Distinctively Southern: Shacks

In continuing with our new Distinctively Southern series, we highlight today a concept that is not specific to the South, but I certainly associate my love for shacks with that  mysteriously beautiful, decrepit image that is distinctly Southern. While the last Distinctively Southern concept was considerably more sophisticated than today’s feature, we hope you’ll get the essence of what we mean by “distinctively” Southern.

I’m not sure when it started, but it was certainly fueled by living in the deep South, especially Florida, where Spanish moss, beach shabby, and sea-salt faded paint was de rigueur.

Whenever I drive by one of these broken down old sheds or houses, I’m compelled to wonder about the story of the structure, whose property it’s on, and how it fell into a state of such disrepair. Now, as the “tiny house” movement is becoming popular again as folks simplify our living, I can’t help but wonder if these country archetypes will live on.

Enjoy just a few pictures of beautiful old dilapidated buildings known as “shacks.”

shack in Eastern Tennessee

 

Image from Memphis Photomans Flickr

 

Image from Memphis Photomans Flickr

shack in winter

Perfect for a Hallow’s Eve weekend drive, see if you can grab your camera, head out into the more rural areas in your neck of the woods, and photograph some of these beautiful Southern shacks.

I’ll leave you with a passage from one of my favorite books (no, not that Shack book)… I’ve mentioned before and while I certainly don’t want to romanticize the unfortunate fate that has befallen so many of these tiny little structures, I still can’t help but love the decrepit look of Southern shacks.

From The Mysterious Edge of the Heroic World by E. L. Konigsburg:

Screen Door Series: Cumberland Island

On a recent trip to Cumberland Island, Georgia, I was thrilled to find screen doors.  These screen doors are part of the island’s national park and open to rooms full of history.  The green door is one of many in the area designated for servant quarters on the island.  Servants totaled more than 400 at its peak, while serving less than 100.  The white door is hinged to the current park ranger house near the first dock at Dungeness ruins.  The gnats on the island can be unbearable, and I imagine that the screen doors were lifesavers on humid summer days.