Newsletters

Volume 16, No. 1 ... April 1998

NATIONAL REGISTER NEWS

The Georgia National Register Review Board met on April 9th and voted to recommend that the FANNIN-TRUITT-HANDLEY HOUSE, on Whitesville Road at Orchard Hill Road, be added to the National Register of Historic Places. Designed and built by noted local architect Cullen Rodgers, the Handley House was constructed between 1835 and 1840. Col. James Werter Fannin and his wife Anna are believed to have had the house built. Nathan and Elizabeth Truitt lived there in the mid-nineteenth century. The Handley family has now owned it for over 130 years. In an effort to modernize the home, A. B. Handley added a one-story wraparound porch, changed the front windows, and added to the rear of the house in 1909 giving the house a Neoclassical design. Several outbuildings were also included in the National Register listing as was the Fannin Family Cemetery which is a few hundred yards away. Other Cullen Rodgers properties in LaGrange include the Boddie House on Greenville Road and Nutwood on Big Springs Road, both of which are already on the National Register of Historic Places.

Also recommended for the National Register bye the Georgia Review Board was the WEST POINT PUBLIC SCHOOL. Built in the 1930s and designed by Ward Dennis, the school has been vacant for about a decade. West Point Iron Works (now Batson-Cook Company) built the structure. A local preservation group in West Point is trying to preserve the school to use for community purposes, "Our Town, Inc." These two properties will be considered bye the National Register Review Board soon.

Other Troup County properties recently placed on the National Register include the TROUP COUNTY COURTHOUSE, designed by William J. J. Chase, and placed on the Register as part of a thematic listing in August, 1995. The Courthouse opened in 1939. There are currently fourteen individual residences and three districts from Troup County included on the National Register.

HISTORY DAY -- A RECAP

On March 24, the Troup County Historical Society and LaGrange College co-hosted the annual History Day contest for middle- and high-school students. One hundred students from four schools participated. The theme for 1998 is 'Migration in History'. First, second, and third place winners advanced on to the State contest held at Macon College on April 25th

Troup County students from Westside Magnet School, LaGrange Academy, and Callaway Middle School participated in the contest

Special thanks are due Troup County Historical Society members and LaGrange College faculty members who served as judges. They had the very tough job of evaluating the entries, talking with the participants, and selecting West Georgia's representatives to the state contest. The Judges were:

Glenda Major Alex Scarborough
Laura Lewis Diane Frazier
Charlene Baxter Carolyn Burgess
Dr. John Shibley Sally Macomber
Natalie Shelton Casey Zito
Oliver Greene Clark Johnson
Randall Allen Charles Kelly

Natalie Shelton coordinated activities at LaGrange College and Kaye Minchew and Charles Kelly coordinated the overall contest.

BARN AGAIN ---- THE EXHIBIT

Between July 6 and August 26 of this year, the Troup County Archives will host a showing of the Smithsonian Institution's Barn Again exhibit. The exhibit is being sponsored by the Georgia Humanities Council.Special activities are being planned to celebrate the exhibit plus a display of photographs of historic barns from Troup County will be included as well. Members will be receiving more information about these activities.

As the Smithsonian says, "The barn is more than a building. It is a witness to centuries of change."

HISTORIC CHATTAHOOCHEE COMMISSION DINNER MEETING

On Thursday, September 17, 1998, the Troup County Historical Society will host the Annual Meeting of the Historic Chattahoochee Commission. Howard H. "Bo" Callaway will be the guest speaker. The meeting will be at the Highland Country Club and will include a social hour and dinner. Other activities on the agenda include presenting special achievement and seed grant awards.

The Troup County Historical Society would love to have a good turnout to welcome our visitors from throughout the Chattahoochee Valley of Georgia and Alabama. Laura Lewis and Kaye Minchew are Troup County's representatives to the Board of Directors of the Historic Chattahoochee Commission. Please mark September 17th on your calendar for this very special event.

OLD TIME RELIGION EXHIBIT AT ARCHIVES

Currently on display at the Troup County Archives through June is "Old Time Religion - Nineteenth Century Churches." This exhibit features photos of churches in Troup County organized before 1900. Several photos highlight changing sanctuaries in these churches throughout the years, including First Methodist Church of LaGrange, Saint Mark's Episcopal, Hogansville First Baptist, and Warren Temple Methodist Church.

Minute books from churches such as Pleasant Grove Methodist Episcopal and Union Baptist Churches are also on display. These books contain information about church members, constitutions, and beliefs of the church. Also on exhibit is a Bible published in 1791, which was once displayed in the log cabin at Callaway Gardens. The cabin was originally located in Troup County.

HOMEPAGE UPDATED

Recent updates of the Troup County Historical Society's homepage include adding several articles about the history of LaGrange and Troup County. Another addition are two databases featuring the names, companies, and related information about soldiers from Troup County. Many of these soldiers died while serving the United States during twentieth century wars or the Confederacy. Archives volunteer George Allen, who works one day a week, has poured over microfilm of the LaGrange Daily News during World War II. This database includes noting the date and location of references to all soldiers from Troup County. The other database focuses solely on soldiers who died while in service during the 19th and 20th centuries and was prepared by Clark Johnson.

The homepage continues to get many hits by people visiting the site on the Internet. The page also gets many compliments. The following statements were received in the Spring of 1998. (No one was paid for these nice comments!)

From Rockdale, Texas: "We are grateful and extremely pleased by your reply to our query about David Cox. Nowhere in all our genealogical wonderings has a source been as cordial or helpful."

From Belton, Missouri: "You have one of the best if not the best web sites I have ever encountered. Truly outstanding. Keep up the good work."

From Mesquite, Texas: "I am absolutely amazed! Never in my wildest dreams did I expect specific information from a simple visit to your county site...You deserve a commendation."

SPOTLIGHT

Typically the spotlight on the back page of each newsletter focuses on an artifact found in the collections of the Troup County Archives. This time, we choose instead to focus on the Sarah Jane Lokey Hamer Whatley's Journal which she kept from 1881 until 1905. A photocopy of the journal belongs to Clifford and Gladys May. They have put together a wonderful program in which Mrs. May "becomes" Sarah Jane as she describes her journal. Mr. and Mrs. May performed the program for the Troup County Historical Society's luncheon on April 14, 1998. The program was lively, entertaining, thought-provoking, and heart-warming as we joined Sarah Jane for the ups and downs of life in Troup County and South Georgia in the latter part of the nineteenth century.

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