Preservation Posts - October 2015 | View in web browser In this issue: - Message from the Director - Georgia Centennial Farms Honored - Updating the Camp Lawton POW Database - The Bulloch House: Beloved Landmark - Recent News and Announcements - Upcoming Events - Want to contribute to Preservation Posts? Message From the Director By: Dr. David Crass Division Director & Deputy State Historic Preservation Officer On Tuesday evening, the 27th of October, Gov. Nathan Deal and the Georgia Natural Resources Foundation, or GNRF, hosted the third annual Governor's Gala at the Governor's Mansion. The GNRF was the brainchild of former Commissioner Chris Clark, who devised it as a way to raise funds for DNR division projects from private sources. The Interim Executive Director is Lonice Barrett, former DNR Commissioner and aide to Governors Perdue and Deal. Under the leadership of GNRF Board Chair Amy Hillman and Lonice, the foundation has really taken off over the last year. HPD has been the beneficiary of the foundation's grants, to the tune of nearly $100,000 over the last several years. These grants have paid for projects ranging from the augmented reality proof-ofconcept project at Camp Lawton and a new database system for our environmental review and tax incentive programs, to the completion of the first-ever history of DNR publication, which is now in final revisions. HPD is particularly lucky in that Chair Hillman has a background in urban planning and historic preservation. In fact, she was a participant in the nomination process for the Alberta DriveMathieson Drive-West Shadowlawn Avenue National Register District, in Buckhead! The Gala this year included displays and demonstrations by all DNR divisions and a wonderful buffet, which featured Georgia raw oysters, including some of the first from an experimental new oyster farm that our Coastal Resources Division is developing with the University of Georgia and the Georgia Department of Agriculture. Hats off to the GNRF and Lonice for the terrific work that they do to support HPD! Georgia's Centennial Farms Honored - 13 farms recognized at 22nd annual farm awards By: Lynn Speno Centennial Farm Committee The 22nd annual Georgia Centennial Farm Awards ceremony was held Oct. 9 at the Georgia National Fair in Perry, Ga. This year, 13 farms from across Georgia were honored, bringing the total number of Centennial Farms to 482. All of this year's recipients qualified for the "Centennial Family Farm Award" category -- meaning the farms have been continuously operated by the same family for 100 years or more. Here are a few of the highlights from this year's winners: The Harville Family Farm, in Bulloch County, was purchased in 1862 by Samuel Harville, the great-grandfather of current owner Tommy Harville. Over time, the farm grew to 2,800 acres and included a gristmill, sawmill, cotton gin, smokehouse, ice house, syrup house, and a commissary. It was the first farm in Bulloch County to sell peanuts commercially. Traders Hill Farm, in Charlton County, is owned by brothers Sidney Gowen and J.D. Gowen, Jr. The original 5,000-acre farm was purchased in 1878 by Andrew Gowen, the great-grandfather of the current owners. J.V. Gowen, Sr., grandfather of the current owners, was an early proponent of managed forestry. In the 1910s, he cofounded the Georgia-Florida Investment Co., which grew into a successful turpentine and timber operation. In the 1930s, he planted some 800,000 slash pine seedlings, reforesting more than 2,000 acres. Today the farm is devoted to corn, pasture, and livestock. Hickory Hill Farm, in Oglethorpe County, is a 206-acre farm that was purchased in 1857 by Thomas R. Tiller, the great-great-grandfather of current owner Susan Shaw. After raising cattle, the farm began to diversify into an organic, sustainable operation in 2009. Today, the farm grows a variety of organic vegetables. It also raises livestock, including Rhode Island Red chickens (for egg production), cattle, sheep, and pigs. The J.O. Rees-Dillard Farm, in Webster County, was purchased between 1900 and 1911 by James Rees, the great-grandfather of owner Carol Dillard. The family has a long tradition of utilizing modern farming techniques. James S. Rees, father of Carol Dillard, graduated from the University of Georgia in 1939 with a degree in Animal Science, and soon applied his knowledge to the farm. He terraced fields to prevent erosion, and introduced polled Hereford cows, which didn't need to be dehorned. He also designed a hog farrowing barn that was featured in Progressive Farmer magazine in 1961. Wayne Dillard started farming full-time in 1977. Like his father-in-law, he too brought modern practices to the farm. He introduced irrigation and, more recently, added GPS-controlled systems to tractors and seed spreaders. All 482 Centennial Farm applications are publicly available to researchers in the Georgia Historic Preservation Division Office at Panola Mountain State Park. The applications are an important resource on Georgia's agricultural history. To see the full list of this year's honorees, visit our website. (News Release). Applications for 2016 are available here. To see photos of all of our Centennial Farms, visit the HPD Flickr page. Updating the Camp Lawton POW Database - More than 3,800 POWs now included By: Debbie Wallsmith Preservation Specialist In March 2014, Preservation Posts published an article about a unique visitor experience being developed for the Camp Lawton History Center, at Magnolia Springs