Reflections- Georgia African American Historic Preservation Network, Dec. 2000

2000 GEORGIA CENTENNIAL FARM AWARDS HONOR REVEREND JAMES FOWLER FARM
continued on page 2
I
n 1888, Rev. James Fowler acquired 202 acres of land in
Oakfield, Worth County, through the will of N.F. Mercer, a
white man. Fowler was born into slavery in South Carolina,
and transported to Georgia with his siblings. Fowler used his
inheritance to become a local leading cotton producer by the 20th
century. The Sylvester Local
reported in 1947, the first two
bales of cotton for the season
received in Sylvester were
grown by Jake Thomas and Jim
Fowler, colored farmers.
The Rev. and Mrs.
James Fowler had 13 children,
and their descendants acquired
additional land over the next
hundred years. Rev. Fowler’s
youngest son, Arthur, inherited
the original farm in 1933 and
continued producing crops on
204 acres. In 1984, Arthur’s
daughter, Juanita Fowler
Miller, inherited this rare
African American-owned farm.
Despite Georgia’s
recent droughts, the Fowler
descendants produce cotton as
the primary crop. The Miller
family has added peanuts,
wheat and soybeans, with 160
acres currently in agricultural
production. Miller and her
family were honored October
6th at the 2000 Georgia
Centennial Farm Awards
ceremony at the Georgia
National Fair in Perry. The
Rev. James Fowler farm is the third African American recipient of
a Centennial Family Farm Award.
The Lewis Clark farm in Boston, Thomas County, was
awarded a Centennial Family Farm Award in 1996. Lewis Clark
purchased 50 acres from James F. Brown in 1875. Clark raised
cotton, corn, sweet potatoes,
sugar cane, and garden
vegetables on the farm. He
willed it to his daughter, Lenary
Clark Allen Williams, upon his
death in 1899. Williams
continued farm production until
her death in 1987 and willed the
farm to her daughter Essie Allen
Spruel, the present owner. The
Lewis Clark farm is currently
leased, and there are no extant
farmhouses or outbuildings.
The first African
American Georgia family to
receive a Centennial Family
Farm Award (1995) were the
descendants of Nathan Morgan,
a former slave, who purchased
202 acres from A. Windsor in
1886. The Morgan farmstead
is located 6.5 miles from
Americus, Sumter County. In
1890, Morgan built a farmhouse
using lumber hauled by wagon
from a nearby sawmill. Morgan
willed the farm to his nine
children upon his death in 1917.
Nathan’s son, Milton, and his
family produced cotton, corn,
peanuts, and vegetables. They
A Program of the Historic Preservation Division, Georgia Department of Natural Resources
December 2000
If the weather and insects permit, cotton is … produced on this farm in each of the
19th, 20th and 21st centuries. Juanita Fowler Miller Photo by James R. Lockhart
2
Since 1992, the Georgia Centennial Farm Program has
honored historic farms, recognizing the importance of these
resources to the state’s agricultural heritage. The Centennial
Heritage Award honors farms owned by members of the same
family for 100 years or more and listed in the National Register
of Historic Places. The Centennial Farm Award does not
require continual family ownership, but the farm must be at least
100 years old and listed in the National Register of Historic
Places. The Centennial Family Farm honors farms owned by
members of the same family for at least 100 years or more that
are not listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Each
farm must meet the minimum criteria of ten acres in production
and $1,000 annual income.
The Georgia Centennial Farm Program is
administered by the Historic Preservation Division, Georgia
Department of Natural Resources, in cooperation with the
Georgia Farm Bureau Federation; the Georgia Department of
Agriculture; the University of Georgia, College of Agriculture
and Environmental Sciences; the Georgia Forestry Commission;
and the Georgia National Fairgrounds and Agricenter. The
Centennial Farm Committee is comprised of representatives from
each of these organizations. Participants who qualify for a
Centennial Farm Award are honored each year at the Georgia
National Fair. Applications for the 2001 awards cycle must be
received by March 1, 2001.
continued from page 1
CENTENNIAL FARM AWARDS
CENTENNIAL FARM AWARDS PROGRAM
For more information, contact:
Gretchen Kinnard
National Register Coordinator
Historic Preservation Division
Georgia Department of Natural Resources
404/651-6782
The Morgan family farm historic outbuildings include a smokehouse, cotton
barn, hog pen, mule barn, corn crib, and hen house. Photo by James R. Lockhart
This two-room log house, c.1875, was the birthplace of Essie Allen Spruel, the
granddaughter of Lewis Clark. The Lewis Clark farm no longer has extant
outbuildings or a farmhouse.
