November 2008
The photograph above has come to be my favorite of the many I’ve made of Henry Land’s Grocery over the years. My earliest photographs of the store were made when the Coca-Cola sign was still hanging on the front door and not long after the Colonial Bread (or Sunbeam) screen doors had been removed.The community around the store, known as Lands Crossing (incorrectly identified on most maps as Lands Crossroads), has always been focused on farming and the country life and Henry Land was its beloved ambassador, a local figure who kept his community alive by keeping this store open as long as he was physically able to do so. A note from Gary McDaniel (son of Joy McDaniel, author of the wonderful book Irwinville Farms Project: The Making of a Community) in November 2008 sums up the place and the man: …in the 60’s, I would visit my grandparents nearby and my cousins and I would walk to Land’s Crossing and get an orange Ne-hi and a pack of peanuts from the grocery store. Henry Land was a gentle and nice man. It’s been closed for a generation now, but remains a local landmark and the anchor of many good memories.
Summer 2005
March 2010
In April 2010, J. W. Howell wrote: – Back in the 60’s I used to live about 3 miles from Land’s Crossing. Mr. Land who owned the grocery store wqs a fine man. I stopped in many a time for a Coke. There was another store across the intersection from his store, owned by Mr. George Clements. This was a great community where everybody knew everybody and everyone was a friend. I miss those days when life was so simple.
March 2010
The photograph above shows the Lands Crossing Precinct House to the left of the store, which was saved by Rex Johnson and removed to his property. You’ll notice its absence in the final two images. In October 2010, Donya Land wrote this note, which gives a good idea of when the store was given its new look: Henry Land was my great grandpa. I drive by the store every time I go to visit my family, and if Im not mistaken the store is getting a couple coats of paint as of a few days ago! This was around the time the old name plates from the Coca-Cola sign were removed and replaced with these stenciled versions, painted on wood.
June 2011
December 2013
It may look a bit different, but it’s still the heart of a community.
