Rental

Grist Mill History

After the close of the Revolutionary War the Warthen family moved to Washington County from North Carolina in the 1790s. They acquired this land through grants received for their part in the war. The Warthen family built the first mill in Washington County in 1825 just 75 feet upstream from the present mill site on the Little Ogeechee river. At that time the area was named "Little Shoals" to distinguish it from "Shoals" located just 4 miles away on the Ogeechee river. With much optimism he renamed his holdings after the bustling market and mill town of Hamburg, South Carolina.



At that time a now extinct town named Georgetown was located six miles downstream from Warthen's new mill. Georgetown was a major frontier trading post. Indians from as far as Alabama would travel to Georgetown to trade and barter. Georgetown was a natural outlet for the produce of the first Hamburg Mill.



The first mill at Hamburg ran until the early 1900s. T.B. Rachels and his brothers purchased the property around 1895. Later the property was acquired by Oscar Harrison and then sold to the Gilmore brothers who became a prominent Washington County family. The Gilmore brothers built the present mill, dam, and cotton gin in 1921-22. The brothers also farmed much of the surrounding area. The mill was set up to grind both flour and corn meal. The Gilmore brothers later sold the property to the Hall family whose members still live in the area. Eventually the property was sold to Tarbutton and Rawlings who deeded the property to the State of Georgia in 1968.



During the active years of ginning and milling the area of Hamburg Mill were both work and community centers, and still remains a wonderful place to socialize.



Prior to the invention of the steam engine, the only practical alternatives to muscle power were the windmill and the watermill. Horizontal water wheels were known in Greece as early as 100 B.C.



Hamburg Mill operates on a regular basis. The park staff grinds corn every other Saturday from March through October. For the most current schedule please call the park office at 478-552-2393. We can grind your own corn (minimum 100 lbs) for a small grinding fee. Grinding is open to the public.



All Trails

Hamburg State Park Nature Trail is a 3.4 mile lightly trafficked out and back trail located near Mitchell, Georgia that features a lake and is good for all skill levels. The trail is primarily used for hiking, walking, nature trips, and bird watching.



We hiked two separate trails, one near the campground I believe was the orange trail, it is not a loop it is a little over a half mile there and a half mile back. Nice short hike through the woods with little kids. We drove to the gristmill and completed the red and blue trail which was much prettier and a long water.



It was an easy trail, very flat. I liked the little nature information plaques. Relaxing and beautiful trail. There are alligators and it cost $5 to park.



Washington County

Washington County in east central Georgia was established on February 25, 1784. Georgia’s tenth county, named for Revolutionary War general and U.S. president George Washington. It was settled by Revolutionary War (1775-83) veterans who were awarded grants to Creek and Cherokee lands.


Washington and his men.

Beginning in 1786, seven counties plus portions of nine more were eventually cut from the original Washington County. The county currently encompasses 680 square miles, and its population, according to the 2010 U.S. census, was 21,187, a slight increase from the 2000 population of 21,176. The county seat is Sandersville.

Early History

Warthen was the first settlement in the county, founded as the site of the superior courts and the jail.



Made of hand-hewn logs, the jail has been restored and is considered the oldest log jail in Georgia. The entire village of Warthen, including the jail, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.


Aaron Burr jail as will be discussed later in post.

In 1796 the Georgia legislature named Sandersville (originally Saunders Crossroads), which was situated at the crossing of two Indian trails, the county seat. Many early post-office communities within the county grew and faded with time, while railroads determined the survival of several villages. Townships in the county today include Davisboro, Deepstep, Harrison, Oconee, Riddleville, Sandersville, Tennille, and Warthen. As a frontier county, self-contained farms and plantations were also common.


Farms Washington County.

Religion played an important role in the early community. The first church in the area was constituted in 1790. Baptists and then Methodists later organized, and both denominations had founded churches by 1856. Around 1900, Catholic and Episcopal congregations were formed. Today 120 churches of various denominations meet around the county, and many are descendents of these earlier ones.


Churches Washington County.

Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries

The Civil War came to Washington County in November 1864.


Oconee Bridge November 19th.


Ball's Ferry November 23rd.


Tennille November 24th.


Buffalo Creek November 25th.

