Forgotten Towns In Middle Of Georgia - Finding Unusual Backroad Places & Abandoned Railroad Relics
Forgotten Towns in Central Georgia
Transcript
0:02
welcome everyone
0:02
adam the woo here
0:05
has the recording of this sunday january
0:07
2nd 2021.
0:10
behind me the clock tower
0:12
is striking nine times
0:15
9 00 am
0:18
at this moment here in barnesville
0:21
georgia now the
0:23
traffic that's going by the one or two
0:24
cars kind of obscured the sound
0:28
of that fantastic little clock tower
0:30
right there there's also a mural behind
0:32
me
0:33
spoiler alert there will be a lot of
0:35
rain today there are storms rolling
0:37
through the area i stayed on the
0:38
outskirts of macon georgia took the 45
0:41
minute commute
0:43
up here to barnesville to start off
0:45
population about six or seven thousand
0:46
folks
0:47
some of the communities i will be going
0:49
through
0:51
that truck might be having some
0:52
transmission problems it's stopping in
0:54
the middle of the road no it's pulling
0:55
over
0:56
nonetheless
0:57
there's a friend behind him
1:08
i tried to start the intro at the
1:08
beginning of the clock tower and then
1:10
you couldn't really hear it maybe you
1:11
could hear it join me
1:13
shall you
1:21
hearing some chickens or roosters up in
1:21
there
1:23
behind that fence line can't really get
1:25
any closer it's private property over
1:33
but i hear you over there
1:33
foul some sort of bird
1:36
go walk back over to this mural
1:38
and show that area as well as the fire
1:42
department across the street they have
1:44
kind of a antique looking vehicle
1:51
basically i drove up from the outskirts
1:51
of macon
1:52
it rained a little bit there are storms
1:54
on the horizon
1:56
throughout the day i do have my umbrella
1:57
so i'll be good
1:59
and throughout the evening so it should
2:01
make it interesting but as of right now
2:04
not a drop of rain but that will change
2:06
there's a gazebo right here
2:13
and this just shows a little mural of
2:13
the town
2:15
you got some cotton there some farming
2:17
going on
2:19
you got the cotton being
2:21
pulled along there by that horse-drawn
2:23
carriage
2:25
and here is
2:26
downtown barnesville
2:33
a little classic car alert
2:33
and this park
2:36
cyrus m
2:42
nooner ritz park 2008 dedicated the
2:42
history and heritage
2:44
of the textile industry
2:46
and workforce
2:47
in barnesville
2:58
just to give a little perspective here
2:58
gotta pinpoint
2:59
more or less the area that i'm gonna be
3:02
at
3:03
so barnesville right there in the center
3:06
of the screen
3:07
here
3:09
where the pin is pointed out is where i
3:11
am momentarily from here
3:14
i'm going to venture up to zebulon
3:16
and then from zebulon
3:19
kind of dip down into a town
3:22
you see it down below it called
3:23
meansville so i want to go through
3:25
meansville and some of the other little
3:28
small towns and there's also
3:31
look at this a place called the rock
3:33
georgia not rock georgia but the rock
3:37
georgia so i'm going to go through there
3:39
and then kind of continue down
3:41
over into this area and then loop back
3:43
around into macon so i should hit at
3:45
least a dozen or more
3:47
little areas little communities and who
3:49
knows what i'm gonna find i certainly
3:51
don't
3:53
it's just part of the part of the all
3:54
part of the experience
3:56
and oh my goodness this little stretch
4:04
is impressive
4:04
most
4:05
impressive
4:08
look at this tire mart
4:11
holy cow this is good not only the mural
4:16
but that retro looking
4:19
signage
4:20
could be original says tire mart
4:25
it has the proverbs
4:27
three nine
4:28
inscribed next to this gentleman's jaw
4:30
line
4:32
in the barnesville bottle shop
4:35
right next door no one under 21
4:38
permitted inside
4:41
that is a thing of beauty right there
4:43
a lot of murals in this town i've
4:45
noticed
4:46
obviously the one i just showed
4:49
but then also this one
5:07
which makes perfect sense that they
5:07
would have a train
5:09
release a trained car
5:11
right over here across the way next to
5:13
the depot
5:15
as well
5:21
i do like the rain
5:22
i don't like when it's raining on me but
5:24
the soothing sounds of car tires and
5:27
walking through puddles is something
