Volume 20, no. 3-4 Fall 2002TROUP COUNTY IN VINTAGE POSTCARDSDid you ever wonder how the east side of the Square in downtown LaGrange must have looked a century ago? Or the bridges and streets in West Point in the decades before West Point Dam when flooding was a very real threat? Or maybe you marvel when you hear how West Georgia Health Systems has grown from a two story building on Church Street to its current size. While we have a great idea of how City Pool Park has looked on Smith Street since it was built in the mid-1930s, images of the old Southern Female College located just across the street where the 1964 post office sits are rare. Would we even remember the picnic pavilion in Hogansville where picnics and dances were held if it had not been preserved on a postcards
For answers to any of these questions and more, look at Troup County in Vintage Postcards. Published by Arcadia Press of Charleston, S. C., the Troup County volume is part of a series of vintage postcard books. The earliest of the local postcards date from 1905, though a couple of cards feature photographs taken much earlier than that. Postcards were used to say hello in the days before widespread telephone use. They were also used to brag about one’s towns (look at our colleges, textile mills, churches, and elegant homes). Many of the earliest cards were in color -- these cards predated color photography by four decades or more and give us a much better idea how our downtown buildings actually looked than the usual black and white photos of the era. Postcards used in the book came from the collections of the Troup County Archives and from Chris Cleaveland and Stephen Johnson. Chris and Stephen joined Clark Johnson and Kaye Minchew in writing this volume. The postcard book is arranged topically and includes an index. Troup County in Vintage Postcards sells for $19.99 and is available at the Troup County Archives and at gift shops and bookstores around town. With over 220 postcards, this volume will make a great Christmas gift for both longtime residents, locals who have moved to other towns, and newcomers. We invite you to come by the Troup County Archives and look at the volume yourself! MUSEUM ON MAIN -- AN UPDATEThe fund-raising committee of the Troup County Historical Society continues to work on raising funds to renovate 141 Main Street in LaGrange for use as a museum. “Museum on Main: A History Museum for West Georgia” will be operated by the Troup County Historical Society in the old McLellan Department Store building. Funds are already being donated from private sources, grants are being applied for, and Georgia Governor Roy Barnes has contributed $20,000 from the Governor’s Discretionary Funds.The committee is chaired by Jenny Copeland with co-chairs Jane Foster and Betty Fagundes. Other committee members include Ann Beason, Roger Kurz, Judy Boggus, Charles D. Hudson, Bit Taylor, Mark Mike, and Kaye Minchew. Laura Jennings served on this committee for most of 2002. Most Historical Society members and the general public will be contacted about contributing to the capitol fund-raising project for the museum in 2003. Contributions can be made to the Troup County Historical Society and are tax-deductible. In addition to identifying funding sources and writing letters and grants, the committee has also been working on museum concepts. The committee has consulted community leaders and has toured museums, read books, and discussed favorite exhibits and less beloved displays. This work is being done with the expectation that the museum will be ready to open to the public soon after the renovations to the building are completed. Roger Kurz has been working with The Design Group on a new brochure for the committee. All the scenes shown on the cover are Troup County scenes. The brochure is expected to be completed later this year. The brochure is being designed with the idea of letting people know more about the museum and with helping raise funds for renovations and operations. Special thanks to: the Design Group which is based in the industrial park in LaGrange for donating their exciting work! In addition to designing brochures, they do interior design, tradeshow development and management, showrooms, point of purchase displays, graphic design, web design, and multi-media. For more information, their website address is www.tbdg.com and phone number is 706-883-7741. All in all, this is a very exciting time to be a member of the Troup County Historical Society. The museum has been a goal of the Society since its