MYSTERY PHOTO: Colorful structures near the water asks for your identification

Today’s Mystery Photo shows plenty of color, and is obviously by the water. Figure out where this photograph was taken, then send your answers to  elliott@brack.net and include your hometown.

Allen Peel of San Antonio, Tex., wrote: “Today’s mystery photo is of the historic Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Depot located in the center of downtown Cairo, Ga.

“Cairo (pronounced “KAY-Roe”), 2020 population 10,168, is 200-miles south of Atlanta, and just 13-miles north of the Georgia-Florida state line. Often referred to as “Syrup City”, Cairo is best known as the home of Georgia’s first pure open kettle, cane syrup business, operated by Seaborn Anderson Roddenbery (1870 – 1913), a Cairo doctor who practiced medicine by horseback and ran a general store. Over time, Roddenbery’s syrup business — the W. B. Roddenbery Company —became a regional favorite that also included pickles and peanut butter. 

“The depot depicted in the mystery photo was built by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in 1905 became a busy location carrying the syrup that made the town famous. More recently, the building housed the local police station until it was purchased by Karen Holder, a local restaurateur who had much of the interior renovated and restored and opened the First  + Broad Pizza Company at this location in October 2022.”

The photograph came from Brian Brown of Fitzgerald and his Vanishing Georgia series. Also recognizing the photograph were Lynn Naylor, Norcross; George Graf, Palmyra, Va.; Lou Camerio, Lilburn; Jay Altman, Columbia, S.C.; and Susan McBrayer, Sugar Hill.  

Share