Stephen F. Fulghum was a successful contractor and builder. He was born in
Sandersville, Georgia on April 5, 1857 to James and Jane (Harrsion) Fulghum.
His grandfather, who had resided in Wayne County, North Carolina, was
Matthew, who died about 1820, left a widow, Elizabeth, who about 1828, moved
to Georgia.
Stephen Fulghum obtained his schooling at the Bethlehem Academy at Warthen,
Georgia; however he was left an orphan before he was seven years of age. At 14
years of age, he was put on his own resources and learned the carpenter's trade
under a Baltimore man who had settled in Georgia.
Eventually, Fulhgum worked independently as a contractor and builder. Some of
the notable structures built by him included two Presbyterian churches one
Baptist church in Macon, Georgia, the chapel of Mercer University, the
Manchester Manufacturing Company's Cotton Mills in Macon, along with various
residences in that city. He also performed work in Quitman, Georgia. In
Valdosta, Georgia, he built the First Baptist Church, the First Christian Church,
and colonial mansions of T.B. and A. Converse.
In Pensacola, he built the grand residences of J.R. Saunders and C.M. Covington,
a block of business buildings for the estate of William Fisher, the city police
headquarters on Jefferson St., and First Methodist Church on Wright St., which
is the only brownstone edifice in West Florida.
Fulghum claimed that his reading through life were his Bible and architectural
books. He was a devoted member of First Baptist Church, Pensacola.
He married Julia C. Goode, daughter of James and Cecelia (Holcomb) Goode.
Together they had 12 children.
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