A pear tree on the Lewis Clark farm in Boston.
cultivated crops with mules, and raised livestock to feed the
family. Milton Morgan owned the farm from 1925 to 1947.
He sold 60 acres during his ownership, including one acre
that is presently the site of Mount Zion A.M.E. Church, the
family church.
In 1952, Milton’s son, Carranza, bought the farm after
his father’s death, continuing the legacy. Carranza constructed
six additional outbuildings and began utilization of modern
farming practices including tractor usage and electrical systems.
The Morgan family farm was listed in the National Register of
Historic Places in 1998.
Following the Civil War, most African Americans
worked as tenant farmers on former white-owned plantations or
migrated to industrial cities. Carole Merritt reported in Historic
Black Resources, landownership has come hard to African
Americans, particularly in southern states like Georgia. By 1900
only one in seven
black farms was
operated by owners,
and only one in five
acres of farmland in
the state was blackowned. The
Georgia Historic
Resources Survey
documented fewer
than ten African
American-owned
farms in 38,000
properties. The
accomplishments of
these three families
are extraordinary,
given the historic
economic barriers
they surmounted to acquire farms, produce crops, and maintain
the land within their families for over 100 years!
3
June 23, 2000, marked the dedication of The Herndon
Home as a National Historic Landmark. This 1910 Beaux Arts
mansion, constructed by African American craftsmen, was the
family residence of Alonzo F. Herndon. A former slave, Herndon
became one of Atlanta’s leading black entrepreneurs. Herndon
owned one of the finest barbershops in the country, the Crystal
Palace, and founded the Atlanta Life Insurance Company. The
Herndon Home is located near the Atlanta University Center,
home of five historically black colleges and universities, and
still maintains its grandeur. The Herndon Home property,
included in the Atlanta University Center Historic District,
was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.
Edward Irons, chair of the Alonzo F. and Norris B.
Herndon Foundation, presided at the dedication. Carole Merritt,
The Herndon Home director, joined Irons in accepting the
plaque from National Park Service Senior Historian Frank Miele.
Ray Luce, Historic Preservation Division director, provided
remarks for the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.
Generations of Herndons and friends celebrated this historic
designation, along with Camille Love, director of the City of
Atlanta Bureau of Cultural Affairs, and Nancy Boxill, Fulton
County commissioner.
As an African American male from rural Georgia,
touring this historic property left me in awe of every aspect of
the home, including its structure, furnishings and landscape. Be
sure to tour this grand historic place next time you are in Atlanta.
THE HERNDON HOME
NATIONAL HISTORIC LANDMARK
C. Donald Beall, GAAHPN Steering Committee
In 1944, African
American voters in Georgia
were prohibited from voting in
the Democratic Party Primary
Election. During that period,
Georgia was a Democratic
Party state, and this practice
ensured no black participation
in the selection of candidates
for the General Election. On
Independence Day, Primus
King, a black preacher and
barber from Columbus,
requested a ballot in the allwhite Georgia primary.
When he was refused, he filed
a suit that ultimately changed
the state’s electoral process. In
1946, the case reached the U.S. Court of Appeals. When the
federal judged asked King if he wanted damages or the right to
vote, he said I want the right to vote, for me and for my people.
Governor Roy Barnes, Vernon Jordan, past director
of the Georgia NAACP and former president of the National
Urban League, state representative Calvin Smyre, King family
members and other officials recently dedicated a section of
Macon Road as the Primus King Highway in Columbus,
Muscogee County. Though a portrait is displayed in the
Columbus Board of Elections and a local recreation center bears
his name, the dedication was the first time the state of Georgia
honored King, who died in 1986. Governor Barnes
acknowledged the accomplishments of King. Modern Georgia
and the modern South owes this little barber and preacher a
debt of gratitude. It took great courage for him to file that suit
... he went against the crowd. History is ordinary people doing
extraordinary things, people who made a difference, and Primus
King made a difference.
Vernon Jordan spoke about King’s lone fight for blacks
to vote in the primary and hold office. In many ways he is
more important than Martin Luther King Jr. because he did it
by himself. He was unlearned and unlettered, but he had a Ph.D.
in commitment, courage, faith and fortitude. State
representative Calvin Smyre introduced the resolution in the
2000 General Assembly resulting in the highway designation.
Reverend Primus King
Columbus Ledger-Enquirer
100 People to Remember
January 2000
Primus
King
Highway
Visit The Herndon Home, 587 University Place N.W., in Atlanta. Tours are
conducted hourly from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Admission
is $5 for adults, and $3 for students. Group rates are available. For group tour
reservations and further information, call 404/581-9813. Photo by James R. Lockhart
The Columbus Black Heritage Trail recently received
a National Recreation Trail designation from the Department
of the Interior. Thirty properties along this urban concrete trail
document African American heritage in Columbus, including
the home of Gertrude Pridgett Ma Rainey and the former site
of the Dillingham Bridge, built by Horace King, a former slave.
