Logo Old Home Sites - 9
Our latest Chimney and Old Homestead Finds
Northeast Georgia
All Text & Images:
Copyright (2021-2022)


Home Sites on this page:
1 - TO15, Off Soapstone Creek, Towns Co.
2 - WH05, Tributary of Chattahoochee River, White Co.
3 - WH06, south of Cleveland, White Co.
4 - UNxx, Brick Spiral Chimney, Union Co.
5 - TO16, Gumlog Road, Towns Co.
6 - HA01, (Davis or Hamilton), Aerial-Sautee, Habersham Co.



November 2021
Old Homesite TO15 - Off Soapstone Creek, Towns Co., GA

When I posted the last old homesite (TO14), I mentioned that I had identified another potential home place on the old maps that was nearby, but had ran out of daylight to go look for it.   I went looking for that other site today.   Reaching the site required another hellacious bushwhack along old logging roads, choked with rhododendron and blowdown.   To make matters worse, I found no sign of the old homesite.   It appeared that there was a logging camp in the area decades ago, and I think their disturbance of the land obliterated the old homesite.


Blowdown
Just one example of the blowdown.   I spent much time walking over, through or around it...


Ice_Box
Along the logging road, I found this old ice box (or whatever it is).
Probably dumped decades ago.



Logging_cable
Lots of old cable around the suspected homesite.
Evidence of an old logging operation...



Big_Pine
I saw some pretty big pines in a few areas.
Not champion size, but averaging 42 inches (3 1/2 feet) in diameter.




I was afraid I'd been shut out for the day, but before heading home, I checked another map and saw one more potential site nearby.   It involved another steep bushwhack, and I was already tired.   I wasn't holding out any high hopes, but as I crawled out of a rhododendron thicket, I spied a chimney rising over the vegetation. This one made all the effort worthwhile!

Chimney_front
Much of the chimney front has collapsed,
but still a nice example to find nowadays...



Chimney_oblique
Oblique view...


Chimney_side
Side view...


Chimney_rear
Rear view...


Chimney_top
The upper section of the chimney front hasn't collapsed yet.
There are two metal structures on top that probably held some kind of chimney cap.



Chimney_hearth
Interior of the hearth.
There was no sign of a lintel stone; it's probably under the rubble of the fallen chimney front rocks.



Masonry_debris
There was rubble from an old masonry structure nearby.
Concrete, bricks, cement blocks...




November 2021
Old Homesite WH05 - White Co., GA

I checked out a tributary of the upper Chattahoochee River where the old maps showed
five buildings going up the cove.   I only found one site, with a long collapsed chimney.


Collapsed_chimney
Collapsed chimney.


Stacked_rocks
Stacked rocks near the chimney.



December 2021
Old Homesite WH06 - White Co., GA

I saw this chimney in a pasture, while returning home from visiting a gold mine
in Dahlonega.   The sun was all wrong, but I had to stop and shoot it anyway.


Chimney_rear
The late afternoon sun was low in the sky,
shining directly on the back of the chimney.



Chimney_front
The front was in deep shadow, but I managed
to pull out some detail in post-processing.




December 2021
Old Homesite UNxx - Union Co., GA

Another chimney of more recent vintage, so no Homesite ID.
A TCHS friend told me about this one...


Twisted_Chimney
Double (back-to-back) fireplaced chimney.
What makes this one unusual is the twist in the stack, with the result
that the upper stack is about 45 degrees off from the fireplace.




December 2021
Old Homesite TO16 - Gumlog area, Towns Co., GA


Chimney
Stone chimney with a brick-lined fireplace


Chimney
The front steps of the old house still sit in place.
Note the grapevine, aka Giraffe, style of masonry on the steps...




February 2022
Old Homesite HA01 - Habersham Co., GA

The remains of these two old chimneys are located along a creek below a friend's property.
The homesteaders living here were named either Davis or Hamilton; I will try to verify which.


Chimney_1
Remains of chimney 1, from the front
Although it has collapsed, this is easily recognized as a chimney firebox.



Lintel_stone
The chimney's lintel stone lies a few feet away.


Collapsed_chimney_1
Chimney 1 from the side.
This home dated from the turn of the prior century (~1900).



Collapsed_chimney_1
Rear of chimney 1.
Not quite four feet high at its tallest point.



Spring_head
A nice spring head lies next to the two chimneys.
A few daffodils were appearing around the rim.



Chimney_2
Chimney 2 from the front
Chimney 2 is older than the first one, dating to around 1820.



Chimney_2
The two old chimneys are not quite 100 feet apart.
Chimney 1 is visible in the rear at upper-right.
At some point a big tree fell on the chimney;
someone cut it up and moved it off the rock.



Chimney_2
Chimney 2 from the rear.
Judging by the wide base of this chimney, it may have supported a massive stack in its day.




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