USA > Georgia > Troup County > History of Troup county > Part 13
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33
VALLEY WASTE MILLS. The construction of this plant followed very closely upon the building of Hillside Cotton Mills, of which it formed a part. A separate charter for this plant was granted on November 4, 1927, to Cason J. Callaway, Henry G. Smith, and Grady S. Kennington. As the name implies, it was a plant for the utilization of cotton waste. In the merger of 1932, the plant has lost its corporate identity.
VALWAY RUG MILLS. Incorporated on November 4, 1927, by Cason J. Callaway, Ira B. Grimes, and Henry G. Smith. This plant is a distinctive idea in the diversification of production in the South. The manufacture of rugs in the plant has always been a source of interest to the passing visitor, because the use of Jacquard looms and other machines is so different from those of the ordinary cotton mills. The beauty and variety of the rugs have commended them to a widespread patronage in America.
ROCKWEAVE MILLS. This plant was another offshoot of Hillside Cotton Mills, and was originally called Rockweave Laundry Textile Mills, but the charter was amended on December 9, 1927, to conform to the above name. The plant with a wide variety of products specialized in the manufacture of those products associated with the laundry trade: bags, nets, and all forms of canvas containers and receptacles. Most of this plant has been transferred to LaGrange Calumet Mills, and its corporate identity was lost in the merger of 1932.
OAKLEAF MILLS. This plant is another of the Hillside group of industries, and was chartered on April 16, 1928, and its location changed to the vicinity of the Unity Spinning Mills. It specializes in flannels, wiping cloths and cords of various kinds. The superintendent is T. L. Arnette.
121
TROUP COUNTY TEXTILE INDUSTRY
THE CALLAWAY MILLS. Under this title were merged into one great corporation the allied plants that were sponsored and controlled by the late Fuller E. Callaway, as well as those organized and built since his death under the management of Cason J. Callaway as president, and Fuller E. Callaway as treasurer. The plants in this great organization are as follows:
SPINDLES
Calumet, LaGrange Plant
9,984
Elm City Plant
11,664
Hillside Plant
31,680
Oakleaf Plant
3,168
Unity Plant
12,960
Unity Spinning Plant.
15,552
Calumet, Hogansville Plant.
12,096
Manchester Plant, Manchester, Ga.
25,080
Milstead Plant, Milstead, Ga.
13,668
Total Number of Spindles
135,852
The maintenance of recreation parks and playgrounds, the Young Men's Christian Associations, assistance to the schools and churches have always been included as a part of the operating budgets of these plants, and the care of health safeguarded by the presence of well-trained nurses has been one of the first thoughts towards the welfare and happiness of employes.
The products of these plants include twines, cords, ropes, drills, sheetings, sateens, moleskin, corduroy, filter fabrics, and every sort of canvas and duck, a variety of rugs, and many other specialties.
WEST POINT MANUFACTURING COMPANY. While the plants of this cor- poration are not located in Troup County, yet the executive and administra- tive offices are located in the city of West Point. The plants of this cor- poration are noted below:
Riverdale at Riverview, Ala., built in 1866, makers of tent and awning ducks. 11,684 spindles.
Langdale at Langdale, Ala., built in 1867 as the Chattahoochee Manufac- turing Company, and purchased in 1880. The plant has 33,856 spindles. This plant donated the sails to refit the frigate Constitution, popularly known as "Old Ironsides," also donated the sail duck for the Byrd Expedi- tion to the South Pole.
Lanett Mills, makers of wide drills, twills and sateens, and the fabrics used in automobile manufacture.
Shawmut Mills, makers of the heavier forms of cotton duck that is used for hose and belting.
Fairfax Mills, whose specialty is the making of towels for every kind of use, and of every size and weight.
122
HISTORY OF TROUP COUNTY
Lanett Bleachery and Dye Works is the pioneer in the dyeing of the fabrics and the addition of color to our section of the South.