Other properties along the trail include the Liberty Theatre and
the William H. Spencer House. The Columbus Black Heritage
Trail, Muscogee County, is the second African American trail
to receive this designation, following the Carter G. Woodson
Black History Trail in Washington, D.C.
NEW AFRICAN AMERICAN NATIONAL RECREATION TRAIL
The home of Gertrude Pridgett
Ma Rainey was listed in the
National Register of Historic
Places in 1992. Born in
Columbus in 1886, Rainey
began her career traveling the
minstrel circuit with her
husband. Ma Rainey
incorporated country blues and
jazz in her performances in
African American segregated
theaters throughout the South.
Her legacy influenced
legendary blues singers Billie
Holiday, Bessie Smith, and
Ethel Waters. Ma Rainey is
known as the mother of the
blues. Photo by Jeanne Cyriaque
4
AFRICAN AMERICAN PROPERTIES RECEIVE
GEORGIA HERITAGE 2000 GRANTS
Governor Roy Barnes recently announced Georgia
Heritage 2000 Program grants that will support three African
American preservation projects. The Historic Preservation Division administers the program, providing matching grants.
Georgia Heritage properties must be listed in or eligible for the
National Register and owned by local governments or non-profit
organizations. Development grants were awarded to:
Alapaha School Alapaha, Berrien County
Constructed in 1924, this wooden schoolhouse was
used to educate African American students until 1950. It has
served as a Masonic Lodge for the past 30 years. Grant funds
totaling $37,000 will be used to stabilize and repair the building
for a town library, community center and Masonic Lodge.
The Herndon Home Atlanta, Fulton County
Since 1977, the Alonzo F. and Norris B. Herndon
Foundation has owned and operated The Herndon Home, a
National Historic Landmark and house museum. The grant will
provide $14,000 to fund construction work required to make
the facility accessible to disabled visitors.
West Broad Street YMCA Building
Savannah, Chatham County
Constructed in 1927, this YMCA building served as a
social center for the surrounding African American community
for over 50 years. Con Ed, Inc., a nonprofit community-based
organization, plans to restore the building and provide needed
social service programs for adjacent neighborhoods. Grant funds
of $7,000 will be used for structural stabilization of the building.
The Liberty Theatre opened in 1925 as the first African American
entertainment center in Columbus. When it was no longer used as a
movie house and the building deteriorated, the Liberty closed in 1974.
The Liberty Theatre was listed in the National Register of Historic
Places in 1984. Restored by 1997, it presently serves the African
American community as the Liberty Theatre Cultural Center.
Photo by the Columbus Convention & Visitors Bureau
Listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1978, the William H. Spencer
House was the family residence from 1912-1925. Spencer was an educator who
was appointed the first Supervisor of the Colored Schools in Muscogee County.
This neo-classical home was restored by the Golden Owlettes, Inc., alumnae
who attended the William H. Spencer High School in Columbus.
Photo by Jeanne Cyriaque
5
RECENT NATIONAL REGISTER LISTINGS
The Fort Valley State College Historic District is located
on the southwest side of Fort Valley, Peach County, and
borders on nearby residential neighborhoods and farmland. The
district includes buildings facing the quadrangle and main
entrance to this historically black college that is now a university.
Buildings circled around the quadrangle include: the Benjamin
Anderson House, Carnegie Hall and Huntington Hall. The
Anderson House is a frame residence presently used as Alumni
House. Other buildings in the district are primarily brick in the
Georgian Revival architectural style. The district occupies
16 of the 1,380 acre Fort Valley State University campus
encompassing modern buildings and research facilities. The
Fort Valley State College Historic District was listed in
the National Register of Historic Places on April 14, 2000.
Carnegie Hall, c.1925, was built with a $25,000 contribution from the Carnegie
Corporation. The building was the campus library until 1952. Carnegie Hall is
presently used as the campus safety office and commuter student lounge.
