A project of the Troup County Historical Society, Travels was partially funded with a grant from the Georgia Council for the Arts. The project spotlights one hundred historic houses and buildings standing in Troup County in 1996. All different types of architecture, from the grand Greek Revival and Victorian homes to simpler Georgian cottages and shotgun houses, are featured.

Lawrence used a large format 4 x 5 negative camera to make the photographs. The black and white photographs display wonderful detailing. Landscaping features are also spotlighted in the book. In addition to John's photographs, the book features captions written by Clark Johnson, Glenda Major and Kaye Minchew and a short history of Troup County written by Julie Turner. Copies of the book are available for purchase at the Troup County Archives $25. for hardcover & $15. softbound, plus $3.50 shipping.

The story got me to thinking about Troup County - and not just about 1996 but about our history. What are the top ten events in our county's development? To add interest - and to show how subjective these things can be, I asked Clark Johnson, Troup County Historian, history teacher at Troup High and part-time staff member at the Archives, and Glenda Major, President of the Troup County Historical Society and author of several books on the county's history, to contribute lists. Thus we have lists from one native, one longtime resident (Glenda moved here in 1958) and one fourteen year resident.

The only guidelines were to chose the ten events which most affected Troup County and her people. The lists are not ranked in order of importance.

• The founding of the County in 1826 and the founding of the three cities - LaGrange in 1828, West Point in 1831 and Hogansville in 1870.
• The establishment of Dixie Mill in 1895. This was Troup County's first modern textile mill AND got Fuller E. Callaway, Sr., involved in textiles - first as an investor and a couple of years later as a manager. (West Point Manufacturing Company organized its first mills in 1868 but they were located in Alabama.)
• The establishment of Unity Mills in 1901. Fuller Callaway, Sr., was one of the key people in its management. This was the beginning of what would become the Callaway Mills and the eventual beginning of the Callaway foundations which have had such a great impact on our area.
• The Battle of West Point and, on the following day, the Nancy Harts confrontation with Union troops led by Col. Oscar LaGrange. Though the Civil War was officially over and we didn't know it, Troup County held its head high and fought the good fight.
• Benjamin Harvey Hill's moving to LaGrange as a child. Hill went on to become a distinguished attorney and a noted Confederate and U.S. Senator. He was considered one of the greatest orators ever. He also built Bellevue, the house museum now maintained by the LaGrange Women's Club.
• The sale of Callaway Mills to Roger Milliken in 1968 and the establishment of the LaGrange Industrial Park in the 1960s and 1970s.
• The establishment of Mansour's Racket Shop in 1917. Who knew this small discount store established by a Lebanese family would still be in existence in 1997 and be a thriving department store. It's role in keeping downtown LaGrange alive has been tremendous.
• The Olympic training effort of the 1990s. Over five hundred athletes from countries around the world trained here between 1992 and 1996. Others are here training for the 2000 Olympics. Athletes of all races were welcomed and LaGrange made the national spotlight on several occasions.
• The establishment of LaGrange Female Academy in 1831. Soon there would be another female college (Southern Female) and a male university. Students came from as far away as Texas to attend school. LaGrange College is the only one of the schools still in existence today and is beginning a new era with the coming of Stuart Gulley as President. LaGrange is a different city than it would have been if the colleges were not part of our city.
• Creation of the West Point Dam and West Point Lake by the Corps of Engineers. The project, officially completed in 1975, literally changed the face of Troup County. Houses and cemeteries were moved, roads became dead ends, and lots of us bought boats. More importantly, residents of West Point no longer had to worry about devastating floods during heavy rains.

  Eleventh is more self-serving - The establishment of the Troup County Archives in 1983. (After all I would not be here otherwise.) Or maybe it was the founding of the Troup County Historical Society in 1972 to make sure some of this history and historical buildings was preserved for future generations.

  And before I begin to worry about what all I've left out (like the clinics and the hospitals, the interstates, the public school systems, the fires, integration, etc.) I'll end!