5:28
kind of nice
5:30
that's what's happening is that vehicle
5:31
went by
5:32
southern railroad x471
5:36
sitting here next to the tracks
5:39
and this is
5:41
the old depot right there back in august
5:44
of 1938 fdr passed through here
5:48
gave a speech on the outskirts of town
5:54
and he is
5:54
right up there on the side of this wall
5:58
here in his car
6:01
with the train going by very very close
6:03
in proximity you know probably don't
6:05
want to be that close
6:07
especially when you're the
6:08
commander-in-chief right on the front
6:11
says fdr on the license plate
6:15
yeah some great murals
6:17
here in this town and this fountain
6:27
the murphy building across the way
6:27
dated 1884
6:30
and the town itself okay that's nice
6:32
founded by gideon barnes back in 1826
6:37
back in the horse and buggy days
6:40
should this be gideon
6:43
could be up for artistic
6:44
interpretation
6:46
or maybe maybe it is
6:49
and there is yet another
6:52
clock tower feature there
6:59
also the site of a hospital
6:59
used to be right here
7:02
i always love all these little
7:03
information placards
7:05
and the murphy building
7:08
1884.
7:09
there's a stairwell
7:11
oh here's another mural
7:14
well it's part of the same one but
7:16
you know what i mean
7:21
this is a great little town
7:21
i really like it
7:24
there is some it says notice
7:27
on the side of the wall
7:29
kind of
7:30
looking up the stairwell that is not
7:32
structurally sound this is how horror
7:34
films begin
7:39
it says right there occupation of this
7:39
building is prohibited
7:41
not only prohibited but also unlawful
7:45
any wise
7:56
top of the
7:56
mw smith building it's a crow
8:02
perched
8:02
i'll see you up there crow
8:20
see you later crow
8:20
love all these old buildings like this
8:22
bank right here
8:23
look at this with a little balcony up
8:25
top
8:26
more crows going by
8:28
look at that little ledge in that
8:30
balcony i don't know why i get so
8:31
excited about
8:32
some of this very unique old-school
8:34
architecture and it has bank
8:38
1897 established
8:40
up top but also this kind of carved into
8:43
the side
8:45
love it
8:47
that's a relic
8:49
all right gonna keep moving on
8:55
yeah i like this place a lot
8:55
barnesville
8:57
gotta remember this for future reference
8:59
when i'm going back through
9:14
continued on a bit
9:14
pulled over here off the side of the
9:15
road just outside of zebulon
9:33
what i find fascinating are all these
9:33
relics here off the side of the
9:36
thoroughfare
9:46
old fire trucks
9:46
quite a few of them
9:53
this third one here
9:53
an antique
9:54
well they're probably all antiques
10:01
just outside of zebulon
10:01
interesting name for a community
10:29
very cool
10:29
it is a real place
10:32
up there on the side of the water tower
10:33
meansville m-e-a-n-s
10:37
ville
10:38
meansville
10:47
this is the city hall
10:47
and the former train station
10:50
here in meansville
11:01
as i was pulling into town i saw
11:01
something pretty amazing
11:03
walk down the hill and show it on the
11:04
corner of west main and means
11:08
street
11:14
is this building
11:14
which the front has been removed
11:17
kind of destroyed
11:25
which itself is pretty awesome
11:25
however
11:27
take a peek
11:28
around the side
11:31
at this
11:38
in really good condition
11:38
not spray painted over
11:48
a little advertisement there from the
11:48
past
11:50
painted on the side of the bricks
11:53
coco coca-cola classic
11:56
there's also some wording up top here
11:59
tough to make out
12:00
of the type of general store that it was
12:04
i also have my have my umbrella because
12:06
it's starting to
12:07
starting to come down just a little bit
12:10
that is awesome look at that
12:39
your guess is as good as mine on what
12:39
that says there in that wording
12:41
i'm gonna say probably a general store
12:43
of some sort
12:49
very difficult to make it out there
12:49
very faded
12:51
another look inside
12:54
see some standing water there obviously
12:56
which will probably escalate
12:58
considerably as the storms roll through
13:00
today the back door
13:05
around the side oh even a chimney there
13:06
i didn't notice that at first
13:08
there's a fireplace
13:10
right over there
13:11
you see the bottom of the fireplace and
13:13
then the chimney
13:15
leading up
13:16
hello cows
13:18
yeah it's pretty rainy today going to be
13:20
some storms rolling through later
13:23
make sure you find some shelter some
13:24
cover
13:26
you know under a tree perhaps or
13:30
i don't know you probably have a
13:31
place you can go
13:34
it's supposed to be a lot of rain and
13:36
lightning so be careful cows
13:38
okay see you later
13:41
see you later cows
13:42
now approaching this bridge that crosses
13:44
over potato creek
13:48
got the puddles here
13:54
and a wooden railing along the side not
13:54
metal
13:55
not concrete that you see
14:01
on some more heavy duty bridges
14:01
this is just wood
14:07
walking
14:07
splashing through the puddles
14:13
a little creek up here on the bridge
14:13
itself
14:14
but also a creek down there
14:16
potato creek
14:19
i get my feet will get a little soggy
14:21
over here but
14:22
kind of peek over
14:24
into potato creek
14:31
it's definitely not rush hour at the
14:31
moment through here
14:40
the stick
14:40
a little stick
14:55
there it goes
14:55
see a stick
15:20
i was standing on that bridge for about
15:20
five minutes no vehicles and all of a
15:22
sudden
15:23
big 18 wheeler went by
15:24
honked his horn
15:26
look at this
15:28
almost had a stand by me moment
15:31
and it wasn't a train it was a truck
15:33
i was in the middle of the bridge i
15:34
thought it's kind of a small bridge saw
15:36
the truck coming approaching
15:41
that was fine
15:41
it wasn't as intense as the standby
15:43
memory but
15:44
yeah this is
15:50
a little wooden banister there
15:50
not affiliated with dwayne johnson in
15:53
any way shape or form
15:56
the rock georgia not
15:58
rock georgia
16:01
the rock georgia has its own post office
16:05
even though less than 200 residents
16:09
here in town
16:20
it's a real place
17:17
oh yes i remember my younger days
17:17
going around town on my bicycle
17:24
collecting aluminum cans
17:24
and then going to a place that would buy
17:26
them
17:28
they buy them
17:30
for 35 cents a pound
17:36
we be you
17:36
a loom cans
17:38
35 cents a pound
17:40
that brings back memories
17:44
you know obviously i didn't grow up here
17:45
but
17:46
just in general can't be the only one
17:48
that did that
18:00
and this town runs parallel to the train
18:00
tracks
18:08
and it shows just how far barnesville is
18:08
8.3 miles
18:10
and thomaston 7.7 miles the halfway
18:13
point
18:14
between the two you know give or take
18:16
about half a mile
18:17
that's nice american flag there on the
18:19
side of that wall
18:21
coca-cola on the other side and
18:24
flag here on this side
18:50
on the outskirts of that little
18:50
area
18:52
on these cross streets
18:55
seems like it would have been a good
18:56
place
18:58
to have a little store
19:00
however it didn't last
19:04
now this stands this decade
19:06
building stands where
19:08
a once open one once was
19:19
the door is open
19:19
over there next to those pallets
19:23
i don't know if i should go in though
19:47
hello
20:13
got some cobwebs
20:13
to use the jim barney reference ernest
20:16
joke
20:17
this door has been attacked by cobs
20:40
sometimes it's difficult to tell if
20:40
someone is residing at a home or not
20:49
there's a van there old van parked
20:49
also this mack truck
20:51
the grass is considerably grown over
20:54
but i really like that van
20:56
the back tire has been removed actually
20:57
all the tires have been removed
20:59
just on the rims
21:06
yeah i think this is a pretty much good
21:06
a good view from this angle
21:09
look at this this truck's all grown over
21:11
as well look at that
21:13
right on 74 west
21:15
is yatesville a caring community the
21:18
water tower says also nicknamed the red
21:21
dirt city
21:23
population of just under 400
21:26
named after gentleman by the name of mr
21:28
yates who was the first resident here
21:32
100 years or so ago
21:40
an old building over here
21:40
and a place called mulling grocery over
21:43
there on that corner
22:33
passing through cullidon now
22:33
and the weather seems to be cooperating
22:35
very overcast
22:37
but it has stopped raining
23:07
up i hear more chickens
23:07
chickens everywhere in these little
23:08
small georgia towns
23:10
i hear them crowing off in the distance
23:27
says public well
23:28
1780
23:30
there's a date stamp on it
23:33
seeing a couple 1780s
23:36
yeah this area has been around for a
23:37
while
23:39
the first people that
23:41
settled here
23:47
back in 1780
23:47
according to that and
23:49
according to the water tower it's
23:50
written up on the water tower too
23:52
kind of silhouetted out but
23:57
and
23:57
alfred
23:59
block md
24:02
world famous surgeon
24:04
was born here
24:23
peeking through this window uh what was
24:23
the museum
24:25
a while back
24:27
doesn't look to be too active now
24:29
fact
24:31
the sign up top
24:33
is just kind of dangling there
24:36
one of the chains has broken
24:56
this is a farther back view it's the one
24:56
here on this side
24:58
not the boarded up side
25:01
and some sort of weather device here
25:08
that's different
25:08
this is city hall
25:10
and a tire service
25:12
place across the way there
25:14
this is the not the town square
25:17
but basically the town triangle
25:19
because the road formulates into a
25:21
little triangle here
25:22
where city hall is
25:24
continued on a bit now
25:26
into musella
25:30
i like it already
25:39
here at the cf hayes
25:39
general store
25:41
got an rc cola sign right there
25:44
besides the obvious
25:47
classic on the side
26:04
all right i'm gonna pull over get out
26:04
walk around this is turning out to be a
26:06
pretty fantastic day i do say so myself
26:09
here's the musilla gin and cotton
26:11
company
26:13
got a couple station wagons
26:16
parked over there
26:18
it's a couple that clark griswold would
26:20
be proud of
26:27
and this is the little main strip
26:27
through town
26:33
a couple cute little store fronts here
26:33
doesn't look they don't look to be
26:34
occupied
26:36
a picnic area next to those
26:40
covered up in case of the elements
26:43
and then of course as i passed
26:46
pulling in here
26:47
the cf hayes junior general merchandise
26:51
stand
26:52
which because as a recording of this it
26:53
is a sunday
26:56
is not open if it's even open at all
27:00
that's where the fruit and veggies would
27:02
be
27:03
right along here
27:06
and they even have some
27:14
old school bottles here
27:14
dad's root beer and a w
27:16
some cheer wine
27:19
a little knee-high
27:21
sun drop
27:23
down in there
27:59
take a look at this
27:59
it says do not spit on the floor you can
28:02
strike all matches there
28:05
and there's a pepsi pepsi cola
28:08
bottle opener
28:32
all right moving on
28:32
on to roberta georgia
28:39
population of just over a thousand
28:40
the shopping district right through here
28:44
used to be a very bustling and growing
28:47
tourism town until
28:49
1940s
28:51
when the railroad
28:53
at least the passenger aspect of the
28:55
railroad
28:56
stopped running through here
28:59
and this is of course way before
29:01
interstates
29:03
and whatnot
29:07
so the town really kind of stopped
29:07
growing now it's just a quaint little
29:08
community of a thousand
29:09
there is a little placard over here in
29:12
honor of clarence moseley nicknamed ribs
29:16
peel
29:18
underneath the
29:20
the southern railroad train car
29:34
he was a trainman for up to 38 years and
29:34
he stayed with this train
29:36
even though he learned the other train
29:38
was fast approaching on a curve
29:41
he chose to protect the safety of others
29:44
on the rail
29:45
in case
29:48
of an erroneous message
29:51
it was later learned that the other
29:52
train had indeed received
29:54
the wrong orders so he has been honored
30:04
next to the roberta train station
30:04
and the tracks no longer here anymore
30:13
very courageous to do that stay with the
30:13
train to protect others
30:20
rolling through reynolds now
30:20
also keep in mind you know as recording
30:21
of this as a sunday
30:24
which might explain why there's not a
30:25
lot of people down here because you know
30:27
sunday's not a lot of places open in
30:29
these small towns
30:31
so there might be a few more people on a
30:33
weekday
30:34
but can't imagine
30:36
a whole heck of a lot more
30:42
but just keep that in mind
30:42
sundays especially
30:44
southern towns
30:46
