Volume 23, No. 3 • Fall 2005

FALL PROGRAM TO FOCUS ON UNDERWATER ARCHEOLOGY

Our Special Guest will be Charles Kelly speaking on the SUBMERGED HISTORY OF TROUP COUNTY. He will be talking about the Chattahoochee River, steamboats, racing boats, Horace King and his covered bridges, and West Point.

Cost is $15 per person. To make reservations, send a check to Troup County Historical Society, P.O. Box 1051, 136 Main St., LaGrange, GA 30241 or use a credit card by calling 706-884-1828

MASTER TEACHERS - TEACHING AMERICAN HISTORY GRANT

For lesson plans to qualify for publication on a new website being designed by the Board of Education, they must meet specific guidelines and use local resources and documents available at the Troup County Archives as well as documents available through LOA. Fourteen teachers began work on their Master Teacher projects in January 2005. These teachers were required to conduct in-depth research on a topic of their choice and prepare five lessons. LouAnne Storey and Janet Solomon of the Board of Education are project directors. Barry Jackson is coordinating the project for the Archives.

Plans and topics submitted to date by Master Teachers are: Allen Bradshaw, Callaway High, Slavery; Heather Brooks, Callaway High, the Constitutional Convention; Sandy Cook, Troup High, Religious Freedom; Beth Drake, Hope Academy, Westward Expansion; John Heard, Callaway Middle School, Civil War; Jonathan Heflin, Callaway High, Vietnam; Colby Jones, Troup High, Theodore Roosevelt and Lyndon Johnson: Twenty Century Reformers; Lynn Kendall, Troup High, the Atomic Bomb and World War II; John Martin, Long Cane Middle School, Pearl Harbor; Doug McCoy, Callaway High, Citizenship; Ashley Moody, Troup High School, Civil Rights; Mandi Pike, Gardner Newman Middle School, Middle Passage; Rosemary Stefenelli, Callaway High, Civil War; and Gina Willis, West Side Magnet School, Depression and the New Deal.

Thirteen teachers have signed on to be Master Teachers for the 2006 school year. At a September 29, orientation meeting, these teachers met with Nancy Benedict who presented each teacher with a certificate allowing them any twenty volumes of books from the LOA catalog free of charge. The teachers presented their research topics via video teleconference.

Teachers and topics selected for the current school year are: Robbin Bibbs, Burwell Center, Harlem Renaissance; David Cason, Troup High, Progressivism; Steve Colley, Troup High, Bill of Rights; Randi Dorman, Hollis Hand, the Constitution; Matthew Graham, Long Cane Middle, Articles of Confederation; Diana Hardenstein, Callaway High, Emancipation Proclamation and Black enlistment in the Union Army; Melba Moon, Callaway Middle, American Revolution; Greg Morris, Callaway Middle, Reconstruction Amendments; Michelle Nation, Troup High, American Revolution and the Civil War; Melanie Reams, LaGrange High, Political Parties; Tracie Rose, Gardner Newman, Civil Rights; and LaToya Woodyard, Gardner Newman, Iwo Jima. Others participating are Lee Bailey of Long Cane Middle and Charles Farmer of Troup High.

Master teachers will also hear lectures by four nationally prominent historians via video teleconference and then speak with each historian in a question/answer session. The historians and their topics are—Andrew Robertson, “Teaching the Declaration of Independence;” Richard Brookhiser, “George Washington, Shaping the Office of the President;” Eric Foner, will speak on his book, The Story of American Freedom; and Alan Brinkley’s topic, “America in the 20th Century,” will focus on World War II.

The teachers are receiving stipends through the Teaching American History Grant for both the Master Teacher program and the Summer Institute. The goal of this three year grant is to promote the teaching of American history. Improving instruction should enable strudents to improve their scores on state mandated exams.