• Founding of LaGrange Female Academy in 1830 (chartered in 1831) which was the foundation of today's LaGrange College but also was the nucleus for the many private colleges, black and white, which were a hallmark of LaGrange's national reputation throughout the Nineteenth Century.
• Founding of First Methodist Church of LaGrange in 1827 (chartered in 1828) which was the first of many churches whose influence for good have continued to benefit the area by creation of generations of good citizens and institutions such as soup kitchens, discretionary funds, child care facilities, clothing banks, food banks, etcetera.
• Opening of Dunson Hospital in 1917, the first public hospital in LaGrange and basis for the current West Georgia Medical Center, which was started by a bequest from Joseph E. Dunson in 1916 and matched by city funds. There was one hospital in town being then operated jointly by the Episcopal Church and Fuller Callaway for his employees. The only other hospital, also privately owned by Dr. Slack, had gone out of business by 1914.
• War Between the States, 1861-1865, which drained the local economy, killed off half a generation of young men, and set industrialism back a generation, but which also led to the creation of many opportunities for blacks and whites in a new set of circumstances
• LaGrange Mills, 1888, first modern cotton factory built in Troup County which inspired the development of others and made cotton manufacturing the basis of our economy for the majority of the Twentieth Century. (Though much older, the West Point Mills were actually built in Alabama, with offices in West Point, but played a major role especially after acquiring Dixie and Dunson Mills in LaGrange)
• Creation of Callaway Foundation and Fuller E. Callaway Foundation in the 1940s which have enabled LaGrange and Troup County to have cultural, educational, health, and recreational facilities normally only found in large cities.
• The sale of Callaway Mills to Deering Milliken in 1968 which led also to the organization of other industries through the opening of the Industrial Park and its careful, diversified development.
• Consolidation of all the public school systems in Troup County when LaGrange and Hogansville followed the example of West Point and chose to cease operating separate systems in 1993.
• West Point Dam which permanently flooded about a quarter of Troup County's farm lands and created West Point Lake in the early 1970s.
• Arrival of railroads in LaGrange and West Point in the early 1850s which brought many people, opportunities, and diversification to the area.

• INDIAN SPRINGS TREATY OF 1825 - The signing of this treaty between the Creek Indians and the U.S. Government ceding the lands in this area to the State of Georgia, had both a positive and a negative impact: A positive effect for European settlers and their descendants who were slowly but surely pushing further west (it led to the establishment of Troup County); a negative effect for the Creek Indians who were betrayed by their leaders and in the signing of this Treaty lost all of their land east of the Mississippi River resulting in their removal to Oklahoma.
• ESTABLISHMENT OF LAGRANGE FEMALE ACADEMY IN 1831 - This was the beginning of education on the college level in Troup County and a forerunner of LaGrange College. There can be no disputing the positive ramifications being a "college town" has had on LaGrange and Troup County.
• ESTABLISHMENT OF A NEWSPAPER - THE LAGRANGE HERALD - IN 1843. Although it has had several owners and several name changes through the years, there has been continuous publication of what is now the LAGRANGE DAILY NEWS (though for all of the nineteenth and the early part of the twentieth centuries it was a "weekly"). Newspapers not only give their readers news from all parts of the world, they provide a day by day (unofficial) historical account of local events.
• RAILROADS CAME TO TROUP COUNTY IN 1851 - Railroads have had a great impact on the shaping and reshaping of Troup County history. They completely changed the transportation system throughout the country, thus affecting the development of businesses and industries; the establishment of some communities and the decline of others; and, they brought culture and ideas from places far removed from this area.
• ESTABLISHMENT OF TROUP FACTORY AND ROBERTSON WOOLEN MILL IN 1845-1848. This marked the beginning of the textile industry in Troup County.
• ESTABLISHMENT OF CHURCHES IN TROUP COUNTY BEGINNING IN 1828. Religious institutions have had a great impact on the moral and cultural development of Troup County.
• X RAY MACHINE BROUGHT TO TROUP COUNTY IN 1900 - Although there have been many watersheds of medicine throughout Troup County's history, one of the most important leading to what we call "modern medicine" was the installation of an X ray in the LaGrange office of Dr. Henry R. Slack only five years after its invention in Germany in 1895. Its use in the diagnosis and treatment of many diseases led to the establishment of the first permanent hospital, LaGrange Sanitorium, in Troup County. To this sanitorium came patients from not only the West Georgia area but several neighboring states as well. Thus marked the beginning of Troup County becoming renowned as an important medical community in the state of Georgia.
• ESTABLISHMENT OF THE CALLAWAY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION IN 1943. This marked the beginning of Callaway Foundation, Inc. (though the Callaway family much earlier had interests in other local benevolent organizations). The impact this Foundation has had in

Troup County alone is immeasurable!

• COMPLETION OF WEST POINT DAM IN 1975. Though some would argue whether this has resulted in a positive or negative outcome for Troup County, it certainly has brought about many changes.
• HURRICANE OPAL IN 1995 - I am selecting this as one of the top ten events making an impact on Troup County history because of its uniqueness. Whoever heard of a hurricane coming this far inland and causing so much destruction! It certainly changed the way we look at the weather and gave us empathy for coastal areas.

It is very hard to select only ten events making an impact on Troup County during its nearly 170 year history. If I had been asked to pick the 100 top events, it would still have been difficult.

What would make your top ten list?

Copies of family history vertical files have been requested. A copy of a naturalization document of a Russian immigrant who became a U.S. citizen in 1894 was requested by a Internet user in California.

We have always had these records and the finding aids, but including them on our homepage makes them accessible to a larger audience. The Internet page is a free service to anyone with access to a computer and modem, but those requesting copies must send a check for copies and postage before we send them additional information. Thus far the number of e-mail reference requests has been similar to our mail requests - averaging maybe 3 to 6 per week. Of course, we have many more people looking at our page. Many users have complimented us for having such a great page and for making the information available.