Photo by James R. Lockhart
Huntington Hall, c.1908, was a gift from C.P. Huntington. The building was
utilized as a dormitory for girls. It is the oldest building on campus, erected
with the assistance of student laborers. Photo by James R. Lockhart
Washington Park is a key recreational area in this
African American community characterized by historic
bungalow residences, commercial structures and landmark
buildings. The Washington Park Historic District is located
two miles west of the central business
district in Atlanta, Fulton County. The
neighborhood was developed c.1919-
c.1947. Though originally planned as
three subdivisions for whites, due to the
proximity of this community to the Atlanta
University Center, the redesignation of the
Ashby Street School (renamed E.R. Carter)
as black, and the designation of
Washington Park as the city’s first black
park in 1919, whites did not settle in this
Atlanta subdivision. Heman Perry, an
African American entrepreneur and
founder of the Standard Life Insurance
Company of Atlanta, was a significant
Anderson House, c.1890s, was once the home of Francis Gano, one of the
institution’s 18 founders. In 1980, this Colonial Revival home was renamed the
Benjamin S. Anderson House in honor of an esteemed professor who served the
college for 25 years. The home is presently a museum and is used for alumni
events and receptions. Photo by James R. Lockhart
pioneer in the development of Washington Park. As developers
no longer viewed this land as desirable for white settlement,
Perry bought the land and planned the residential community.
Perry created numerous financial subsidiaries including the
Citizen Trust Company. These
companies provided services to the black
community that were denied by white
companies. Through the Citizen Trust
Company and affiliate subsidiaries,
Perry financed mortgages and 80% of
the black-owned businesses on Auburn
Avenue in 1925. Washington Park
developed as a black middle/working
class residential community in the 1920s,
and remains an African American
neighborhood today. The Washington
Park Historic District was listed in the
National Register of Historic Places on
February 28, 2000.
Washington Park is the focal point in the community for
recreation. In 1919, Washington Park became Atlanta’s first
park for African Americans. Photo by James R. Lockhart
Green Grove Missionary Baptist Church and School
received a historical marker from the Historic
Chattahoochee Commission at ceremonies held during the
Fall Ramble, hosted by The Georgia Trust in Stewart County. Listed
in the National Register in June 1995, the Green Grove properties
include the church, school and cemetery.
The Green Grove complex is located approximately six
miles southeast of Lumpkin in a rural setting. The church was
founded in 1886 by Perry Hudson to serve African American tenant
farmers, former slaves
who worked on nearby
plantations following the
Civil War. By 1898, the
Green Grove Church held
classes for students. In
1919, a devastating
tornado swept through
Lumpkin. The church
was demolished and one
of the students was killed.
Hettie York donated land
for a new church,
completed in 1920. Four
years later this building was destroyed by a fire. A new church,
New Green Grove, the present building, was completed in 1927.
The church held classes for ten years until 1937, when the Wesley
Chapel school for white children closed. This school was purchased
by the Green Grove trustees, who disassembled the building and
moved it four miles by wagons to the present location. These black
craftsmen, including Johnny Hudson, currently a master
craftsmen at nearby Westville Village, Oscar Powell, and other
church members carefully reassembled the school piece by
piece, completing it in time for fall classes. This was truly a
remarkable feat!
6
GREEN GROVE MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH AND SCHOOL DEDICATION
The Green Grove Missionary Baptist Church and School dedication program
participants included, from left to right: Houston Porter, director of Transportation,
Houston County Board of Education and former Green Grove student, his mother
Willie Marie Powell Porter, pioneer Green Grove educator and preservationist,
Greg Paxton, Georgia Trust president/CEO, Douglas Purcell, Historic
Chattahoochee Commission director, Charlotte Frazier, Georgia African American
Historic Preservation Network (GAAHPN) chair, Matthew Moye, Westville Historic
Handicrafts, Inc. director/CEO, Johnny S. Hudson, assistant principal, Harris
County High School and former Green Grove student, Willie Glenn HudsonWheeler, retired director of Guidance,Columbus School System, and Jeanne
Cyriaque, African American programs coordinator, Historic Preservation Division.
Photo by Donald Beall
Grades 1-8 were taught at the one room school without
desks, electricity or plumbing. In spite of these meager
surroundings, students received an outstanding educational
foundation that resulted in extraordinary careers.
Sammie Glenn Hudson was the first teacher/principal of
Green Grove School. Mrs. Hudson remained principal of the school
for 20 years until it closed in 1958. Willie Marie Powell Porter
taught students at the school from 1948 to 1955, and was a key
leader in the preservation of the Green Grove properties. She is a
church officer and member of the Westville Board of Trustees.
Green Grove School is an example of a one-room school typically used to educate
African American students in early 20th century rural Georgia. The windows
provided a natural light source in this wood frame building. The school is presently
used for church functions, special classes and family reunions.
Photo by Jeanne Cyriaque
Green Grove Missionary Baptist Church is a
fine example of a country church in early 20th.
century rural Georgia. The current pastor is
Reverend Ben Stanley.
Inside the Green Grove School
are the original benches for
students and displays of their
class projects.