days as the Oakfuskee Historical Society beginning in 1972. In 1975, officers realized that historical records of the county dating back to 1827 were in danger of being lost and shifted their efforts to establishing an archives. The Troup County Archives opened in 1983 and is widely viewed as a model for other local governments. Throughout the three decades of its existence, the Society has remained interested in developing a first-rate historical museum for the Troup County, West Georgia, and East Alabama communities. Stay tuned for further developments! DESIGN GUIDELINESThe City of LaGrange now has design guidelines for the Downtown LaGrange Commercial Historic District. Funded with a grant from the Georgia Historic Preservation Division and with matching funds from the Troup County Historical Society and the Downtown Development Authority, the guidelines give building owners and tenants information about what changes or new construction are likely to be accepted within the historic district. The guidelines were prepared by the Jaeger Company of Gainesville, Georgia, and are unique to our district.The design guidelines can be viewed at the City of LaGrange’s website at: www.lagrange-ga.org/economicDevelopment/downtown/index.cfm. Copies of the guidelines are expected to be available in print or on cd-rom in the Spring of 2003. If you are interested in copies, please let Kaye Minchew know by calling at 884-1828 or e-mailing at kaye@trouparchives.org The guidelines cover everything from landscape and plantings to roof lines and electrical wires. The goal of such guidelines is not to stop growth but to make sure that change and new construction is in keeping with the historical style and character of the historic district. IMMIGRANT ACTIVITY BOOKWith the support of the Rotary Club of LaGrange, the Troup County Historical Society is preparing a booklet “We the People of Troup County: Our Ethnic and Minority Heritage.” The booklet should be available in the Spring of 2003 and is designed for high school students and those seeking their GED or involved in Troup County Literacy programs.The activities range from unscrambling words from John Maier’s naturalization papers to doubling and tripling taco recipes to building a small-scale covered bridge. In the course of completing these activities, students will use a variety of skills -- from English to math to art. They will also use a variety of thinking skills, including knowledge, comprehension, analysis and evaluation. Teachers in the Heritage Education 2002 class, which focused on Minority Resources and Ethnic Heritage, developed the activities in this booklet along with class instructors Clark Johnson, Kaye Minchew, and Barry Jackson. In addition to being available to high school, literacy, and GED students, a limited number of the booklets will be available for purchase from the Troup County Archives. Call 884-1828 for more information. WELCOME KIDS!The Troup County Archives can be:
b) a place to learn more about your school’s history c) a place to get a drink of water and see a slide show during a walking tour of downtown d) all this and more Less traditional activities included Halloween. Trick or treating in downtown LaGrange has been growing in popularity through the years. Archives staff member Shirley Dykes dresses up each year to greet kids as they come inside the Archives building. With children as young as a few months old, this is the first visit for many! This year, over 1000 kids along with their parents were greeted. In addition to candy, the Archives gave out bright orange bookmarks. Special help for the design of the bookmarks came from Katie Thomas, daughter of Archives’ bookkeeper Diana Thomas & her husband Scott. Katie, along with brothers Josh and Jacob, helped with the wording and Katie added black yarn to each card giving it the feel of a “professional” bookmark. Thanks guys! (This was a great opportunity to market to our youngest audience and to put one of our youngest volunteers ever to work!) Archives’ staff have conducted several tours of downtown this fall. As we talked about some of the buildings, we are beginning to hear comments from students about how they know the interior of this building or that one -- because they trick or treated there the previous year! Downtown tours have been conducted for Hollis Hand, Cannon Street, and Hillcrest School. Staff members Barry Jackson, Shirley Dykes, Diana Thomas, Kaye Minchew, and our new archivist Lance Jones help students learn to “read” buildings and think about