Recent additions to the homepage have included manuscript collection descriptions. We have over 150 private collections, including family papers, church records, the Cason Callaway and Callaway Gardens collection, business ledgers and club records.

Many of these collections have written descriptions explaining what kinds of materials might be found in the collection and a summary of the content. Several collections have already been used via the Internet.

The December 23rd issue of US News & World Report contained an article about "Plugging in to your roots". The article states "It may seem ironic that the Internet, that vast and anonymous set of wires, modes and computers, spurs people's curiosity about their ancestors, but..." The article goes on to quote Curt Witcher, manager of the Historical Genealogy Department at the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana. "It has opened up the world and made genealogy accessible to more people." (NOTE: The Allen County Public Library is a member of the Troup County Historical Society.) It is exciting that the Troup County Historical Society and Archives can be a part of this and can help more people connect to their roots.

On Friday, January 17, the GHRAB Board will meet at the Troup County Archives from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. The twelve member board consists of two archivists (including Minchew), historians, a Clerk of Court and a Probate Judge, an information consultant, librarians, a newspaper publisher, and the past President of the African-American Genealogical Society of Georgia. Ed Weldon, Director of the Georgia Department of Archives and History, and several of his staff will also be attending.

On Friday and Saturday, February 21-22, Vernacular Georgia will hold its quarterly meeting here in LaGrange. The group is beginning to plan for the national meeting of the Vernacular Architecture Association in 1999. (As many as 300 people are expected to come to West Georgia for that meeting.) The national meeting will look at mill villages in LaGrange and Chambers County, Alabama; the WPA projects in Harris County, and antebellum architecture in Talbotton. Julie Turner, who wrote the short history of Troup County which appeared in Travels, is coordinating these meetings. Vernacular Georgia focuses on learning more about and preserving the buildings of everyday life, generally buildings built without an architect's assistance. This meeting is open to the interested public. For more information, contact the Archives at 884-1828.

On Saturday, April 19th, the Georgia Historical Society and the Troup County Historical Society will cosponsor a workshop on dealing with historical records at the Archives building. Tammy Galloway of the Atlanta Historical Society will lead the workshop. The full-day workshop is open to the interested public and is especially appropriate for people with family collections of historical materials, for church librarians, and others. For more information, contact the Archives at 884-1828.

Later this year, August 4-8, the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation, the Troup County Historical Society and the Troup County Board of Education will cosponsor our second Heritage Education Institute for Troup County teachers. Up to twenty teachers and media specialists from at least five Troup County schools will learn more about bringing local primary documents into the classroom. By linking national events, like the Civil War and the Great Depression, with local people and events, history comes alive for both teachers and students. Usually, at least three teachers and a media specialist from each school sign up for the Institute. Contact Jerri Holmes at the Troup County Board of Education or Kaye Minchew at the Archives for more information.

All of these meetings should keep us busy for awhile!

Bowen, Hammett L. - Medal of Honor winner, Information and video tape. Jim Lindsey, donor.

Callaway, Bobbie - Portrait by Eugene Callaway. Callaway Family Association, donor.

Callaway, Cason & Callaway Gardens. 1 vol by Newcomen Society. Donated by Lisa White, Savannah, GA.

Camp, Thomas & Mary - letters, 1860-64. Copies donated by Georgia Hendricks.

Christian, James O., Meriwether County, copies of clippings and farm ledger. Donated by Stacy Doty, Savannah, GA.

Cleaveland, Chris, Postcard talk - video of presentation to Friends of the Library and video of "The Murphy Years, 1980-1996", Perry Synder and LaGrange College, donor. Confederate Reminiscences & Letters, vol 4. Donated by authors, GA UDC.

Davis and Duke Family History. Vertical File material donated by Vincent M. Greene.

"The Army Life of Frank Edwards, Frank - Confederate Soldier", donated by John Burton, Wadley, AL.

Garrett, Thomas & B. Wilkes & W. Strong. Donated by C. Karegeannes, Annandale, VA.

Glovers & Related Families. 1 volume. Donated by Cliff Glover, West Point.

Heraldy by Julian Franklin and Heridity Register of US, 1973, 1978, National Register of SAR , Society of 1812 Roster, Twelve Virginia Counties. Donated by Clark Johnson. Hill, Benjamin H. - Life, Speeches &Writings. Donated by Carol Carden, Hogansville, GA.

King, Horace "The Bridge Builder King", 1 videotape. Donated by Tom Leonard, Auburn University .

LaGrange Public Schools, 1880, 1920-28. Copies of catalogs. Donated by Jim McAllister.

Lamar Dodd, Life & Career by Bill Eiland. John Lawrence, donor.

Mountville Presbyterian Church - Church BIBLE. 1 vol placed by Catherine Linz.

Newspapers in Troup County - a history. Copy of speech by Glenda Major, the donor.

Parish and Vital Records List - world list and 1850 Paulding County Census. Deborah Polk, donor.

Witherspoon-Hutchinson-Lane Genealogy, 1 vol William L. Hutchinson, donor.