On November 25, 1864, Union general William T. Sherman and his troops came through Washington County on their “March to the Sea.”





Sherman selected the Brown House as his headquarters.


Brown House.



Thanksgiving in Sandersville.






Fenn's Bridge November 27th.

Two days later, when his army left Sandersville, Sherman ordered the courthouse and jail to be burned. In Tennille, railroad tracks were pulled up, heated, and twisted into “bowties.”



The county courthouse was lost to fires in 1855 and again in 1864. A new courthouse was completed in 1868 and enlarged in the Victorian style in 1899. Before the turn of the twentieth century, brick store buildings replaced the wooden ones that had been burned.


Tarvers Mill November 29th.

Medicine also played a key role in the county’s history. William Rawlings, a renowned surgeon, opened a hospital around 1895. Nurses were taught at Rawlings’ Nurses Training School from 1903 to 1932.


Staff and building downtown Sandersville.

Operating on the Sandersville square for sixty-five years, the Rawlings Sanitarium moved to a new facility in 1961; originally called Washington Memorial Hospital, it is now the Washington County Regional Medical Center.



Stable cotton prices from about 1890 to the mid-1920s brought prosperity and fine homes to the area, many of which are still standing. Farmers have since diversified, growing other agricultural products, and a prosperous lumber industry has also developed.

National Register of Historic Places listings in Washington County, Georgia

Now we are going to wrap up this first post on Washington County with the listing of the National Register of Historic Places. We also include selections from Brian Brown's Vanishing Georgia.

The Church-Smith-Harris Street Historic District is a 105 acres historic district in Sandersville, Georgia which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.

The district "is located just to the southeast of the city's business district, encompasses the largest grouping of historic residential structures extant in Sandersville. The great majority of the structures are of frame construction, with some masonry structures which are of 20th century construction. Architectural styles found in the district range from vernacular Greek Revival of the 1840s to Tudor style houses of the early 1930s."



It includes historic houses along E. Church and S. Smith Streets and a few on S. Harris Street.



It includes Greek Revival, Tudor Revival, and Queen Anne architecture. It included 60 contributing buildings.

Cohen-Tarbutton House, 1904, Sandersville

This crown jewel of Sandersville’s residential historic district was designed by architect Norman Askins for H. E. Cohen, founder and first president of the Sandersville Railroad.



Judge Charles Thigpen and Governor Thomas Hardwick also lived here before it was purchased by Benjamin James Tarbutton in 1924.



Addams House, Sandersville

It’s my guess that this house is the work of Charles E. Choate; it has a very close relative in the nearby Brantley-Haygood House.


It likely dates to the late 1890s.

Holt-Sullivan House, 1907, Sandersville


One of the most interesting features of this house is the concave curve of the balcony, which is nicely reflected in the curve of the portico.

Brown House, Circa 1851, Sandersville

On his infamous March to the Sea, General William Tecumseh Sherman headquartered in this house on 26 November 1864.



Built by Nathan Haynes, the house has had many owners, William Gainer Brown most notable among them. Commanding a high ridge overlooking the beautiful North Harris Street neighborhood it’s quite imposing from any angle and was known for a time as Woodland Terrace.



Today, it’s home to the Washington County Historical Society and is open to the public as the Brown House Museum.

Brantley-Haygood House, 1850s & 1899, Sandersville

From The Rambler, May-June 2001, Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation: Dr. Solomon Brantley, a physician who served in the Civil War from 1861-1865, and his wife Mary originally built the plantation plain house with little ornamentation. Architect Charles E. Choate added the Victorian detailing in 1899, when he was hired by a later owner to remodel the house.



Story has it that Mary Brantley was among the women in Sandersville who begged Sherman not to burn down the town, and he rescinded his order to burn the houses. The house was passed down through several owners before the Haygood family bought it in 1953. The house is now being used as apartments…The house was originally built on piers, which were later filled in with concrete block.

Newman House,1855, Sandersville

Major Mark N. Newman (1827-1906) of Company C, 49th Georgia Volunteer Infantry, built the first section of this house in 1855.



It was extensively remodeled before the Civil War, with the front porch being added then.

