The building on the corner was built in the early 1900s as the Frank Bird Hospital, named for the doctor who started it! This was one of the first permanent, dedicated hospitals in Valdosta. There were medical facilities before then, but they were all small infirmaries & converted homes. This new hospital was used for decades, but by the mid 1950s, the hospital closed...this was around the same time Pineview General opened in 1955, Valdosta's first not-for-profit community hospital.. this is the same hospital that would eventually become South Georgia Medical Center on October 20, 1971.
In the 1960s, the old Frank Bird Hospital building was used by the Lowndes County Health Department for a short time. In the 1970s, it became the youth building for First Baptist Church Valdosta. A few years ago, a newer youth building was built across the street. The building was acquired & renovated by the Lowndes County Historical Society in 2018, allowing the museum some much needed room to grow!
The building next to the old hospital is the Carnegie Library. It was built back in 1913 at a cost of $40,000 with help from a $15,000 Carnegie grant. It was the first building designed by local architect Lloyd V. Greer. it eventually became a branch library, but when the library moved to Williams Street, the Lowndes County Historical Society moved in & they've been there ever since; It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 12, 1984.
Jay Blanton | The Georgia Photography Fanatic
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