the generations of people who have proceeded them in walking our downtown streets. Students have met the Mayor, seen fire trucks fly by in an upclose and personal way, and looked at the second floor of buildings -- sometimes for the first time! Students also become adept at spotting “ghost” windows and using building clues to help date a structure. They also learn that reading clues does not always lead to an accurate answer. For instance, on Main Street, the date of 1931 over a door is a good clue while the word “bank” in large letters can describe what was in the building over seventy years ago but not today! If you have a school group or a civic group, such as Scouts, call the Archives at 884-1828 and we will be glad to schedule a tour. If you have a particular interest, such as Greek architecture, let us know and we will be glad to try to adapt our tour! Such tours are always exciting and everyone, including the teachers and the guides, almost always learn something new. Our hope is that students will gain a greater appreciation for their own county and work hard to protect and preserve the character of their town. MEMBERSHIP CAMPAIGNLetters will be mailed soon to members of the Troup County Historical Society seeking membership renewals for the Society. Membership supports publication of newsletters, operation of the Archives’ genealogy and local history library, and special projects such as History Day and Heritage Education for teachers.Membership in the Troup County Historical Society is a tax deductible charitable contribution. Members of the Society are from Troup County cities and cities and towns across the nation. We appreciate the support of all our members. Please look for these letters! RECENT ACCESSION TO THE TROUP COUNTY ARCHIVESCain, Jesse, Mr. & Mrs., LaGrange Community Concert Association Records, 1946,1958.Clark, Lillian, Estate, Eugene B. Clark, family & ancestors, 1984. Cobb Archives, Valley, AL, Lebanon Primitive Baptist Church, 1831,1998. Jones, Charles, Estate, Callaway Department Store Advertisement, 1919, Southwest LaGrange Churches, c 1919. Fallis, Bentley, Marietta, GA, Hillside Cotton Mill, Overseers and 2nd Hands, 1923, photo graph, and Weekly Time Book of J. J. Fallis, 1919,1925. First Presbyterian Church, LaGrange, Guinn Family Collection, 1849,1950. Genova, Peggy, LaGrange, Newcomers Club Scrapbook, 2001. Greene, Annie, LaGrange, Troup Junior High School Yearbooks, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1978, 1979. Groner, Pat N., Pensacola, FL, Wyatt Family, 2002. Harley, Peggy Ringer Traylor, Lincolnton, GA, Ringer Family Photos, 1930s. Hays, Charles, Decatur, GA, DeKalb County and East Point in Vintage Postcards, 2001. Hembree, Ms Johnnie, Sylvester, GA, Callaway Textile Dictionary, 1st edition, 1947. Hopkins, Pat, LaGrange, LaGrange Police Chiefs, 1895-1978 (information about) Howard, Doris, Columbus, GA 31904, Travel Maps, USA, 2002. Johnson, Ethel, Hogansville, GA, Mayhayley Lancaster, photograph, 1948. Johnson, Stephen, West Point, GA Southern Female College, photograph, and West Point Charrette, 2002. Junior Women’s Club and Jennifer Beedy, LaGrange, U.S. Flag and Stand, 2002. Lindsey, Jim, LaGrange, Information on the life of Gus Valeri. Mills, Bascom Palmer, Jr., Pine Mountain, GA Georgia Freemasons, 1861-1865. Moore, George, LaGrange, Writings on Segregation, 1966,1977, Removal Polymethyl Methacrylate from Alumina Compacts using Microwave Energy, by Edmund H. Moore, Moore-McDonald Family Reunion, 2002. Parish, Emily & First Presbyterian Church, LaGrange Telephone Directory, 1945. Pauley, Mary L., LaGrange, LaGrange High School, Clarion Yearbook, 1921. Pope, Joyce, LaGrange, Information on John Whitley, 1973-2002. Rotary Club, LaGrange, Wheel of Rotary, Bulletins, 1994-2002. Sheets, Jeremy, LaGrange, Information and photographs on the family of M. H. Longshore, 1950s. Spencer, Linda, LaGrange, LaGrange High School Band photographs and scrapbooks, 1968- 1994. Strickland, Emily, Doraville, GA, Information of the descendants of Daniel Hall, 1870-2002 and Jacob Strickland, 1600-2002. Thom, Martha, LaGrange, History of LaGrange, 1938, and Pine Needle Garden Club Yearbooks, 1984,1999. Traylor, Libba, LaGrange, Postcards of Sara Partridge, 1906, 1910. NEW ARCHIVES STAFF!The Troup County Archives has welcomed a new staff member to serve as Archivist. Lance Jones spent eleven years in the U. S. Army. He has earned a BA in History from Cameron University in Lawton, Oklahoma and an MA in History from Georgia College in Milledgeville.
