History has been made over the last few weeks again in Effingham County as “the past” drew movie maker Robert Redford to the old farm between Springfield and Clyo that was originally the home of Virgil Herbert and Ella (Gnann) Reiser. The Reiser-Zoller house, barns, fields, fences and old trees in the quiet peaceful setting have certainly drawn the movie makers because of this “frozen in time” historical setting. The farm was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989 and received the Georgia Centennial Heritage Farm Award in 1993 for being farmed continuously for over 100 years within the same family.
In October of 2001 the farm was rated the third most significant historic farmstead in Georgia by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.
The original house itself was built in 1875 by Virgil Herbert Reiser before he married Ella Gnann. Later around 1900, a two-story addition was built in front of the present house, to accommodate their growing family; it was connected becoming their kitchen and dining room.
Virgil and Ella Reiser had five children. Their daughter Janie married Hallman Berry and had two children. My grandmother, Annie Mae, married Leon Exley and had four children and also reared her niece. Berta Reiser married Walter Zoller and had four children. Berta died when her youngest, daughter Mary, was only 8 months old.
Sister Elice nor brother Herbert Reiser ever married and lived on the farm, rearing the three Zoller sons: Virgil, Walter and Frank. All of them learned to farm and raise livestock. Tobacco was one of the farm crops planted over the years.
Walter Martin Zoller, the last living nephew reared by Herbert A. Reiser who lived on the farm most of his life except while in the armed forces in World War II, eventually inherited the place. He was a farmer and a postman and in his later years delighted in showing the old farm and allowed the movie industry to use the place for film making. Stepping back into the past, this farm has been the setting of several movies including: “The Lincoln Conspiracy,” “The Ordeal of Dr. Mudd,” the television mini-series “East of Eden” and “Undertow.” John Cougar Mellencamp filmed a musical video using the front porch of the house as backdrop for his song in July 2001.
Mary Zoller Turner is Walter’s surviving sister. Her children Norman Turner and Jocelyn Porter currently own the farm and have been host to the entourage making the movie “The Conspirator,” which is the story of Mary Surratt, the first woman put to death in the United States for plotting to assassinate President Lincoln. The Robert Redford-directed movie set in Civil War times was drawn to the old historical farm to make modern history in our county.
By the time this goes to press, the filmmakers will have moved on to other shooting sites. When the movie comes to the silver screen, a little bit of Effingham may be visible in the Washington, D.C.-based story. Some of the Gettysburg scenes were shot in the fields and some of the Camp Davis Sons of Confederate Veterans were extras in the movie.
What would the Reiser ancestors think about the movie industry in production on the farm? I know, as do my relatives, that the first two generations would not have liked it. Cousin Walter Zoller of the third generation loved meeting people and having his farm shared through the film industry and currently the fourth generation is finding a way to share that which has been preserved so that current generations can enjoy “stepping back in time.”
The Reiser Farm is one of Effingham’s preserved historical treasures in sharp contrast to the surrounding growth and development throughout our area.
This article was written by Susan Exley of Historic Effingham Society. Many thanks to all who contributed. If you have comments, photos or information to share contact her at 754-6681 or e-mail: susanexley@historiceffinghamsociety.org
