Reflections- Georgia African American Historic Preservation Network, Vol. 9, no. 2 (Aug. 2010)

Volume IX, No. 2 August 2010
Denise Messick, National Register Historian
Historic Preservation Division
continued on page 2
THE WOMAN WHO BIRTHED A CITY:
THE STORY OF A SOUTH GEORGIA MIDWIFE
Georgia’s National Register program always strives to
recognize a diversity of important places from our past.
Occasionally there are historic properties with stories so
astounding that they surprise even long-time Historic Preservation
Division staff. Such is the case with the Georgia B. Williams Nursing
Home in the small town of Camilla in southwest Georgia. This
building is being nominated to the National Register of Historic
Places, not for its architecture, but rather for historical events and
accomplishments related to the amazing life of its owner Beatrice
Borders (1892-1971).
The Georgia B. Williams Nursing Home was the private
residence and workplace of an African American midwife. The
nursing home was housed in a bungalow that is located in a
historically black residential area of Camilla known as “The Hill.”
From the outside it looks like an
ordinary home from circa 1935.
A passerby might never know
that it was also a maternity
shelter where Beatrice Borders
delivered thousands of babies
between 1941 and 1971.
According to Camilla Mayor
Mary Jo Haywood, “This place
virtually birthed a city.”
While the practice of
midwifery was once widespread,
a facility like the Georgia B.
Williams Nursing Home appears
to be unusual in many respects.
Beatrice Borders (also known as
“Miss Bea”), the founder and
operator of the home, ran the
only known commercial birthing
center available to black women
The exterior of the Georgia B. Williams Nursing Home looks very
much like the neighboring houses. The front door opended into Ms.
Borders’ living quarters, while maternity patients and their families
used the side door. Photo by Charlie Miller
in Mitchell County and
surrounding counties for at
least three decades. She was
a trained and licensed midwife
who began her career around
1918 under the guidance of her
mother, for whom the shelter
was named. Borders’ mother
and her mother’s sister were
also midwives.
Over a period of 30
years beginning in 1941,
Borders and her assistants
delivered more than 6,000
babies, mostly at the nursing
home, but also in the mothers’
own homes when necessary.
Before the maternity shelter
opened, Borders’ midwife career
had been confined to making
house calls, which was the usual
practice for the profession at the
time. While her patients were
almost all African Americans,
Borders also willingly extended
her expertise to any white
women who needed her.
The exterior of the
Georgia B. Williams Nursing
Home is similar to other nearby
houses, while the interior was
modified to include a birthing
This portrait of midwife Beatrice
Borders (1892-1971) hangs in the
living room of the Georgia B.
Williams Nursing Home.
Photo by Charlie Miller
2
Denise Messick, continued from page 1
THE WOMAN WHO BIRTHED A CITY:
THE STORY OF A SOUTH GEORGIA MIDWIFE
room, recovery rooms, nursery, small office, laundry room, and side
lobby entrance for expectant mothers. These medical rooms are in
the rear of the house. The front rooms include the owner’s living
room, bedroom, and dining room. A kitchen and breakfast room,
plus one full bath (shared by all) and two half baths, are also located
in the back section of the house.
The entrance for mothers was located on a side street near the rear of the
house. Photo by Charlie Miller
Patients came to Beatrice Borders from all over Mitchell
County and the surrounding region. No other place in the area
fulfilled this need. Transportation to the nursing home was
sometimes difficult. Mothers stayed an average of three days,
while meals were prepared for them and babies were cared for.
Borders employed assistants to help with cooking and cleaning, as
well as delivering the babies. Sometimes three or four patients were
staying there overnight, either before or after delivery. If
complications arose, a doctor in Camilla was always on call.
The house interior was separated into private and public spaces, although
some areas were also shared. This is the lobby (parlor) in the rear section
where patients entered from a side door. Photo by Charlie Miller
Women often preferred the type of care provided by
midwives. They also relied on them for survival. Access to major
medical facilities was limited, and many African Americans (as well
as other poor, rural women) could not afford hospital fees. Over the
years Borders charged between $25 and $55 for a delivery, but also
accepted time payments and barter goods, such as farm products.
No one was turned away for lack of money, though Borders
sometimes had to borrow funds from the local bank to keep the
operation going.
The nursing home was licensed by the state. Midwives
who worked in Georgia were required to take a test given by the
Georgia Health Department at the public health clinic in Camilla.
