Historic Hart House with West Georgia Area Historical Society, Inc.

08/29/2026

Back at the cemetery again today! 🪦🌳

Many of you know about Buckhorn Tavern, and you may know that Mr. Cobb operated it during the time it was known as Buckhorn Tavern. But many people don’t know how Buckhorn Tavern came to be where it was — and the story actually starts with the Walker family.

For a short period of time, the area was known as Walkerville.

Look closely at the photo below. You can see the subdivision and the first road that says Tavern Way. That road is actually significant because it was the entrance they later used off Highway 78 to get to Buckhorn Tavern.

The back of the tavern faced Highway 78, while the front faced Old Villa Rica Road.)

In a history written by Elaine Bailey, she tells us that Buckhorn Tavern was:

Stagecoaches that stopped at the tavern were pulled by four or six horses. The coaches could seat six people, with a room on top for a man, while the baggage was usually piled high.

When a stage was about a mile from the tavern, the driver would sound a blast on a hunting horn for each passenger. By the time the stage arrived, the table would already be set for the exact number of guests.

The guests spent the night on the ground floor, while the men slept in the attic.

Then there’s another important piece of the story.

Isaac Cobb was appointed postmaster at Buckhorn in February of 1849, establishing a post office there. It was later known as the Buckhorn Tavern post office and was named Buckhorn, Georgia.
His son, William W. Cobb, became postmaster in 1852.

Then, in 1856, Joseph L. Hart, of the Hart family from Harttown, became postmaster.

The post office was discontinued after 1857.

And where are the Walkers?

They’re buried right here in Old Bethel Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery.

Again… everything is connected. ❤️

The land.
The families.
The roads.
The tavern.
The post office.
The cemetery.

You start pulling on one little thread of history, and before you know it, you’re connected to an entire community.

And as I’ve said before, the Bible is the biggest history book you could ever read, and the best history book you could ever read.

And remember…

It’s called His-Story (History) for a reason. 📖

08/23/2026

Old Bethel Cemetery Work

08/23/2026

❤️❤️❤️Today we uncovered two graves.
🌿🌿🌿 and found tons of Muscadine vines we hope to preserve them and train them.

✔️Made some trails,
✔️took off 3 trailer loads of limbs,
✔️put some wood down for terraces,
✔️and cleared a spot for soon to be stairs.

We hope to have the stairs in next Saturday. This will be the first stage of a scouts Eagle Project.

08/21/2026

A Remarkable Connection Found at Old Bethel Cemetery

As we continue working to clean up and restore Old Bethel Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery, we keep finding pieces of history that remind us just how many stories are connected to this little cemetery.

While researching the people buried here, we came across Ephraim C. Wilson, a planter and farmer who lived in the Simsville area from the 1870s through the 1890s. Ephraim married Nancy Ann Steele, and together they had four children. Both Ephraim and Nancy are buried here at Old Bethel.

One of their daughters was Lillie Ella Wilson, born in Simsville in 1883. She was married to Ernest Kramer Hilton, and their daughter was Lucille Hilton, born in 1917.

Lucille went on to become quite a remarkable woman in her own right. She and her husband, Otis Monk Redding, founded the Rock Inn Cafe along Bankhead Highway. Following the death of her husband, Lucille was elected Sheriff of Douglas County, Georgia, serving from 1963 to 1965 and becoming the first woman elected sheriff in Douglas County.

Lucille lived to be 97 years old. She and her husband were devoted members of First Baptist Church of Villa Rica. Lucille is buried in Bremen City Cemetery, but her grandparents, Ephraim C. Wilson and Nancy Ann Steele, remain here at Old Bethel.

And there’s one more interesting chapter: Ephraim Wilson later appears in the 1900 census in Haralson County as a tax collector.

It’s amazing what you can uncover when you start looking at the names on the headstones. What first appears to be simply a cemetery full of names can actually reveal connections reaching from Simsville and Old Bethel to Villa Rica, Haralson County, and Douglas County.

This is exactly why preserving places like Old Bethel matters. We aren’t just restoring buildings, stairs, and signs—we’re preserving the stories of the people who helped shape our communities.

Hopefully, by October, we’ll have the building, stairs, and new sign completed. But the research and discoveries along the way have already made this project so worthwhile.

History is still here. Sometimes you just have to stop and look for it.

08/08/2026

08/05/2026

A huge THANK YOU to FairPlay Towing for coming to our rescue today!

We traveled to Woodstock to pick up a 1938 dozer that will become part of the outdoor display at one of our historic properties. After calling five different towing companies even with local companies no luck!—we finally called Fair Play Towing, and they got the job done.

Professional, dependable, and willing to help when no one else would.

If you’re looking for a towing company you can count on, we highly recommend Fair Play Towing. We truly appreciate your outstanding service and helping us preserve a piece of history!

Thank you again from all of us at the West Georgia Area Historical Society!

07/28/2026

Historic Hart House and Native American trail.