The West Point Manufacturing Company has a total of 192,000 spindles in the various plants. The corporation has been for many years under the management of the Lanier family, which has contributed so much to the financial, educational, social, cultural and political life of Troup County, and of West Point in particular.
TROUP COUNTY TEXTILES. The county of Troup ranks well in the total of the textile plants, the total spindles of each plant is given below:
SPINDLES
Calumet, LaGrange
9,984
Calumet, Hogansville
12,096
Dixie Cotton Mills.
23,936
Elm City Plant.
11,664
Dunson
Cotton Mills
41,000
Hillside Plant
31,680
Oakleaf Plant
3,168
Stark Mills
35,560
Unity Plant
12,960
Unity Spinning Plant
15,552
Total Spindles
197,600
CHAPTER XVI. INDUSTRIAL AND COMMERCIAL
E ARLY INDUSTRIES. The furnishings of the earliest cabins yield the clue to the nature of the early commercial barter and industrial activity. These consisted of rifles, knives, broadaxes for hewing, hatchets for shaping, crosscut saws, froes, sledge hammers, anvils, spinning wheels and looms, and such furnishings and fittings as could be made with the above implements. In later days the large plantations operated commissaries that could supply almost any need of the neighborhood, and employed smiths who could fabricate horseshoes, hinges and straps, and hammer out such wrought nails as were necessary in house construction, and carpenters who could hew a sill, rive boards for roofs and palings for yard and garden fences, build houses and barns, and fashion the giant "totem pole of the clan" in the form of the tall screws for the cotton presses.
The early industries of Troup County were crude and simple in operation, and were dependent for power on muscle, mules, and water power. The apparatus for steam power was too heavy and too cumbersome to haul so far with only oxen as the tractile agency. The mills of the early days were smithies, carpenter shops, and gristmills, and later sawmills and tanneries. By reason of the same difficulties of transportation, the patronage of a given industry was limited to the range of travel of one day for the round trip.
The journeys to the markets of Augusta and Savannah were generally annual caravans, and they required about two weeks of travel for each round trip, and to this must be added the time to see the bright lights, to view the novelties on display since the last visit, and to enjoy the pleasures of the trading instinct, both in disposing of the wares and produce carried for the purpose of sale, and to select the quantity and quality of goods to be hauled on the homeward trip. The entire trip could easily use a month.
THE TROUP COMPANY. Chartered October 14, 1905, by A. H. Cary, J. M. Barnard, J. E. Dunson, Frank L. Hudson, W. A. Reeves, T. J. Thornton, J. H. Edmondson, J. D. Edmundson, Albert S. Dunson, Frank Word, M. H. Hightower, R. W. Trimble, C. W. Smith, L. S. Turner, A. E. Thornton, W. A. Speer, N. O. Banks, and T. M. Zellars. The corporation was organized for the purpose of manufacturing fertilizer and the operation of a warehouse for storage of cotton. After several years of operation the fertilizer plant was sold to Swift and Company. The warehouse was retained and is still operated by a reorganized company.
FARMERS WAREHOUSE COMPANY. Chartered April 29, 1891, by Andrew J. Daniel, Scott Davis, James L. Sims, William C. Matthews, and John Daniel. This corporation of Hogansville operated for some time, but at the present
124
HISTORY OF TROUP COUNTY
date the corporation has dissolved and its properties consolidated with other warehouse properties.
HOGANSVILLE WAREHOUSE. Chartered December 29, 1906, by J. F. Askew, H. H. Ware, Brazell Trimble and Company, R. W. Moore, J. M. Woodruff, and B. F. Rosser. This is an active corporation of Hogansville, and has united the interests of the warehouses of Hogansville.
SECURITY WAREHOUSE COMPANY. Chartered June 28, 1906, by F. E. Callaway, C. V. Truitt, W. A. Holmes, J. C. Roper, S. H. Truitt, J. D. Edmundson, J. F. Market, H. H. Childs, G. W. Birdsong, McCaine and Mar- ket, R. O. Pharr, Henry Banks, V. E. Dallis, C. Y. Hall, S. D. White, N. S. McCalley, W. A. Heard, W. N. Hogg, R. S. Jackson, W. L. Haralson, Pike Brothers, Roy Dallis, H. D. Glanton, and J. B. Whitley. A portion of this warehouse was used for a time as a silk mill, and afterwards as a wholesale grocery company. The warehouse is at present operated by H. H. Childs as manager.