NEWS FROM THE ARCHIVES

Director Kaye Minchew has recently given programs to the Junior Service League, West Georgia Scottish Rite, the Heard County Historical Society, and a LaGrange College class about the history of education. She will be moderating a session about fund raising and grant writing at the annual meeting of the Society of Georgia Archivists in early November. She will also be presenting a program about Horace King to the LaGrange Optimists Club. She also talked about the Troup County Historical Society and Archives at the August “Lunch and Learn” program at the Georgia Department of Archives and History.

Barry Jackson has given programs to students at Hogansville Elementary School as part of their Heritage Day and to teachers at Troup High School.

Charles Kelly talked about the Confederate Cemetery to students from Berta Weathersbee Elementary. He has also given several talks about underwater archeology recently and will be the guest speaker at the Fall Meeting of the Historical Society on November 21st. He and other local divers were filmed at the river by a cable television program which will air in 2006.

Clark Johnson recently spoke to the Newcomers Club and will be speaking at the Senior Center soon.

The staff will be giving a tour of the Archives and downtown to students from Hollis Hand Elementary in late October.

If your civic or school group needs a speaker, give the Archives a call at 884-1828. We welcome the opportunity to speak to groups. The staff can talk about a variety of topics relating to the people and the heritage of West Georgia.

TROUP COUNTY COURTHOUSES

On October 25, 2005, the new Troup County Government Services Center is opening at the intersection of Greenville Street and Ridley Avenue. Since this is the first new government building constructed by Troup County since 1939, it seems an appropriate time to look back at the county’s courthouses.

The Troup County Courthouse has always stood in downtown LaGrange on Land Lot 109 of the 6th Land District of Troup County. The first courthouse structure was a hewn log house erected on the south side of what is now LaFayette Square in 1827. A second, sturdier building was put up the following year, on the north side of the square and served during the year while a more permanent, two story, brick edifice was constructed within the central square of LaGrange. This third courthouse within two years served for seventy-five years. There have been various claims as to who built the courthouse in 1828-29. Benjamin H. Cameron is often given the credit, but so is a Mr. Hitchcock; they doubtless worked together on the exterior. Littleton L. Burke did the woodwork and interior. We know that one of the men who laid the brick was Ross Cameron, a black brick mason. In 1904, a new courthouse was erected. It was a mammoth building of Edwardian style constructed by C. C. Totherow & Company. Designed by architect Andrew J. Bryan of New Orleans, the building cost $52,000 to construct. Despite the claims in 1903 that the new courthouse would be “fireproof”, a fire on November 5, 1936 ended the usefulness of this fourth courthouse.

The fire also created the opportunity to remove the courthouse from the square, which had been named Court Square. Completed in 1939, the new building sits one block northeast of the square, on the east side of Ridley Avenue. The cornerstone was laid February 22, 1939. Commissioner Judson J. Milam is credited with the idea to place the facility off the square as traffic was beginning to become unruly when court was in session.

The building was a Public Works Administration project, one of the New Deal agencies created by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The cost of the courthouse and two annex buildings behind the courthouse was $240,000. William J. J. Chase designed the building and A.J. Honeycutt of Birmingham oversaw construction. Its Art Deco style was a sharp contrast to the previous courthouse. It began to outgrow its space around the 1960s. The courthouse functions were spread out over several buildings, somewhat removed from the main courthouse.

In 1986, Milliken and Company donated its General Office Building (built to house Callaway Mills offices) on Dallis Street to the county. It housed a variety of county officials, including the Tax Commissioner, Assessor, the Probate Judge’s office, County Manager and Commissioners. The old LaGrange Memorial Library building on Church Street was renovated for an additional courtroom.

In 2001, a five year special local option sales tax of one percent was added to generate funds for the erection of a new mammoth courthouse, on the same block as the 1939 building, fronting Ridley, Morgan and Greenville Streets. Constructed by Batson-Cook Company of West Point, the new structure cost $23 million.

Troup County courthouses have seen much history. In the Creek Indian War of 1836, the women and children of LaGrange fled to the courthouse for protection when the militia would march west to stop Indian attacks, raids, and rumors of same. At those times, the brick, two story edifice was dubbed variously “Fort Cameron” for one of its builders and “Fort Broome” for aged Rufus Broome, who was assigned to defend the place. Often, churches met at the courthouse, for various reasons including that their buildings were under construction.