State Park. The article described a process whereby visitors could assume the identity of a real Union prisoner of war (POW) who had been sent to Millen. At the time of publication, the database containing the information on all of the prisoners, including the 125 singled-out for the visitor experience, was relatively small. This article provides an update on the progress made in identifying the POWs who were sent to Millen. The initial database contained only the names of the 399 prisoners who died while in Camp Lawton. Since that time, the names of more than 3,400 survivors have been added -- for a total of 3,808 prisoners. Most of these names were discovered listed in the Andersonville Departure Register, which has been digitized and made available online at familysearch.org. Using additional online resources, such as findagrave.com, it is now possible to provide some statistics on the prisoners. The average age at enlistment was 24, although there were enlistees as young as 15, and as old as 45. Of 625 survivors with known dates of death, 466 died before 1900, including 138 while imprisoned elsewhere before the end of the war; and ten others who died aboard the Sultana, a steamboat that exploded on the Mississippi River while transporting soldiers home. The following chart shows how many of the remaining prisoners died per decade: Additional research has been conducted to examine the lives of some of these men, and a number of interesting stories have been uncovered. Beyond the histories of the diarists, who recorded their experiences at Andersonville and Millen, there were several famous POWs. Peter "Big Pete" McCullough (8 Missouri Co G) , who earned the name "The Hanging Judge" at Andersonville for overseeing the hanging of prisoners found guilty of stealing from others, and Thomas P. "Boston" Corbett (16 New York Cavalry Co L), who shot and killed John Wilkes Booth, were both confined at Millen. John Wool Bartleson (81 Illinois Co I) became the President of Beloit State Bank and was also a successful Northwestern Life Insurance agent. He lived to be almost 98 years old. Alexander T. Butler (7 Tennessee Cavalry Co B) lived to be 75 years old, and married four times after he returned to Tennessee. George Washington Beebe (39 Iowa Co E) married in 1866. Later, he became a baptized member of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints. He and his wife had 16 children: seven girls and nine boys, including three sets of twins. Not all of the survivors recovered from their experiences as a prisoner. Eppenetus Washington McIntosh (14 Illinois Co E) returned to Illinois after surviving the Sultana explosion and married in 1866. He found it difficult to stay in one place and spent most of the remainder of his life as a travelling minstrel; and sold postcards that featured a drawing of his emaciated appearance after being released from Andersonville. In closing, it should be noted that almost all of the information about these soldiers has been found online; and while a huge amount of data has been collected, there is still much more research to be done. Ultimately, the goal is to include information on the CSA soldiers who worked at Millen. If anyone has information they would like to contribute, or inquiries regarding the database, please feel free to contact Debbie Wallsmith at 770-389-7864 or debbie.wallsmith@dnr.ga.gov. The Bulloch House: A Beloved Landmark - Warm Springs landmark destroyed by fire Guest Article By: Jennifer Corcoran Architectural Historian With more than 80,000 listed properties in Georgia alone, the National Register of Historic Places is a diverse collection of our nation's most significant historic resources. Although this list is constantly growing, properties listed in the National Register are regularly lost to purposeful demolition or accidental destruction. The Benjamin F. Bulloch House, in Warm Springs, Ga. (Meriwether County), represents one of these recently lost properties. In the early morning hours of June 10, 2015, an accidental fire engulfed the more than 120-year-old house. The Bulloch house was constructed in 1893 for Benjamin F. Bulloch, and designed by architect Render Lewis Crowder. It was Bulloch's primary residence until his death in 1910, and remained in his family until 1990. Bulloch was one of the founders of the town of Bullochville, located near Warm Springs. Because of its association with a town founder, its place in the commercial and social history of Bullochville, and its significance as an example of a Queen Anne-style New South cottage, the Benjamin F. Bulloch House was listed in the National Register in 1994. Judy Foster, Charles Garrett and his wife Sylvia, all lifelong residents of the area, purchased the Bulloch house in 1990, with plans to convert it into a restaurant. Judy recalls the house's prominent hilltop location and elaborate architectural details making an impression -- as did the colorful resident who was the last Bulloch to occupy the property. From a business standpoint, the house's location was ideal. The property, though, required rehabilitating -- it was, at that time, a stately but dilapidated residence. The new owners rehabilitated most of the building themselves. They subsequently nominated the house for listing in the National Register, giving them access to federal and state tax incentives, which Judy remembers as a much-needed financial boon for the new restaurant. The Southern eatery, aptly named "The Bulloch House Restaurant," thrived. It was