When automobiles first appeared in Blackshear, there were no trained mechanics to repair them and repair was constantly needed. Mr. E.J. McKinney is shown here, circa 1900, in his bicycle shop which became the Blackshear Garage. It was one of South Georgia’s earliest automotive repair establishments. Eustace worked on many different types of machinery and gained extensive knowledge by reading books. He was a first rate mechanic and eventually gave up the bicycle shop to concentrate solely on this new mode of transportation taking over the South.
On a side note, Eustace and his wife Fannie were married in 1897. Fannie’s father came to New York from Austria around 1860 and fought within the Union Army, whereas Mr Eustace J. McKinney was the son of Confederate Army Captain R.C. McKinney.
Mr E.J passed away in 1957 at the age of 83. Mrs Fannie died at the age of 97 in December of 1972, and was Blackshear’s oldest citizen at the time of her death.
(For more cool facts, check out volumes 1-3 of The History of Pierce County Georgia) ... See more