Paris-Elkins House, 1900, Sandersville



Charles Edward Choate, the architect responsible for the Holt Brothers Banking Company building on the courthouse square, also designed this home. Thanks to Caroline Ross for the history.

Old City Cemetery began as the cemetery of the local Methodist Episcopal Church. Eventually the cemetery expanded to its current 5.5 acres which is surrounded by West Church Street to the South, West Haynes Street to the North, Virginia Avenue to the East, and private property to the West.

City Cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.




Victorian sculpture at the cemetery

Notable interments

Thomas W. Hardwick (1872–1944), a former U.S. senator and governor of Georgia.



Ben J. Tarbutton (1885–1962), state politician and mayor of Sandersville.



The Thomas Jefferson Elder High and Industrial School, at 316 Hall St. in Sandersville, Georgia, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981. It is a Rosenwald school built in 1927.

It has an H-shaped plan and is the surviving building of a larger school complex. The site includes the graves of Mr. and Mrs. T.J. Elder.



Its National Register nomination states its importance:

    The Thomas Jefferson Elder High and Industrial School is significant as being an authenticated Rosenwald Plan School with an intact H-plan and original interior and exterior finishes. One of the Rosenwald Fund's goals was to improve public education for Southern blacks by assisting in building model schoolhouses. In education, the school is significant as the oldest remaining school building in the county. It was built on a site associated with the county's education since 1889. It pioneered the manual arts (vocational) training and trained other teachers under the leadership of T.J. Elder. In social-humanitarian history, it is significant for the Rosenwald Fund's efforts to improve education in the South. This building was erected with the help of the Fund in 1927-28, although the majority of the costs came from local public support and city funds. It was the Fund's goal to support local school systems by requiring that local funding exceed that of the Fund. In this case, donations in the amounts of $1 to $250 were collected from both blacks and whites. In black history, the school is significant as the manifestation of the efforts of Thomas Jefferson Elder (1869-1946).

Forest Grove is a historic property originally purchased by Colonel Thomas Jefferson Warthen in 1840. The property was designated a Centennial Family Farm in 2003, and in 2004 was placed on the National Register of Historical Places.


Forest Grove was built in 1844.  This home is unique – it has 4 front doors!  And it’s lived in by descendants of the original owner!

Holt Brothers Banking Company Building is a historic site in Sandersville, Georgia. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1994. It is located at 100–106 Malone Street. It was designed by Charles E. Choate.



The bank was built in 1898 as the Holt Brothers Building, and in 1901 the brothers, who were farmers and businessmen, opened the First National Bank there. It was built as a two-story brick building with ashlar marble. Its front door had a stained glass fanlight, and beside the door, in marble, was carved "Chas. E. Choate - Architect and Builder". The brothers sold the building to the First National Bank in 1914. The bank was later owned by Gordon S. Chapman, publisher and mayor in Sandersville. In 1994 the first floor space was occupied by two clothing stores.

James E. Johnson House 425 W. Church St., Sandersville, GA, NRHP-listed.


It was built by Choate.

The James Kelley House, in Tennille, Georgia, was built in 1919. It was designed by architect Charles E. Choate. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994. The listing included eight contributing buildings and a contributing structure on 15 acres. It is located on Tennille—Harrison Rd. east of its junction with GA 15. The house was nominated as part of a study of Choate's works in Washington County. James Kelley and his father Robert Kelley "were said to be the foremost farmers in the history of Washington County."

The Charles Madden House. at 302 E. South Central St. in Tennille, Georgia, was built in 1899. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994. It is a Queen Anne style house designed by architect Charles E. Choate.



Its National Register nomination asserts its significance as follows:

The Charles Madden House is significant in architecture because it is one of the architect Charles Choate's early residential structures in Washington County and it represents a more modest example of Choate's residential architecture. Furthermore, it is a very good and intact example of the Queen Anne style applied to a small, one-story house, and with its intact floor plan and massing it is a very good and intact example of the Queen Anne type of vernacular house found throughout Georgia at the turn of the century. The Madden house is also the only documented example of a Choate commission for a black client.

It has also been known as the Madden--Smith House.

The North Harris Street Historic District is a 60 acres historic district which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989. It is roughly bounded by First Ave., Washington Ave., E. McCarty St., N. Harris St., Malone St., and Warthen St. in Sandersville, Georgia.



