Brian Brown Preserving vanishing Photographer captures the beauty of forgotten places before they disappear B Georgia By Amber Lanier Nagle * All photos courtesy of Brian Brown rian Brown saw the relic in April, during one of his many back-road sojourns. The Wilkinson County building- with its white, weathered plank siding and green trim- has stood for more than 100 years. A rusty Sky Chief Supreme gasoline pump still stands guard out front, as if waiting for an attendant to lift the nozzle and fill up the tank of a Chevy Fleetside pickup. To many travelers, Thompson's Grocery (established circa 1920) in tiny McIntyre is just an abandoned store from a bygone era, but to Brown, it's a treasure. He snapped a few photos of the building. After returning to his Long County home in South Georgia, Brown uploaded an image to his website with a short description: " Thompson's Grocery is an iconic example of the shotgun stores that proliferated in Georgia in the first few decades of the 20th century. " " A lot of people are familiar with the places I post, " says Brown, a documentary photographer and historian with an 16 Georgia Magazine June 2023 Top: Brian Brown photographed 100-year-old Thompson's Grocery in tiny McIntyre (Wilkinson County) in April. Above: The one-room Mae Chapel Schoolhouse in Bleckley County was built in 1900 and was originally part of the Bleckley County School System.