Lance served as a Historian and Director of Education at the Museum of Aviation in Warner Robins, Georgia. While serving at the Museum of Aviation, Lance helped establish the archives in the new museum wing. During that period, he also served as President of the National Military Historical Association.
Lance comes to the Troup County Archives from Primedia, located in Leesburg, Virginia. He was the Photo and Art Research Director for both World War Two and Vietnam Magazines. In addition to research, he was responsible for establishing and maintaining their digital photo and art archive. Lance has published several articles about military history and is currently finishing his first book, a history of the 82nd Airborne Division. FROM THE DIRECTORNew Courthouse BuildingAs many of you know, the Troup County Commissioners will soon be signing contracts to construct a new government administration building just off the northwest corner of the Square in downtown LaGrange. The existing 1939 courthouse will be renovated for use by Juvenile Court. All of the offices in the Courthouse and Annex building will be moving during the winter of 2002-03. We have been assured that the architectural style of the new building will be in keeping with other structures in the downtown LaGrange Historic District. How does all of this affect the Troup County Historical Society and Archives? The Archives will play a key role in helping Troup County governments and the public have access to inactive records, as required by Georgia laws. Typically, the Archives has records from the Clerk of Court and the District Attorney’s office which are at least five years old or older. During the transition months when these offices are located in temporary quarters, and before they move into the new Administration building, the Archives will house records that are as little as one year old or more. The offices will keep only their active files with them. We expect that members of the Clerk of Court staff, attorneys, police and sheriff’s department members, and the public will need files from the Archives even more than they have in the past. Ideally, an Archives and Records Center gets cases after they have been settled and after they have been available to the public for a few years. We will now get them almost as soon as they become inactive. It will be critical that we provide access promptly. The staff at the Archives looks forward to providing these services. Our storage rooms will be filled to capacity and we will work closely with each of the creating offices to assure access. It should be an interesting time for the Archives and for the governments. We will be watching as plans for the new building develop and construction starts. YEARBOOKS AVAILABLEThrough a number of different sources, the Troup County Archives suddenly has LOTS of yearbooks from LaGrange High, Troup High, and LaGrange College . The volumes date primarily from the 1950s through the 1990s though there may be scattered volumes from other decades. We keep two copies of each volume in our book collection but we have little need for the extras.We are offering them to first to members of the Troup County Historical Society and Archives’ researcher on a first come first serve basis. The volumes are free but we accept donations. DOCUMENT SPOTLIGHT:This postcard of Hogansville Churches comes from Troup County in Vintage Postcards and is featured in a new exhibit in the foyer of the Troup County Archives. Ken Thomas loaned us the card for use in the book and the exhibit. Cards in the collection date from the early 1900s through the 1970s. Some of the images included in the exhibit are of historic places and structures that no longer exist such as the Charles Hotel in West Point and the Southwest LaGrange Y.M.C.A. building. This exhibit will be on display through the end of December. Admission is free. Remember: For the Christmas Shopping Season, copies of Troup County in Vintage Postcards are $19.99 each. They make wonderful presents for family, friends, and even yourself!
This newsletter is a quarterly publication of the Troup County Historical Society and Archives, 136 Main Street, P.O. Box 1051, LaGrange, GA 30241.
Officers:President - Bit TaylorVice-President - Oliver Greene Secretary - Sally Macomber Treasurer - Jim Crane Past-President - Karen Scarborough Board of Trustee Representative - Charles D. Hudson
Staff of the Archives:Director - Kaye Lanning MinchewReference Assistant - Clark Johnson Accessions Archivist -- Barry Jackson Archivist - Lance Jones Bookkeeper - Diana Thomas Exhibits -- Charles Kelly Assistants - Shirley Dykes, Jamie Gossett, Forrest Johnson, IV, Christian Johnson
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