| Home Sites on this page: |
1 - ST01, Panther Creek, Stephens Co. |
| 2 - UN45, West Gumlog, Union Co. |
| 3 - UN46, Mt. Airy Creek, Union Co. |
| 4 - UN47, Mt. Airy Creek, Union Co. |
| 5 - UN48, Hatchet Creek, Union Co. |
6 - UN49, Wildcat Br, off West Fork Wolf Crk, Union Co.
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1 - Old Homesite ST01 - Panther Creek near Devil Den Crk, Stephens County, GA
Late November, 2024
While looking (unsuccessfully) for a lime kiln that was supposedly
at the old Will Ellard Mine site, I came across this old homesite.
I wonder if this was where the miners lived(?)
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The chimney and a stacked rock foundation support are seen
beyond a rock-lined raised terrace that the old house sat on.
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I first approached the chimney from the rear.
The lighting was horrible and it took some work
to get these images looking halfway decent.
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Side of the chimney
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Continuing around the chimney in a clockwise direction...
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Chimney front
With one of the stacked rock foundation supports in foreground...
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Chimney front
There was evidence that someone had camped
here and used the old fireplace for a camp fire.
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Left side...
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2 - Old Homesite UN45 - West Gumlog area, Union County, GA
Early February, 2025
While returning from a mine tunnel exploration, we came across this old homesite.
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The site consisted of a rock foundation, dug cellar, and collapsed chimney.
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We think the rock foundation in the front was for a porch or room addition.
The next row of foundation rocks was for the main house. Beyond that,
difficult to see here, is the dug cellar, and then the rear wall foundation.
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From the rear - back wall foundation rocks, shallow cellar,
front foundation, then porch or addition foundation.
The dug cellar is difficult to discern with the flat lighting on the leaves.
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Collapsed chimney pile, with prominent lintel stone.
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Sheldon took this photo of the homesite's spring head.
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3 - Old Homesite UN46 - Mt. Airy Crk, Union County, GA
March, 2025
After documenting a few mica prospects, I went looking for
a couple of homesites that showed on the old maps.
The first still had remains of the chimney fireplace.
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Side view of the chimney
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Rear view of the chimney
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Chimney from a front angle
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4 - Old Homesite UN47 - Mt. Airy Crk, Union County, GA
March, 2025
Walking back after photographing some waterfalls, I spied the second homesite.
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The chimney was collapsed, but the lintel stones were obvious.
A dug-out cellar is barely visible at the rear.
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Oblique view of the collapsed chimney.
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From the opposite side...
One of the stacked foundation corners at left, the dug cellar at center-right,
and the fallen chimney (with a tree growing through the center) at rear.
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5 - Old Homesite UN48 - Hatchet Creek, Union County, GA
November, 2025
The old maps showed two homesites along this creek. The first site is within
a current inholding on USFS land, and there wasn't much to see. The second
site had the partial remains of a long collapsed chimney and a spring-head.
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Partial remains of the long-collapsed chimney
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Chimney rocks
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Nearby spring-head
There was just damp ground, thanks to the drought.
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I was somewhat surprised to see this
Gentian still in bloom near the spring.
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6 - Old Homesite UN49 - Wildcat Branch, off Wolf Creek, Union County, GA
November, 2025
It took me a while to find this site, which is also shown on the old topo maps.
The location was somewhat off, not uncommon on these 100+ year old maps.
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The old chimney base is very evident, although most of the chimney stones have been scattered.
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UN49 Chimney base, from another angle.
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One of the large flat rocks used as a corner foundation support.
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Mid-wall foundation support
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Another large corner stone
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