usually not a lot of people out and
30:47
about in the downtown sections
30:53
although most of these businesses look
30:53
closed
30:56
but i just wanted to preface that or not
30:57
preface it but just state that
30:59
and according to that mural this town of
31:02
reynolds is the sweetest spot in georgia
31:12
there's a
31:12
big radio or tv antenna right there too
31:25
there's your sweet spot right there
31:25
i think that was cable guy
31:27
i quote
31:33
oh there goes an old-school van driving
31:33
by nice
31:35
here in potterville
31:38
not a lot of residents in potterville
31:41
but there is a
31:42
fire depot fire department
31:55
it just so happens to have
31:55
a dog relaxing in its front yard
31:58
how you doing buddy
32:05
just enjoying the day huh
32:08
what if that dog's name is harry
32:14
probably not there are a few homes here
32:14
in potterville
32:23
and here's an older one
32:23
as well as a business that calls itself
32:25
the
32:26
potterville
32:28
flea market
32:33
yard sale potterville yard sale
32:33
and there's a lake down there
32:36
but what drew my attention to pull over
33:13
by crossing over this river
33:15
that was a little bit of an echo where
33:16
i'm standing
33:18
might not show up on camera
33:21
not not an intense
33:23
echo but a little bit of an echo
33:31
yeah it's like bouncing off the water
33:33
and then under the bridge
33:56
now that is a great railroad depot
33:56
station
34:01
some would say ideal
34:01
i had to
34:03
sure it's not the first time
34:05
people have passed who here have used
34:06
that joke
34:08
pretty cliche i would imagine but
34:15
winning not rome but winning ideal
34:15
that's a that's a pretty cool looking
34:17
building right there
35:03
city hall is also the library according
35:03
to that sign right down there
35:30
got a pecan company pecan plant right
35:31
here's some sort of
35:33
a grinding noise over there from a
35:35
machine that's working
35:37
doesn't get much more
35:40
main street usa than this
35:44
right
35:47
montezuma georgia
35:56
quinta central main street usa
35:56
say the least
36:05
a consignment shop up here
36:05
called do-overs consignment
36:21
this is dooley street
36:21
that's the corner of dooley and beaver
36:25
right off the flint river
36:37
i like it a lot
36:37
and on the opposite side corner of
36:39
dooley and cherry
36:41
there's little things that excite me
36:44
about some of these little communities
36:46
and the architecture like maryland's
36:48
salon of beauty
36:50
this just kind of random door wedged on
36:55
you know between the businesses
36:56
so property line of the one business
36:58
ends here
37:00
but why would there be a door there but
37:02
there is a door there
37:03
now obviously this is all part of it
37:06
just stuff like that is fascinating to
37:19
over here there's this stairwell
37:19
that leads up to the side
37:26
of pee-wee's
37:26
bakery sweets
37:28
pee-wee bakery suites
37:36
this blue building this aqua blue
37:36
building
37:38
next stop peewee's bakery
37:46
hey it looks like there's a residence
37:46
okay now pee-wee's bakery is around the
37:48
side but this is like a private
37:49
residence
37:51
maybe that's where peewee lives
37:54
residents total about three thousand
37:57
yeah between three and four thousand
38:05
since the last tally
38:05
and parts of it
38:06
are falling apart over here
38:09
along the main thoroughfare
38:12
it's like josie's restaurant used to be
38:14
right here
38:15
see the writing on the side of the wall
38:18
still using seven digit dialing
38:27
with a number on the side there
38:27
this is probably
38:29
not structurally sound anymore
38:32
hence the little caution tape through
38:34
been covering a lot of ground so far and
38:37
kind of doing a loop
38:38
from where i am i saw on the outside of
38:40
making left this morning circling around
38:42
covering quite a few miles i think i'm
38:44
going to start heading back up
38:46
not reach not retracing my steps but you
38:48
know doing a circle so i'm not hitting a
38:50
lot of the same places
38:51
i'll show on the atlas where i'm at and
38:53
kind of the direction i'll be heading
38:55
back up through i've got the
38:56
continuation of
38:58
of the day and afternoon back to the
39:00
atlas
39:01