Parties and fund-raisers for churches and community groups have been held in the courthouse. Political rallies and statewide conferences, religious and secular, have been held in the courthouse. Many famous orators have spoken or practiced law in our courthouses. In 1998, movie star Cicely Tyson was filmed in a movie inside our courthouse. The 1939 marble, Art Deco building has been renovated but the annex buildings were razed.

COURTHOUSES PHOTO GALLERY

1832 Courthouse. Drawing by Randall Allen.

1904 Courthouse. Photo by Snelson Davis.

1939 Courthouse. Photo by Snelson Davis.

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The new Government Center, October 2005

The new Troup County Seal. Archives Director Kaye Minchew served on the committee that designed this seal which uniquely depicts our county.

RECENT ACCESSIONS AT THE TROUP COUNTY ARCHIVES

Books from Estate of Mary Wade Robinson

This is recycling and sharing at its best: Mrs. Robinson purchased the books to do her own genealogical research. These books are now available to the users of the Troup County Archives. We encourage everyone to keep this process in mind: a nearby library may need the books you no longer need. We are always happy to see if we need any extra books you might have. Stop by the Archives if you would like to review these books yourself!

GEORGIA: The Story of Wrightsboro by P. Baker.
GENERAL: Founders of Early American Families by M. B. Colket.
VIRGINIA: Some Marriages in The Burned Records Counties of Virginia; A History of Caroline County, Virginia by T.E. Campbell; Lee of Virginia by E. J. Lee; Marriages of Middlesex County, Virginia, 1740-1852; Marriage Records of Mecklenburg County, Virginia, 1811-1853 by Elliott; Index to Obituary Notices, Richmond Enquirer – 1804 - 1828, Richmond Whig – 1824 through 1838 Edited by McIlwaine. 1850 U.S. Census Hanover County, Virginia, Compiled by Inman; Notes on Southside Virginia by W.A. Watson.
NC: Sketches of Western North Carolina by C. L. Hunter, History of Anson County North Carolina, by Medley.
SC: Heads of Families, 1790 SC Census; A History of Richland County, Vol. I by E.L. Green; Marriage Notices in The SC Gazette and Country Journal and in The Charlestown Gazette,by A.S. Salley, Jr.
Alabama: 1830 Census Index by R.V. Jackson. Marriage Records 1838-1859 Barbour County, Alabama by H.S. Foley; Pioneer and Modern History of Pike County, Alabama by E.R. Hattaway

MEMBERSHIP CAMPAIGN BEGINS

The Historical Society organized in 1972 as the Ockfuskee Historical Society. Members decided to change the name in 1981. The Society sponsored the Troup County Archives, which opened in January 1983.

Throughout the years, the Society has been active in helping preserve historic structures and historical documents in LaGrange, Troup County, and West Georgia. A major focus has always been education. Educational goals have been met by reaching out to students, classes, and teachers throughout the county; by hosting lectures and special programs; and by writing articles for this newsletter, the LaGrange Daily News, and other publications.

With your membership in the Historical Society, you will receive our quarterly newsletter and will receive invitations to our luncheon programs and special lectures. Your membership is tax deductible. Membership funds of the Historical Society support the Troup County Archives, planning for the Museum of Main, annual History Day contests for middle and high school students, Heritage Education workshops for teachers, and other special programs and projects.

We thank you for your past membership support and hope you will continue to participate in the Troup County Historical Society.

Membership in the TROUP COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY is open to all people interested in preserving Troup County’s heritage. Membership entitles you to a free subscription to the newsletter and invitations to Society functions. The Historical Society is a nonprofit agency. All memberships are tax-deductible. Mail checks to the Society at P.O. Box 1051, LaGrange, GA 30241 or you can charge to your credit card. Simply call at 706-884-1828 or send your name, address, card number, and expiration.

CATEGORIES OF MEMBERSHIP ARE:

ARTIFACT SPOTLIGHT: