This small house is one of the most intact survivors in the historic African-American community of South End.
Tag Archives: Endangered Culture of Coastal Georgia
Geechee Gullah Ring Shouters at Fort Frederica
I recently had the pleasure of revisiting and photographing the wonderful Geechee Gullah Ring Shouters at the 2020 African-American Festival at Fort Frederica National Monument. Visit this link to learn more about the history of the ring shout and the Geechee Gullah Ring Shouters. As I’ve told nearly everyone who will listen, the Shouters are a real treasure and I encourage all to attend one of their performances if they have the opportunity. I’m presenting these photographs as a gallery, without captions, as I think the photographs speak for themselves.
Filed under -GLYNN COUNTY, St. Simons Island GA
Ralph Quarterman Grocery, Walthourville
This neighborhood grocery was owned by Ralph Waldo Quarterman, a leading African-American citizen of Liberty County and founder of the local branch of the NAACP. I believe this area was once part of Allenhurst but changing boundaries now place it in Walthourville. His home is visible to the right of the store.
Filed under -LIBERTY COUNTY, Walthourville GA
Dock House, Valona
The old dock here is no longer used due to disrepair but the early-20th-century dock house [also known as the Valona Fish House] is a survivor. [As the sign clearly states, don’t trespass]. Beth Walters-Parker notes that this was Captain Hunter’s place. The Valona Shrimp Company, which operates in this area, is perhaps the oldest shrimping businesses in Georgia.
Filed under -MCINTOSH COUNTY, Valona GA
Self-Service Ice, Welding & Answers, Harris Neck
I made these photos in 2009; no one was living here when I was in the neighborhood earlier this summer. As a self-service ice house, it served an important purpose in this community of fishermen. The owners were obviously on the honor system, but to make sure customers were honest, a decorative skeleton kept an eye on things. The “answers” part of the sign always got my attention. I imagined fortune-telling and voodoo, superstitions and practices once associated with African-Americans (if sometimes incorrectly so).
Filed under -MCINTOSH COUNTY, Harris Neck GA
St. Andrews Church of God, Circa 1954, St. Simons Island
This interesting church in the Harrington community was built just as the historic African-American neighborhoods of St. Simons were reaching their ebb. It’s a utilitarian example of the two-tower style, common among African-American congregations on the coast in an earlier time. The cinderblock structure, built sometime between 1950-1954, has unpainted sides, with the front being the only “finished” section. A more traditional structure, the circa 1920 Pentecostal Zion Church, stands behind this one.
Filed under -GLYNN COUNTY, St. Simons Island GA