common to see people lined up outside waiting for tables. Fried chicken, Southern vegetables and desserts were the chief attractions. The restaurant was vital to the Warm Springs economy. It was especially popular with tour buses visiting Roosevelt's Little White House Historic Site or Calloway Gardens, as it was the only restaurant in town able to accommodate large parties. The restaurant often served hundreds of people per day, and 140,000 to 160,000 diners per year was typical. With 75 full- and part-time employees, The Bulloch House Restaurant represented an important source of income for many local families. Judy, Charles, and Sylvia sold the Bulloch house in 2008, and it continued to successfully operate as a restaurant under new ownership. Even though they had relinquished ownership years before, news of the fire and total loss of the historic property was shocking for the once-owners. An investigation ensued, but no cause for the fire was determined. Upon receiving news that the building had burned, Judy likened it to losing a family member. Others in the community echoed this sentiment, and shared memories of dining at the historic house. The loss of this important building is noteworthy in terms of both its emotional and economic impact on the Warm Springs community. Because of an outpouring of community support from locals and visitors alike, the current owners of The Bulloch House Restaurant plan to re-open this fall in another downtown location. Although the Benjamin F. Bulloch House is gone, the legacy of Benjamin Bulloch and the town he helped create will live on through the town's remaining historic resources and the resourcefulness of its residents. To read the news story detailing the loss of the Bulloch House, click here. Recent News & Announcements ** Public Notice ** In accordance with the Georgia Administrative Procedure Act, the following public notice and draft amended DNR Rules 391-5-14, addressing changes to the Georgia State Income Tax Credit Program for Rehabilitated Historic Property - as required by the passage of HB308 and for other purposes - are posted for public comment. Interested persons and organizations should provide comments as directed in the public notice. The public comment period ends November 29, 2015. Public Notice Memo (PDF) DNR Rules 391-5-14 amended (PDF) Input STILL Needed For 5-Year Statewide Preservation Plan We've started work on Georgia's next 5-year State Historic Preservation Plan. One of the most important aspects of developing a preservation plan is to gather public feedback. We value your input - please take a moment to fill out our short survey. Georgia's Centennial Farms honored at Georgia National Fair (Press Release - September 25) Riverside Club-Magnolia Club Listed in the National Register (Press Release - September 30) Upcoming Events Nov. 3, 2015 - National Preservation Conference - Washington D.C. The National Trust for Historic Preservation is hosting its annual PastForward Conference. PastForward 2015 we'll begin a year-long celebration of the National Historic Preservation Act's 50th anniversary. with programming that celebrates and honors the past while looking decisively forward toward our next 50 years. The conference will offer presentations, learning labs, field studies and more. To register or learn more, visit here. Nov. 19, 2015 - Public Forum (Tax Credit Changes) - Stockbridge Member of the general public will have an opportunity to comment on proposed regulations to the Georgia State Income Tax Credit Program for Rehabilitated Historic Property at a public meeting scheduled for 2-3 p.m., at the Department of Natural Resources Historic Preservation Division office (2610 Ga. Hwy 155, SW... Stockbridge, Ga. 30281). Details | Updated regulations Nov. 5, 2015 - Historic Preservation Commission Thomasville Registration is now open! A registration form is available here. Training - Feb. 18, 2016 - Coastal Nature, Coastal Culture Symposium - Savannah The Ossabaw Island Foundation is organizing the "Coastal Nature, Coastal Culture: Environmental Histories of the Georgia Coast" symposium. The event will have ten national speakers share their insight on the intersection of coastal cultural history and the environment. including two related to African American heritage. UGA Press will publish the proceedings and the Georgia Historical Society will develop the program into their next award winning teacher education program. To register or learn more, visit www.gacoast2016.org. Want to Contribute? - Submit a Guest Article Preservation Posts is published to inform the public about historic preservation issues and developments from the perspective of the SHPO. In keeping with that purpose, HPD has inaugurated a new policy of occasionally soliciting guest articles that are directly related to our statutorily mandated programs. Please note that we do not publish opinion pieces. We also retain editorial control as well as the right to reject any submission. To pitch or submit a piece, or ask questions concerning an idea, email HPD Public Affairs Coordinator Jeff Harrison at jeff.harrison@dnr.ga.gov. www.georgiashpo.org Title image: A field on the J.O. Rees-Dillard Family Farm, in Webster County. The Rees-Dillard farm was one of 13 farms recognized as a Georgia Centennial Family Farm during a ceremony held by HPD this month in Perry, Ga. Read More Copyright 2015 DNR Historic Preservation Division, All rights reserved. unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences