Lonesome City: The Forgotten Hamlet of Tate

According to Dr. Kathleen Thompson, in her October 5th, 2011, Pickens Progress article about Black Communities in Tate and Jasper:

“Lonesome City was located off of Highway 53, across the road from the Tate House, and deep in the woods. Families living here predominately carried the last name Patrick. Reverend Bill Patrick was raised here. In the 1910s into the 1930s this was a Black settlement. By the 1950s this had become a White farming area. Due to job losses in the marble industry, Black families had moved away.”

A lone marble sentinel stands as the last upright chimney

An earlier Pickens Progress article written in the 1970s by former teacher Carl Darnell had placed Lonesome City near Darnell Creek, south of Cove Road, near Marble Hill, not Tate. Darnell spoke of a story that spawned from reports of the deaths of several Cagle family members in the tornado outbreak of February 1884. However, newspaper reports from the Atlanta Constitution in 1884, indicated the deaths took place in Cagletown (near modern-day Hwy 108) in West Pickens County. Darnell recalled that someone found the bodies of the Cagle family the day after the storm, and from that moment on the area was known as Lonesome City. I suppose it’s possible there were two such locations. However, the name of the town cannot be found on any local map.

However, there were a series of structures in the approximate location given by Dr.

Thompson indicated on the Tate Nelson Quadrangle map of 1926.

Approximately ten structures are indicated on the Nelson Quadrangle map

Between those sources and modern satellite imagery was able to discern an approximate latitude and longitude of the abandoned hamlet. Venturing out into the woods, I hiked along an abandoned roadbed that had washed out near the East Branch of Long Swamp Creek. I reached an open field and followed along until the path forked in two directions. I hiked in a southwesterly direction and climbed a hilly path that hooked to the south in the direction of Lonesome City.

It was at this moment that I stopped. I knew I was getting close. As I stared off into the woods a shape behind the trees emerged that was too angular to be natural. Thirty feet away, east of the trail was a giant marble chimney. A piece of the mantle had broken off. The opening of the hearth was at least three feet high and a foot deep. The chimney rose well above twenty feet into the sky. Each piece of the chimney was made of pristine blocks of white marble. Within a few yards of the chimney, a foundation was found. Among the debris, I located an aftermarket bucket lamp (a headlight modification to a car between the 20s and 50s.)

Further down the trail it dead-ended in a cul-de-sac. Downed trees blocked the road. And off again, to the east, I spotted a manmade structure. Off in the woods, I discovered a series of fallen chimneys and foundations. There were three total - four if you included the house with the marble chimney. Unlike the larger marble foundation, these homes were smaller and made from brick. To the left of the first delipidated home, I could see pillars that once held up a floor. And off to the right, I found the remains of a mostly intact 1953 Ford Customline.

Remains of a 1953 Ford Customline

Everything at the site supported the accuracy of the interviews conducted by Dr. Thompson.

Lonesome City was lonesome, but at least for a few hours, welcomed my company.