OTHER WAREHOUSES. The cotton warehouses of West Point are located in Alabama, which is beyond the scope of this record. Among the personally owned warehouses there is noted Barnard and Awtry, which afterwards be- came the property of E. G. Hood, and is now the freight depot of the A. B. & C. Railroad in LaGrange; and the name of Frank Word in Hogans- ville is always associated with the storage of cotton. There are, perhaps, many other names of former days that should be recorded, but the lack of definite information prevents.
THE BRADFIELD DRUG COMPANY. Chartered May 3, 1897, by Thomas S. Bradfield and W. S. Davis for the purpose of conducting the wholesale and retail trade in drugs. The retail stores were a continuation and expan- sion of a long established patronage. The Court Square Pharmacy was the original retail drug store.
HOGANSVILLE MILL AND LUMBER COMPANY. Chartered April 9, 1902, by T. J. Pendergrass, W. C. Lee, J. T. Armstrong, and J. H. Melson. This company operates the planing mill on the south side of Hogansville.
GEORGIA GRANITE AND POWER COMPANY. Chartered April 7, 1902, by J. F. Mobley, Mrs. M. E. Morgan, and Milton H. Hightower, for the produc- tion of gravel and crushed stone. The plant located near Trimble furnished the material used for railroad ballast, and for concrete construction. Many thousand tons were marketed by this company.
MUTUAL COFFIN AND MANUFACTURING COMPANY. Chartered November 8, 1902, by C. H. Revis, H. C. Clay, J. L. Rice, Squire Thornton, and the Mutual Aid Society, No. 1. It was organized as an adjunct to the Colored Burial Insurance Company, and prospered for many years as such.
125
INDUSTRIAL AND COMMERCIAL
LAGRANGE ICE AND MANUFACTURING COMPANY. Chartered November 16, 1891, by John D. Edmundson, Joseph E. Dunson, C. V. Truitt, F. M. Longley, and H. C. Butler, for the manufacture of ice. The corporation was enlarged to include the manufacture of ice cream, cold storage of perishables, and the sale of fuel, and the name was changed to that of LaGrange Ice and Fuel Company. This plant as well as the Citizens Ice and Coal Company was purchased by the American Service Company of Chicago.
WEST POINT IRON WORKS. Chartered May 5, 1891, by W. C. Lanier, L. Lanier, and E. F. Lanier, for the manufacture of castings, gears and machinery parts. The scope was widened to include all forms of woodwork, and the business of contracting. This company was a pioneer of the county in the development of machine shops and foundries.
PIKE BROTHERS LUMBER COMPANY. Chartered January 30, 1904, by J. A. Pike, F. J. Pike, and C. N. Pike, for the manufacture of doors, sash, and blinds, wooden columns, and all forms of woodwork, paving tile and concrete building blocks. This company was a development of a plow fac- tory, formerly operated by W. C. Cox. Upon the retirement of Pike Brothers from contracting and manufacturing, the plant was purchased by the West Point Iron Works above mentioned, and operated under the name of LaGrange Lumber and Supply Company. Newman Construction Company is the pres- ent owner.
NOVELTY AND MANUFACTURING COMPANY. Chartered November 7, 1891, by S. T. Whitaker, M. Herzberg, R. R. Lanier, and J. M. Harrington, for the manufacture of candy in West Point.
MUTUAL COTTON OIL COMPANY. Chartered July 25, 1906, by M. H. Hightower, H. H. Mobley, Frank Word, S. A. Davis, J. F. Jones, J. S. Jones, T. T. Jones, H. B. Darden, S. N. Reid, J. M. Barnard, J. E. Dunson, and E. F. Lanier. This plant, located in Hogansville, was constructed for the extraction of cotton seed oil. It continues to be a powerful industrial factor in the development of Hogansville.
