The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation released today its 2024 list of 10 Places in Peril in the state.
Sites on the list include: Atlanta Constitution Building in Atlanta (Fulton County); Broad Avenue Elementary in Albany (Dougherty County); Cedar Grove in Martinez (Columbia County); Church of the Good Shepherd in Thomasville (Thomas County); Grace Baptist Church in Darien (McIntosh County); Hogg Hummock on Sapelo Island (McIntosh County); Old First Baptist Church in Augusta (Richmond County); Pine Log Mountain (Bartow County); Piney Grove Cemetery in Atlanta (Fulton County); and Sugar Valley Consolidated School in Sugar Valley (Gordon County).
Pine Log Mountain (Bartow County)
Pine Log Mountain, a privately owned wilderness area in Bartow County, is the site of historic resources representing three significant phases of Georgia’s history: a Woodlands Era rock wall and more than two dozen burial cairns, all built by indigenous peoples; four 1840s-era stone iron furnaces used for mining before and after the Civil War; and the remains of the Sugar Hill Convict Labor Camp, where events that took place served as a catalyst for the Georgia Legislature ending its convict lease system in 1909. Remnants of complicated Southern history exist throughout Pine Log Mountain, and this space serves as a frame of reference for understanding Georgia’s history.
Today the historic sites that rest on Pine Log Mountain are threatened by demolition. The private property is up for sale following the end of a lease to the Department of Natural Resources. Bartow County plans to rezone much of the property from agricultural to low-density housing, high-density housing and industrial mining. Many of the historic resources have not been surveyed, and there is no preservation plan currently in place to protect these historic sites.
“This is the Trust’s nineteenth annual Places in Peril list,” said W. Wright Mitchell, president and CEO of the Trust. “We hope the list will continue to bring preservation solutions to Georgia’s imperiled historic resources by highlighting ten representative sites.”
Places in Peril is designed to raise awareness about Georgia’s significant historic, archaeological and cultural resources, including buildings, structures, districts, archaeological sites and cultural landscapes that are threatened by demolition, neglect, lack of maintenance, inappropriate development or insensitive public policy.
Through Places in Peril, the Trust will encourage owners and individuals, organizations and communities to employ proven preservation tools, financial resources and partnerships in order to reuse, reinvest and revitalize historic properties that are in peril.
Sites on previous years’ lists include the Eleanor Roosevelt School in Warm Springs, the country’s last constructed Rosenwald School, which received a $700K restoration grant from the National Park Service; Cherry Grove Schoolhouse in Washington, a rare surviving example of an early 20th century rural African American school building in Georgia, was completely restored and received the Trust’s highest preservation award; the Adam-Strain Building in Darien, a rare example of historic tabby construction that was slated for demolition in 2008, is undergoing its second phase of restoration; the Kit Jones, a nearly 100-year-old ship, has been restored and will become the new centerpiece for a park in Darien; and the Milton Historical Society and Chadwick family owners have cleared out the interior of the McConnell-Chadwick House, one of the earliest structures in Cherokee County, with plans to install a new metal roof to stabilize the building—the City of Milton has approved a Letter of Intent to accept a donation of the property to preserve it.
Founded in 1973, the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation works for the preservation and revitalization of Georgia’s diverse historic resources and advocates their appreciation, protection and use. As one of the country’s leading statewide, nonprofit preservation organizations, the Trust generates community revitalization by finding buyers for endangered properties acquired by its Revolving Fund and raises awareness of other endangered historic resources through an annual listing of Georgia’s “Places in Peril.” The Trust offers a variety of educational programs for adults and children, provides technical assistance to property owners and historic communities, advocates for funding, tax incentives and other laws aiding preservation efforts, and manages two house museums in Atlanta (Rhodes Hall) and Macon (Hay House).