DANIELSVILLE COURTHOUSE

On our way to check on our lot at Lake Hartwell, we went through Madison County and its county seat of Danielsville. It was a pretty little town, with the road parting as we got to the courthouse so as to go one-way around it.

This is my picture of the front. Hard to see it because of the trees.

And this is its photo from the side, courtesy of my guy:

The Romanesque Revival structure was built in 1901 and is on the Historic Places National Register.

The county is named for James Madison, our fourth president, while the town is named for Allen Daniel, who served in the state militia during the Revolution and donated the land for the town. You'd think one of those men would be honored with a statue, wouldn't you? But no. The statue is of Crawford Long, the doctor who first used ether as anesthesia and who was born here. Okay, I guess he might deserve a statue, too.

One thing I noticed: There was much more traffic than I expected for such a tiny place, and I counted three law offices around the courthouse. Must be a very litigious town!

TRAVELS

We've been traveling forever, it seems. We went to north Georgia and Atlanta four times in the past six weeks.

Right before Hurricane Matthew came by, we rushed home from the state capital (where my guy took his photo to be hung), gathered up important papers, washed clothes and packed them up, and went back up to Atlanta to escape the storm (and for an eye doctor appointment). Before those two trips, we had gone up south of Atlanta to housesit/catsit for relatives. And our last trip was up to the foothills north of Atlanta for a family dinner/reunion.

Coming home from the dinner, we stopped at the Taliaferro (pronounced Tolliver) County courthouse so that I could get a copy of my grandfather's death certificate. It is a beautiful old building, with hardwood floors and a minimum of staff. Going inside is like stepping back fifty years into small town Georgia. The people are helpful and so pleasant!

And I can't forget Putnam County, home to authors Alice Walker and Joel Chandler Harris. The courthouse in Eatonton is lovely.

And the people there are just as nice as the ones in Taliaferro County. One of them suggested a cafe across the street for lunch and what did we find on the wall inside?

Yep, a Jack Daniels guitar. And on the corner of the courthouse lawn, we found this statue, a tribute to Br'er Rabbit and the Briarpatch.

What fun we had taking more pictures to add to my courthouse collection!

TRAVELS

We've been traveling again. Had a family reunion up in north Georgia and made a trip out of it. While we rode through some of the small towns, my guy took some pix of county courthouses.

My light mystery, TAXED TO THE MAX, features a courthouse murder. When I get the ebook rights next year, I plan to self-publish. My talented guy has been learning to do covers so I'm excited that he'll be using one of his photos for it.

Here are a couple he took on this trip. The first is in Washington, Wilkes County, GA. Built in 1904, the top part was destroyed by fire in 1958. Repairs gave it a flat roof and allowed it to be used until an approximate restoration of the top portion was done in 1989. The original clock tower was taller.

And this one in Lexington, Oglethorpe County, GA was constructed in 1887. It is the oldest Romanesque Revival style courthouse in Georgia :

COURTHOUSE PICTURE

I've put several pictures of old courthouses on my blog before, so I thought I'd add this one that we passed in our travels last week. I love the old buildings in so many of the Georgia counties. Their old clock towers must have seen a lot of history in their times. They were part of the inspiration for my Taxed To The Max mystery.

This one is the Fayette County courthouse that we passed in our travels last week.

COURTHOUSE OAKS

A few weeks back, I blogged about a wedding at the old courthouse. The bridal couple were beautiful and so was the setting beneath all the great oaks.

A few days ago, part of a tree on the grounds fell and they had to take down the rest. And it seems another one is coming down, too. This will make six in the past six years that have been lost in this vicinity. If the county doesn't start taking care of them, they'll lose the one thing that distinguishes them from thousands of other courthouses throughout the country.


Here are some pix I took earlier this week. First one is the stump. See my shadow as I hold up my camera to take the shot?

Here's a better view of the stump. It's about five-six feet wide.

Here's the stump from a few yards away. The courthouse is to the left, in the background.

Here's a longer view of the empty place on the lawn. It's in the middle, behind the tiny tree.

 And this is the tree that's doomed. They say it can't be saved so down it will come. Sigh.

I think I must have been a druid in a previous life, so upsetting to me is this sad affair.