It includes works designed by architect Charles E. Choate and by his niece Ellamae Ellis League. It includes Greek Revival, Queen Anne and Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals architecture. In 1989 it included 88 contributing buildings as well as 11 non-contributing buildings and a non-contributing site.



Architect Ellamae Ellis League designed one or more contributing buildings in the district which were built in the late 1930s. She designed the Leonard House (1939), at 213 N. Harris, a one-story brick Colonial Revival style house featuring "paired end chimneys, a parapet roof and an accentuated front door entry." The doorway has a "decorative crown" and "slender columns set in-antis."

Sandersville Commercial and Industrial District


This Victorian jail and sheriff’s home has been restored and is now home to the Old Jail Museum & Genealogy Research Center. It’s popular with paranormal researchers, who seek the ghost of Essie, who is said to inhabit the home portion of the structure.

Masonic Lodge, Sandersville


This was built on the courthouse square to replace the earlier lodge, which had been spared by Union troops during Sherman’s March to the Sea only to be lost to fire in 1921.

Sandersville High School


Now Sandersville Elementary School.

Thomas W. Smith House

This home was built for Tennille merchant and Mayor, Thomas W. Smith, whose family lived here for over 85 years. 



The National Register nomination form notes: …the Thomas W. Smith House typifies Choate’s residential architectural designs during the early years of his architectural career. Charles E. Choate (1865-1929) was a minister-architect prolific in Georgia and adjacent states at the turn of the last century; the greatest concentration of his work can be found in the Tennille-Sandersville area.

Tennille Banking Company Building is a historic structure in Tennille, Georgia. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on July 28, 1994. It is located at 102-104 North Main Street. The Tennille Banking Company opened in 1900. The building was designed by Charles E. Choate (August 31, 1865 – 1929) who lived for ten years in Tennille.



The Tennille Baptist Church in Tennille, Georgia is a Southern Baptist church that was built in 1903. It was designed by architect Charles E. Choate in Gothic architecture. Choate was an architect and Methodist minister who lived in Tennille for many years and designed several buildings in the community.



The church was nominated for National Register of Historic Places listing as part of a multiple property listing, and was itself listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1994.

The Tennille Woman's Clubhouse, at 132 Smith St. in Tennille, Georgia, was built in 1922. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998.



Tennille Woman's Club

The Tennille Women's Club was founded in 1914 as a sewing club. It later took on civic projects and was incorporated in 1920 when it became a member of the Georgia Federation of Woman's Clubs and the General Federation of Women's Clubs. It "federated with the state and national program in 1921 after undergoing an application review in which the club had to be certified as being non-political and non-sectarian and being devoted to promoting better communities." In 1998 it was still active with about 40 members.


The building

Built in 1922, Tennille Woman's Clubhouse is one-story log building, purpose-built to serve as a clubhouse. It is built in the Craftsman Style. Its south room was the founding location of the first public-supported library in Washington County, which later moved.

The Warthen Historic District is a 245 acres historic district in Warthen, Georgia which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997. The listing included 39 contributing buildings and 2 contributing sites. It includes the junction of Georgia State Route 15, Georgia State Route 102, Warthen St., Old Sandersville - Sparta and Walker Dairy Roads.




General Store and Farmers & Merchants Bank, 1911, Warthen

It includes Greek Revival, Queen Anne, and Colonial Revival architecture.


Lot of Churches in Warthen.

It includes the Warthen Jail, built c.1773, "significant as one of the oldest known jails and as one of the oldest intact buildings in Georgia. It is also significant for its log construction with hand-hewn logs."



Located today on private property, this structure is nonetheless accessible and widely visited. Thought to be the oldest standing jail in Georgia, it’s better known as the Aaron Burr Jail. The former Vice-president is said to have been held here overnight during transport to Richmond for his 1807 trial for treason. A granite-and-bronze marker was placed at the site by the Governor Jared Irwin Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution. However, research and evidence suggests that this story is apocryphal. A 1906 newspaper article by Col. Macon Warthen, Sr., gave a very detailed account of Burr’s movements from Fort Wilkinson (Milledgeville) to Shoals of Ogeechee in Hancock County. According to Col. Warthen’s research, Burr spent the night in Shoals of the Ogeechee, not in Warthen (then known as Wicker).