Photo by Jeanne Cyriaque
The Green Grove cemetery,
established c.1920, is located
adjacent to the school, directly
behind the church. Deceased
founders and members of the
church are buried there among
blooming shrubs and trees.
Photo by Jeanne Cyriaque
7
GEORGIA AFRICAN AMERICAN
HISTORIC PRESERVATION NETWORK
STEERING COMMITTEE
For more information, contact:
Jeanne Cyriaque
African American Programs Coordinator
Historic Preservation Division
Georgia Department of Natural Resources
156 Trinity Avenue, S.W.
Suite 101
Atlanta, GA 30303-3600
Voice 404/656-4768
Fax 404/651-8739
jeanne_cyriaque@mail.dnr.state.ga.us
Charlotte Frazier
Columbus
Chair
706/687-4688
Linda Wilkes
Atlanta
Vice-Chair
404/688-0472
Isaac Johnson
Augusta
Treasurer
706/738-1901
Karl Barnes
Atlanta
Secretary
404/758-4891
Donald Beall
Columbus
706/569-4344
Corinne Blencoe
Newnan
770/254-7443
Beth Shorthouse
Atlanta
404/881-9980
Thomas Williams
Atlanta
404/331-4811
Let’s Keep In Touch
As chair of the Georgia African American Historic
Preservation Network (GAAHPN), I welcome you to the
premier edition of Reflections, the quarterly newsletter
for our network. The Georgia
African American historic
preservation movement is a catalyst
to stabilize traditional African
American neighborhoods, create
contextual economic development,
promote neighborhood conservation
and tourism, and provide education
and training. Join this statewide
team of volunteers in promoting
African American historic
preservation. Our collaboration
will produce greater recognition of
African American contributions to
Georgia’s history, and a legacy for
future generations. Feel free to call
upon the GAAHPN Steering
Committee for information or
technical assistance in your
preservation projects.
Welcome to Reflections, the official newsletter of the
Georgia African American Historic Preservation
Network! Reflections is published quarterly by the
Historic Preservation Division,
Georgia Department of Natural
Resources. Help GAAHPN to
promote African American
preservation initiatives and
resources by sending me your
project information. GAAHPN
recognizes that network members
may have changed mailing
information, so please take a few
moments to complete the enclosed
Database Rehabilitation form to
ensure your receipt of future
Reflections editions and HPD
communications. Plans are
underway to establish a link to
Reflections on HPD’s web site. You
can check HPD’s web site regularly
at www.gashpo.org for current
preservation news.
www.gashpo.org
Charlotte Frazier, Chair
Georgia African American
Historic Preservation Network
Jeanne Cyriaque
African American
Programs Coordinator
The Georgia African American Historic Preservation Network (GAAHPN)
was established in January 1989. It is composed of representatives from
neighborhood organizations and preservation groups throughout the state.
GAAHPN was formed in response to a growing interest in preserving the cultural and
ethnic diversity of Georgia’s African American heritage. This interest has translated
into a number of efforts which emphasize greater recognition of African American
culture and contributions to Georgia’s history. The Network meets regularly to plan
and implement ways to develop programs that will foster heritage education,
neighborhood revitalization, and support community and economic development.
The Network is an informal group of over 450 people from around the state
who have an interest in preservation. Members are briefed on the status of current and
planned projects and are encouraged to offer ideas, comments and suggestions. The
meetings provide an opportunity to share and learn from the preservation experience
of others and to receive technical information through workshops. Members receive a
newsletter, Reflections, produced by the Network. Membership in the Network is
open to all, and Georgians are invited to find out more about their work.
ABOUT GAAHPN
A Program of the
Historic Preservation Division
Georgia Department of Natural Resources
156 Trinity Avenue, S.W.
Suite 101
Atlanta, GA 30303-3600
This publication has been financed in part with federal
funds from the National Park Service, Department of the
Interior, through the Historic Preservation Division,
Georgia Department of Natural Resources. The contents
and opinions do not necessarily reflect the views or
policies of the Department of the Interior, nor does the
mention of trade names, commercial products or
consultants constitute endorsement or recommendation
by the Department of the Interior or the Georgia
Department of Natural Resources. The Department
of the Interior prohibits discrimination on the basis
of race, color, national origin, or disability in its
federally assisted programs. If you believe you have
been discriminated against in any program, activity, or
facility, or if you desire more information, write to: Office
for Equal Opportunity, National Park Service, 1849 C
Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20240.
Published quarterly by the
Historic Preservation Division
Georgia Department of Natural Resources
W. Ray Luce, Division Director &
Deputy State Historic Preservation Officer
Jeanne Cyriaque, Editor