Dorminy Homestead, circa 1850,

Ben Hill County, Georgia, 2006.

c. Brian Brown

Dorminy Homestead,

Ben Hill County, Georgia, 2006.

c. Brian Brown

Completed around 1850, by area pioneer Bradford Dorminy, this house (on the Jacksonville Highway, US 319) is to my knowledge the oldest still standing in its original location in Ben Hill County. Several outbuildings survive on the property, though the original kitchen does not. According to one of his descendants, who is in the process of renovating the property, Mr. Dorminy died in 1852, and lost two sons in the War Between the States. The Dorminy clan is one of the most prolific in Ben Hill and Irwin counties, and this grand old house stands as a testament to their early prosperity.