The arrest and trial of Aaron Burr.

Washington County Courthouse is a historic county courthouse in Sandersville, Georgia, county seat of Washington County, Georgia. It was built in 1869 and renovated in 1899 under the supervision of L.F. Goodrich. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on September 18, 1980 and is located on Courthouse Square.



Sandersville is one of the old towns of the Georgia interior, having been designated Washington County’s seat of government in 1796. The present courthouse is the third to serve the county. The first was destroyed by fire in 1855 and a second structure was burned by Sherman’s forces during the Civil War. This High Victorian, with its Second Empire clock tower, has long been a symbol of Sandersville. Sadly, its architect is unknown.



Washington Manufacturing Company

Main building has been demolished.

Wrightsville and Tennille Railroad Company Building is a historic building in Tennille, Georgia. It was designed by Charles E. Choate, an architect and Methodist Minister who worked in Tennille for many years, and constructed in 1903. The brick-and-stone structure is a late 20nth century revival of Beaux arts architecture. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on July 28, 1994.


The Wrightsville and Tennille Railroad Company Building is now a private residence.

Fairview was built for the Bashinski family, this was once among the grandest homes in Tennille.



The Bashinkis were Jewish merchants who moved to Tennille after the Civil War and operated a thriving department store for many years. When the family moved out in the 1940s, the house was subdivided into apartments and the front columns and porch removed. It is presently for sale and would make a great preservation project.

Jared Irwin Monument

Passersby often mistake this for the Confederate Monument, but instead it honors Jared Irwin, one of Washington County’s best-known politicians of his time. The monument was moved from the earlier courthouse square to its present location some time after the Civil War. Today, Irwin is barely known, but he lives on as the namesake of Irwin County, Irwinville, and Irwinton. It’s a sad fact today that he isn’t considered one of Georgia’s greatest heroes; his rescinding of the Yazoo frauds alone should place him high above most any  Georgia politician of any time. Other than the namesake places, this is, to my knowledge, the only monument honoring this great Georgian. The monument’s base, heavy with text on all four sides, describes the varied career of Irwin in the flowery style of the mid-19th century.



South Side: Erected by the State of Georgia to the memory of Governor Jared Irwin, who died at his residence, Union Hill, Washington Co., on the first day of March 1818 in the 68th year of his age.

East Side: A true patriot. He entered the service of his country as Captain and soon rose to the rank of colonel in the Revolutionary War. As a soldier, he was brave and gallant. He distinguished himself a the sieges of Savannah and Augusta and in the battles of Camden, Brier Creek, Black Swamp, and several other engagements, he was at all times foremost leading his gallant band to victory. And not with his sword, and in his person only did he do service for his country. From his private means he erected a fortress in Burke County for protection of the people of the surrounding districts.His pure devotion to the cause of liberty marked him in the eyes of the enemy, and on more than one occasion was he plundered of his property, and his premises reduced to ashes. At the close of the War of the Revolution, with the rank of General, he was actively engaged in the service of the state, in repelling the attacks and invasions of the hostile Indians; and here, again, was his liberality called into activity. He, at his own expense, built a fort at White Bluff, for the security and protection of the frontier inhabitants against the savage attacks of the merciless foes.


A band bearing Irwin’s initials, surrounds the obelisk.

North Side: General Irwin was one of the convention which met at Augusta in 1788, and ratified the constitution of the United States. He was a member of the convention in 1789, which formed the constitution of the State of Georgia. In 1798, he was president of the convention which revised the constitution of the State of Georgia. He rendered distinguished to his country as commissioner, in concluding several treaties with the Indians. At the close of the war of Independence he was a member of the first legislature under our present form of government; a position which occupied for several years. He was elected president of the senate frequently, at various periods from 1790 to the time of his death. He was governor of Georgia from January 17, 1796, to the 11th of January, 1798, and again from the 23rd of September, 1806, to the 7th of November, 1809. His administration was distinguished for his justice and impartiality; and his was the honor, after several years’ labor in the behalf, of signing the act rescinding the Yazoo Act.

