Historic department store in Maxeys listed in 'Places in Peril'

The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation recently identified a century-old store building in Maxeys as one of the “10 Places in Peril” in the state.

The now vacant A.J. Gillen Department Store on Main Street opened during the cotton-boom days circa 1907, the same year the city was incorporated, according to a news release from the organization that released the annual list on Wednesday.

The Places in Peril program lists historic sites that are threatened for various reasons, including demolition, neglect and development.

The store in its heyday was an upscale retailer with the only elevator in Oglethorpe County. An intricate, iron staircase with a skylight highlighted the interior’s design.

“I’m sure from looking at it, it was a showcase at the time and it was a big building for the time,” Maxeys Mayor Warren Gilson said Thursday. “Some probably rode the elevator just for the fun of it.”

“Maxeys at the time was the largest city in Oglethorpe County. It was a hub of activity,” Gilson said about the town built along a rail line. The businesses included a doctor’s office, dentist, cotton gin and bank.

“The collapse of the cotton economy in 1929 and 1930 led to the store’s closure. The building was subsequently used as a general merchandise store and a small plant for the manufacture of paper boxes before becoming vacant for many years,” according to the Trust.

The store was purchased in the 1980s and used for a period of time to manufacture wood burning stoves.

The building was nominated for the “peril” list by Dennis and Faye Short of Maxeys, and they attended a meeting to discuss the list this week that also included Gilson, Maxeys councilwoman Barabara Cabaniss, and building owner Sallyanne Barrow.

The Trust said the building was placed on the list because it is vacant and in a deteriorated condition.

While the cost of rehabilitation would be costly, the city of Maxeys is monitoring the building for safety reasons, according to the agency.

“I’d love to see it refurbished and put back in use for something,” Gilson said.

Other places on the list are the 1915 Bibb City Elementary School in Columbus; the 1895 water tower in downtown Cuthbert; the 1927 Fire Station No. 2 in Rome; the 1871 Fort Valley Freight Depot; the 1880 Foster-Thomason-Miller house in Morgan County; the 1939 Kit Jones tug boat in Darien and the 1929 National Library Bindery Co. in Atlanta.

Also listed was the early 20th century Olmstead Linear Park properties in Atlanta and archaeological sites in Savannah.