Women had to be declared healthy enough by the white doctors in
Camilla in order to have a baby delivered by midwife. These
certifications, called “green cards,” would only be signed by the
doctor after the seventh month of pregnancy.
Some background information on midwifery can help put
Beatrice Borders’ practice into its historical context. The “medical
model” of childbirth is a relatively recent one. As long as women
have been having babies, other women have been assisting with
this as a natural process. In the U.S. in 1900, 50 percent of all
women used midwives. As the field of obstetrics became a
specialty in medical school, upper-class women began using
doctors, who were more likely to treat pregnancy and childbirth
as inherently dangerous. The major decline in midwifery began
in early 20th century with a campaign of opposition by doctors
(then always male).
In remote areas of the rural South, and particularly among
African Americans, the practice of midwifery had a strong tradition
and remained a viable and respected vocation even past the middle
of the 20th century. There was widespread use in Georgia of what
were affectionately known as “granny” midwives, older black women
who had learned from their mothers or other relatives, and who had
a central and esteemed role in their community. Southern lay
midwives sometimes described their job as “catching babies,” and
in many cases there were ritual traditional practices involved. Some
cultural traditions served a purpose related to the emotional support
that midwives gave to the mothers.
This was once a recovery room, and infant cribs were
located in a separate nursery. Photo by Charlie Miller
3
In 1921 a coalition of women’s activists and progressive
social reformers supported the Sheppard-Towner Maternity and
Infancy Protection Act, which was signed by President Warren G.
Harding. This was the nation’s first federally funded social welfare
program, and it directly addressed the needs of women and babies
by providing money to the states to fund midwife training programs.
The American Medical Association opposed the legislation on
several grounds, and federal funds only lasted until 1929. However,
the act had a big impact as a public health initiative.
The proponents of the Sheppard-Towner Act hoped to
reduce maternal and infant mortality. If midwives were to continue
practicing, they had to enroll in government-run classes at their
county health departments. In many cases in Georgia, nurses from
Atlanta were sent to teach rural women about aseptic practices,
hygiene, medical principles, and compliance with state regulations.
The nurses inspected the midwives’ medical bags to ensure they
were clean and properly equipped. There was a special emphasis
on prenatal care. The teachers were mostly highly trained white
nurses, but ironically many had never delivered babies when they
were sent to instruct experienced African American midwives.
Even after federal funds were withdrawn from states, health
departments continued to educate and license midwives on a
reduced level. Statewide in Georgia, 42 percent of babies were
delivered by a midwife in 1936, and the number was reduced to 26
percent by 1946. In rural areas, the numbers remained higher.
In the December 3, 1951 issue, Life Magazine included a
12-page photo essay by renowned photographer W. Eugene Smith
on the topic of African American midwives. It featured an article
entitled “Nurse Midwife Maude Callen Eases Pain of Birth and
Death.” The woman in the photographs was a graduate of
Tuskegee’s midwifery program in Alabama (which had been partially
supported by the Julius Rosenwald Fund). Black midwives received
additional publicity in 1953 with the educational film All My Babies,
produced by the Georgia Department of Public Health. The film
(which is still available) follows midwife Mary Coley as she delivers
babies in Albany, Georgia.
The Georgia B. Williams Nursing Home is now listed in the
Georgia Register of Historic Places for its associations with Borders’
accomplishments as an African American female entrepreneur. In
addition to her medical expertise, Beatrice Borders was recognized
as one of the most successful black businesswomen in Camilla.
The house is a very rare surviving example of a birthing center that
operated during the years of segregation. Members of an entire
generation and their countless progeny originated from this place.
The nomination was accepted by the Georgia National
Register Review Board at its June 2010 meeting. It is currently a
pending National Register nomination in the areas of black ethnic
heritage, commerce, health/medicine, women’s history, and social
history. The National Register is the official federal list of places
that are considered worthy of preservation. It provides formal
recognition of a property’s historical, architectural, or archaeological
significance based on national standards. The sponsors of the
nomination, property owner Brenda Smiley and her sister Jacquelyn
Briscoe, hope to honor the memory of Beatrice Borders by
eventually opening interpretive exhibits in the house.
The nursery had three newborns in this image,
including one in an incubator. Beatrice Borders is
seen on the right. Surgical caps and masks, such as
that worn by the woman on the left, were sometimes
handmade. Photo courtesy of Hilda Inman
Since new mothers were encouraged to stay until fully
recuperated, the recovery room could have several
patients at once. Some may have traveled a long
distance, and needed the break from family
responsibilities. Photo courtesy of Hilda Inman
Christine Collier (left) and Arilla Smiley (right) both worked at the Georgia
B. Williams Nursing Home. Smiley was employed as a midwife from 1948
to 1971. Some of the medical equipment (scales, sterilizer, scissors, and
stethoscope) is on the table. Photo by Charlie Miller
4
Jeanne Cyriaque, African American Programs Coordinator
Historic Preservation Division
ALBANY CIVIL RIGHTS INSTITUTE CELEBRATES MISS BEA’S
The Albany Civil Rights Institute hosted their “community night”
forum on July 29, 2010. The monthly forum featured viewing of
the All My Babies film that focused on African American midwifery
in Albany and a special presentation by Mary Jo Haywood, mayor
of Camilla, and Jacquelyn Briscoe, co-owner of Miss Bea’s. Racquel
Henry of Albany State University moderated the forum.
Descendants and supporters of Miss Bea’s
included, from left to right: Dr. Monica MerrittGilbert (Mrs. Smiley’s granddaughter), Jacquelyn
Briscoe, William Coley Jr (Mrs. Coley’s
grandson) and Mayor Mary Jo Haywood.
Photo by Jeanne Cyriaque
Jacquelyn Briscoe showed the participants birth
certificates and “green cards” that the expectant mothers received
when white doctors approved their health condition and readiness to
use the services of a midwife. Briscoe and her sister, Brenda Smiley,
sponsored the nomination of the Georgia B. Williams Nursing Home
to the National Register of
Historic Places. She displayed
some of the instruments used
for deliveries at Miss Bea’s,
and shared photos with the
audience. Briscoe hopes that
listing the building will inspire
future generations of the
importance of this place to the
Camilla community. As she
pointed out, the birthing home
was the only facility of its type
in southwest Georgia between
the 1940s to the 1970s. During that time, the average stay at Miss
Bea’s was three days. Women traveled from surrounding
counties because her home was more convenient and sanitary.
Mary Jo Haywood, who is the first African American and
the first woman to be elected mayor of Camilla, is one of Miss Bea’s
leading supporters. The Southern Rural Black Women’s Initiative
(SRBWI) recognized Mayor Haywood by inducting her into the
2007 Hall of Fame, a project that emerged when SRBWI hosted a
Share Your Heritage workshop
in Albany several years ago.
Mayor Haywood advocated
for greater participation among
African Americans in Mitchell
County boards and led the
effort for the first regulated
countywide Day Care facility,
a viable community service in
Camilla.
Mayor Haywood
spoke about the importance of
Miss Bea’s to Camilla by
comparing the number of
babies born there to the current
population of Camilla, about
6,000 people. Mayor
Haywood is excited about the
National Register designation
“…because this place
survived and strived against
great odds to become a place at which the equivalence of the
population of this city was born. The designation would bring
renewed appreciation and recognition for the past accomplishments
of people who used obstacles as stepping stones to success.”
Jacquelyn Briscoe displays some of
the documents that were required for
mothers to use a midwife to deliver
their child. Photo by Jeanne Cyriaque
Daffamie Johnson proudly displays her birth
certificate as the youngest Miss Bea’s baby at the
forum. Photo by Jeanne Cyriaque
Numerous community members who were descendants of
Mary Coley, the midwife who was featured in All My Babies
attended, as well as many residents who were Miss Bea’s babies.
Lee Formwalt, executive director of the Albany Civil Rights Institute
(ACRI), introduced the film that was produced in the early 1950s
and was converted to DVD format. The video is available in the
gift shop, and information about ACRI exhibits and other
“community night” programs and speakers are available at
www.albanycivilrightsinstitute.com. The film provided a glimpse
into the living conditions for expectant Albany mothers in the early
1950s, as it portrayed Mary Coley and her intervention in many of
their homes. The film also emphasized the training and certification
process that midwifes and expectant mothers mutually sought to
ensure safety before deliveries.
Mary Jo Haywood
Mayor of Camilla
The Loyd Building is an Italianate Style retail structure that is located
within the LaGrange Commercial Historic District. Photo by Joy Melton
5
TWO KING BROTHERS CONTINUED THEIR FATHER’S LEGACY
Joy Melton, African American Programs Assistant
Historic Preservation Division
J
ohn T. King was the son of
Horace King, the famous
bridge designer and builder.
(See The Legacy of Horace King
and the Bridges of Washington
King in Reflections, March 2003
at www.gashpo.org). John
King was born in Girard (now
Phenix City) Alabama, to
Horace and Frances Thomas
King in 1846, the same year that
Horace was emancipated.
John King continued his
father’s legacy in construction
chiefly in LaGrange, Georgia,
where he formed his own
company. John and his
brothers, Washington, George
and Marshall worked in the
family business to design and
construct bridges, houses,
churches and commercial
buildings. John King also
actively served as a church
and educational leader.
In 1860, while most African Americans were still enslaved,
John King began his career as bridge keeper at the Dillingham
Bridge in Columbus, Georgia. He was only fourteen years old. In
1871, one year before the King family moved to LaGrange, John
married Julia Sanders. They had eight daughters and one son, who
they named after his grandfather Horace. Horace personally taught
his sons to build covered bridges and transferred his stock in the
Arizona Bridge Company to his children and his second wife, Sarah
Jane. After the Civil War, the Kings started the King Brothers
Bridge Company that John headed after his father’s health began
to fail.
John T. King was a builder,
entrepreneur and community leader
who made many contributions to
education, religious institutions and
the built environment in LaGrange.
John King aided in the early development of commerce in
LaGrange. In 1883, he developed a co-partnership with Dallis &
Edmundson for a $10,000 investment to start a new manufacturing
enterprise administered by King & Company. It was ideally located
by the railroad on East Depot Street and was housed in a 36 ft. by
100 ft. wooden board and batten structure. The business produced
and sold doors, sashes, blinds, chairs, mantels and inexpensive
furniture. John literally built on his father’s work when he supervised
the addition of a third story to E.R. Bradfield’s store that his father
erected on East Court Square. The upper story was embellished
with protruding brickwork and vents in the Italianate Style.
John King was the architect and contractor for the Loyd
Building in 1897 on the southeast corner of the square with detailing
similar to the E.R. Bradfield store including a cast iron storefront
and decorative cornice. Hotel Andrews was a three- story building
on Main Street built under the leadership of John King as
superintendent of construction. It burned in 1931.
John King contributed to LaGrange in multiple roles
throughout his career. His letterhead in the 1920s not only described
him as a contractor and builder, but also noted that he specialized in
bridges, carefully prepared plans, and was an agent for water
supplies, including pump gasoline engines and hydraulic water
pumps for country homes. He built a bridge over Long Cane Creek
on Sulphur Springs Road in 1888. John erected a two-story
foursquare house with craftsman style columns that still stands at
603 Greenville Street. Horace King lived with John and his family
here prior to his death. John King also built houses for prominent
clients including Professor Alwyn M. Smith, the Director of
Music at LaGrange College.
The Cotton States and International Exposition Negro
Building, constructed in 1895, brought him international acclaim.
continued on page 6
NOW
In 1897, John King was the designer and construction
superintendent for the Loyd building that is located on the
southeast corner of East Court Square in LaGrange.
Courtesy of the Troup County Archives
THEN
6
Joy Melton, continued from page 5
TWO KING BROTHERS CONTINUED THEIR FATHER’S LEGACY
This historic photo is the two-story foursquare house that John King built
for his family in LaGrange. Photo courtesy of the Troup County Archives
Horace King lived with John and his family at this residence on Greenville
Street in LaGrange until his death. The Bethesda Outreach Ministry uses
the residence today. Photo by Jeanne Cyriaque
White architect Bradfield Gilbert of New York City designed the
Negro Building for the exposition, and awarded $9,231 for
construction to J.T. King and J.W. Smith of Atlanta. The Atlanta
Constitution described King and Smith as “men of high financial
standing and thorough business qualities.” Exhibits on African
American churches, inventions, and other topics from around the
nation were housed in the Negro Building. The wooden structure
was well made with large interior spaces supported by wooden
trusses. It was built from foundation to roof entirely by African
American labor and products. John’s work as a sales representative
also brought him international notoriety. He received a letter from
Valerien Tschernaeff, the Russian Czars’s Inspector of Agriculture,
asking for more information on the “Monarch Fruit Dryer” that he
promoted as an agent for J.G. Truitt and Company.
after John King and later called the East Depot High School. John
was a trustee at Clark College in Atlanta from 1893-1918 and from
1924-1926. His work on sacred places included raising the steeple
for the Presbyterian Church in 1886 on the corner of West Haralson
and Church Street, and building a parsonage for First Presbyterian
Church in 1903 on North Lewis Street. He constructed Unity
Methodist Church in a cruciform plan topped with a cupola on
Truitt Avenue. John King’s obituary recognized him as a wellknown resident of LaGrange having the “confidence of a large
circle of white friends.” He was known as a “constructive leader
and wielded a wholesome influence” among his race. He died on
November 9, 1926.
George H. King, John’s younger brother, was born in 1850.
George was “a bachelor who avoided churches and neckties.”
Nevertheless, George’s body of work ranged from building bridges
to stores.
John King built Unity Methodist Church in 1903. Today, the building serves
as a Baptist church for a Hispanic congregation. Photo by Jeanne Cyriaque
THEN NOW
John King was one of the contractors for the Negro Building at the 1895
Cotton States and International Exposition in Atlanta. Source: Sparkling
Gems of Race Knowledge Worth Reading, 1897
Education and religion were integral to John King’s life as
well. He served for fifty years as the Sunday School Superintendent
for Warren Temple Methodist Episcopal Church and was a member
of the Board of Trustees for LaGrange Academy, the first African
American school in LaGrange. The school was at one point named
George King built the granite foundation for the
Troup County Jail in 1892.
Photo courtesy of the Troup County Archives
Lillian Davis
Dr. Gerald C. & Barbara Golden
Terry & Cynthia Hayes
Richard Laub
Christine Miller-Betts
Kenneth Rollins
Isaac Johnson, Chair
706/738-1901
Velmon Allen, Vice-Chair
GAAHPN Network
912/261-1898
STEERING
COMMITTEE
Jeanne Cyriaque
African American
Programs Coordinator
Reflections Editor
Voice 404/656-4768
Fax 404/657-1040
jeanne.cyriaque@dnr.state.ga.us
STAFF
Isaac Johnson
Chairman
Joy Melton
African American
Programs Assistant
Voice 404/657-1054
Fax 404/657-1040
joy.melton@dnr.state.ga.us
7
Similar to his father
Horace, newspapers identified
George as a champion bridge
builder. George was the
architect of the Mooty Bridge,
was the builder of the
Chattahoochee River Bridge,
and built a 110 ft. lattice bridge
on the Wehadkee Creek. A
bridge he built over Blue John
Creek on Hamilton Road was
described as much needed by
the community and was to be
a 30 ft. long bridge with stone
approaches. In 1886, George
was the superintendent of
construction for the Thornton
Building located on the west
side of the LaGrange square.
The storefront has been
modernized with a brick
façade, but the north side of the original building is still visible.
His other work included supervising construction on the LaGrange Female
College boarding wing in 1887, building a warehouse in 1887 and a
speculation building for J.G. Truitt in 1890. George also laid the
foundation for a jail in LaGrange in 1892.
Although George is better known for his bridges, he and
John worked together on a number of projects. In 1886, they
received a contract for a courthouse addition in LaGrange and built
new ordinary and clerk offices with a vault. That same year they
lost the contract for a new bridge in West Point, Georgia to a Chicago
firm. The King brothers persevered and won another contract in
1888 to build LaGrange’s first cotton factory. George was one of
the investors in the cotton mill.
George was a team player who was involved in his
community. He served as a volunteer fire fighter and gave money
to help public enterprises. As a stock market investor, he acquired
funds from railroad stocks to enhance his bridge business. In 1886,
George H. King was the youngest of
the King brothers. He was best
known as a champion bridge builder
who erected numerous bridges along
the Chattahoochee River.
George acquired twenty-five acres at Bean Place, an area later
incorporated into Dixie Mills, where he and John lived for a time.
An 1888 article from the Cotton Factory described George as one
of the “thriftiest and most industrious colored men in Georgia.”
George King died in camp in 1899 while working on a bridge for the
King Brothers Bridge Company.
Today, the former Troup County Jail houses the Chattahoochee
Valley Art Museum in the LaGrange Commercial Historic District.
Photo by James R. Lockhart
NOW
THEN
The Georgia African American Historic Preservation Network (GAAHPN)
was established in January 1989. It is composed of representatives from
neighborhood organizations and preservation groups. 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 GAAHPN Steering Committee 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 3,000 people 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. Visit the Historic Preservation Division website at
www.gashpo.org. Preservation information and previous issues of Reflections are
available online. Membership in the Network is free and open to all.
ABOUT GAAHPN
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
Dr. David Crass, Acting Division Director
Jeanne Cyriaque, Editor
A Program of the
Historic Preservation Division
Georgia Department of Natural Resources
254 Washington Street SW
Ground Level
Atlanta, GA 30334