West Side: In his private relations Governor Irwin was beloved by all who knew him. The spotless purity of his character, his benign and affable disposition, his widespread benevolence and hospitality, made him the object of general affection. To the poor and distressed he was ever a benefactor and friend. In every position of public life, as a soldier, a statesman, and a patriot, the public good was the object and the end of his ambition; and his death was lamented as a national calamity. But his memory will ever be embalmed in the hearts of his countrymen; and the historian will award him a brilliant page in the records of the country. Peace to his ashes! Honor to his name.



Irwin Family Cemetery, Washington County

This historic rural cemetery is the final resting place of one of Georgia’s most important early governors, Jared Irwin.



These three gravestones memorialize Irwin family pioneers: Governor Jared Irwin, General John Lawson Irwin, and Alexander Irwin.



The slabs for Jared and John Lawson appear to be later replacements but the headstone for Alexander is original.


To the Memory of Governor Jared Irwin – 1750-1818 – Colonel in the American Revolution. – Brig. General in Indian Wars. – Three Times Governor of Georgia. – Signed the famous act Recinding the Yazoo Fraud. Died at Union Hill, his County seat – March 1st 1818.


Sacred to the memory of General John Lawson Irwin – 1755-1822 – Captain in the America Revolution – Brig. General Georgia Militia. – Brig. General in war 1812. – Died 1st day of January 1822. – Buried with Military Honors.


In Memory of Alexander Irwin – Born Aug. 29, 1792 – Died May 10, 1842. – Served in Indian War in Florida 1815.

Now I found 42 Historical Markers in Washington County, but this post is getting close to the Message Too Large. I will cover Washington County (Part 2) to include famous people - Popular Culture - and wrap up the Historical Markers of the County.

UGA Football Barn Sign, Peacocks Crossing

Now I stumbled upon this wrap up of the history of Washington County (Part 1) as Vanishing Georgia featured a few shots of OSDawg's Barn Sign in Peacock Crossing.



This old store at Peacock’s Crossing features regularly updated murals about the Georgia Bulldogs. Some are good and some are bad, depending on your perspective.



This is the Official Facebook Fan page for the “UGA Football Barn Sign” located on Highway 15 between Tennille and Wrightsville, GA. These two small towns have produced many successful football players for UGA, most notably Hershel Walker.



In 2000 the season opened with Quincy Carter as our starting QB. For those that remember, Quincy soon became a train wreck. After the World’s Largest Cocktail Party in Jacksonville, we decided to voice our opinion of our QB status. While discussing how we would materialize our thoughts, a close relative joked that we should paint the side of the old ‘Jot Em Down Store’ which had been in his family since the late 1930's. We quickly accepted his offer and aimed to paint the south side of the store’s exterior in order for all the traffic to view as they headed back to the northern part of the state on Sunday following the game. The night after the game, we painted the old store. That year was an election year and the basis of our message.



Cory soon became our starting QB. Cory’s most recognized game was against our arch rival Georgia Tech. Cory completed 36 of 62 passes for 413 yds. These stats are currently ranked: 1st (tie with Eric Zier) for most completions in a UGA game; 2nd for most attempts in a UGA game; 8th for most passing yds in a UGA game.



The old store soon came to be locally known as the “UGA Barn Sign”. The first message was such a success that we continued to use the old store to voice our opinions. We always aim to stay positive, though a few messages have voiced frustration. The only ‘non-UGA’ related message was after 9/11. It’s hard to believe how quickly the many messages have come to pass. We plan to continue painting the Barn Sign for years to come.



Over the years we’ve seen people taking pictures of the messages or having their picture taken in front of it, especially during the week of the Florida game. We’ve seen paintings and heard of others. There are supposedly even restaurants around the state with pictures of the Barn Sign hanging on their walls and people who have it hanging on their living room walls. We would love to see pictures of these items old and new! Please post pictures you’ve taken, drawings, paintings, or any other media that everyone may enjoy viewing! We know the Barn Sign is very popular and would like to see ‘all things related’ to the Barn Sign pinned to this page!

GO DAWGS!

Today's GNW Gals are the result of a Google for Hamburg Women for Hamburg Mill State Park. Now this may be Hamburg Germany but these Gals I could not Google past, Ja!