i am
39:03
at the moment in montezuma
39:06
which kind of right here at the
39:08
the crevice
39:10
you can see
39:16
right there so i'm gonna go up this road
39:16
and go
39:17
through marshallville
39:19
and then fort valley
39:21
probably
39:22
you know in the episode
39:28
well maybe even go up a little farther
39:28
but kind of in that general area so i
39:29
kind of started here
39:31
looped around went all through here
39:32
today
39:34
see i kind of did kind of it's more like
39:36
that
39:37
of course of the day so i'm just kind of
39:38
doing a circle
39:40
and you know staying a few nights on the
39:43
outskirts
39:44
of macon area
39:46
just to give some bearings it's always
39:48
good to have
39:49
it's always good to have like a a map
39:51
you know you can use the you can use the
39:53
interwebs obviously but it's good to
39:55
have a hard copy
39:57
as well to see kind of where you're at
39:59
this comes in handy
40:01
i hear the train
41:00
good to have that water tower in view
41:00
for this angle also
41:34
there's a second water tower here in
41:34
montezuma
41:35
says great future
41:37
and rich past
41:39
at the top of it
42:03
settled in the 1820s
42:03
seen quite a few
42:05
signs stating that and this mural up
42:09
states the same thing
42:14
marshallville
42:14
right up top once again settled 1820 for
42:17
the 1820s
42:24
this mural here
42:24
got a deer
42:26
got an oxen not an oxen
42:29
horse
42:30
or a mule
42:32
not an ox
42:39
and this business obviously is open
42:39
because the air conditioning's on says
42:41
asparagus peaches
42:43
and a rather large turkey
42:46
right up to top there
42:48
and some flowers
42:57
the train depot has been converted
42:57
into something else a liquor store
43:00
the marshallville liquor store
43:14
this is good frigidaire appliances
43:14
and the air conditioner unit is a
43:16
antique store
43:17
and above that antique store
43:20
there's this old classic neon here
43:23
frigidaire appliances
43:46
at the end of the strip is the bank
43:46
now it might not seem like much
43:49
but you know the original tile work is
43:51
still down here
43:52
i'm going to say these are probably the
43:53
original doors from this general store
44:01
all these years later
44:01
kind of still remains there's a broken
44:03
glass and then there's some foliage in
44:07
which is kind of dried up
44:09
but around the side
44:15
are some other antiques
44:15
like this pump
44:17
and part of
44:19
an old section
44:27
the beautification
44:27
for the former mayor first female mayor
44:30
of marshallville
44:32
rachel
44:34
bickley
44:35
speicher
44:41
but over here is one of the
44:41
the lights
44:47
on the railroad lights
44:47
look at the vines up there growing up
44:48
the side of that building
45:07
hey cows just wanted to say hi i'm just
45:07
passing through
45:09
just doing a little back road adventure
45:11
okay see you later cows
45:14
arrive now in fort
45:16
valley and up on the water tower
45:20
says georgia's peach city
45:24
fort valley
45:35
here's a closer perspective
45:35
as i pull past this pole
45:41
georgia's peach city
45:41
and where a former business
45:44
used to sit
45:46
building was either torn down or
45:47
possibly burned down
45:54
there's a relatively new-ish
45:54
mural here
45:56
fort valley georgia's peach city
46:09
with the artist
46:09
christopher johnson
46:11
name right down there
46:25
is this this is within eye view
46:25
of the water tower
46:28
which is right there
46:56
and the last community of the day
46:56
byron
46:59
right here also along
47:00
the tracks
47:26
appreciate you watching thanks so much
47:26
for tagging along on this adventure
47:32
i'll see you in the next video but i
47:32
want to
47:33
i want to end with this
47:35
this is the ultimate temptation here
47:37
there's a seat that anyone could drive
47:40
by
47:41
say you know i well if they're walking
47:43
probably if they're driving they're
47:44
already comfortable sitting but if
47:45
they're walking and they need to to rest
47:47
their weary bones
47:49
says
47:50
broken
47:51
do not sit
47:53
on this
47:58
but if it wasn't here
47:58
it would be no temptation that is that
48:00
right there
48:04
it's a trap
48:04
i'll see in the next video the vlog
48:07
is