TRIMBLE BRICK COMPANY. Chartered by R. W. Trimble, P. H. Darden, and Edwin Trippe, on May 12, 1902, for the manufacture of brick. This company has been an important factor in the building trades not only of this county, but in the entire southern territory. All the textile plants erected since 1902 in this section of Georgia have used Trimble brick.
LAGRANGE TANNERY. This plant was established about 1832, and was located on the corner near the intersection of Whitesville and Hamilton streets on the branch, which still bears the name of Tanyard branch. The original owners were Samuel Reid and Seaborn J. Thompson. It continued to operate until destroyed by the raiders under Colonel LaGrange in 1865.
126
HISTORY OF TROUP COUNTY
WEST POINT TANNERY. This plant was located on the tract of land now known as Heyman's Pines, and was organized at an early date. During the Civil War it was operated for the Confederate government by Herman Hey- man and Daniel Merz. The Federal raiders of 1865 seized the entire stock of leather. This plant was in operation some time after the close of the war.
KENER FURNITURE SHOP. This shop was located on Hines Street in the early LaGrange days. Many of the handsome pieces of furniture that are now classed as antiques were fashioned in this old shop. Godfrey Kener, the proprietor, built the old rock mill near Tanyard branch on Hines Street, and that old building, used as a gristmill, may have been the shop. This building was razed when LaGrange Mills were built in 1888.
CARLTON AND THACHER. This firm, located in Mountville, operated a furniture factory in that place. Their excellent work in the manufacture of beds, dressers, dining tables, and all kinds of handmade furniture, was the source of pride and gratification to many of the housewives of old Troup County.
KIDD GIN FACTORY. This plant was located three or four miles east of LaGrange, and was owned and operated by George Kidd, who had invented some improvements on the existing cotton gins. The products of this old factory were widely used throughout Georgia and parts of Alabama.
GRISTMILLS. The old gristmills of the county, some of which dated from the opening of the county, have always been a source of pleasure and convenience, as well as manufacturing enterprises. The list is not complete, yet numbers all that are known to the author: Norwood Mill in the north- eastern part of the county; Culberson Mill in the northern part; Cameron Mill on Yellow Jacket Creek near the river; the Double Mills on the two sides of the Chattahoochee just above Glass Bridge; Dennis Mill on Long Cane down near the 4th, 5th, and 6th districts corner; O'Neal's Mill, which gave the name to the militia district, on Polecat Creek near the Salem Road; Smith Mill on Turkey Creek on the Salem Road; Dallis Mill near the Meri- wether County line north of Chipley; Young Mill on Beech Creek on the Haralsonville Road, and Pool's Mill in the 14th district on Whitewater Creek.
A. P. JONES BUGGY AND WAGON MANUFACTURING COMPANY. This company, formerly located on the site of the present Dunson Hospital, was for a long time a prosperous business. It was established in 1878 and con- tinued to operate until 1904, when the advent of the automobile commenced its conquest of the horse-drawn conveyances. One remarkable thing in regard to this business is that three brothers established four plants for the manufacture of wagons and buggies: A. P. Jones of LaGrange; R. H. Jones of Cartersville and Rome, and W. E. Jones of Atlanta. There are
127
INDUSTRIAL AND COMMERCIAL
still to be found in Troup, Meriwether, Heard and Harris counties, speci- mens of the excellent handiwork of "Jones, the Buggy Man."
BANK OF LAGRANGE. This bank was chartered by the General Assembly of Georgia in 1852, authorizing the corporation to commence business when $50,000.00 in specie had been paid in. There are no records that the condi- tion was ever complied with. No names were included in charter.
LAGRANGE SAVINGS BANK. Chartered in 1866 by F. A. Frost, B. H. Hill, R. A. T. Ridley, Jesse Mclendon, and Thomas J. Thornton. No records of the savings bank available, but several of the incorporators were engaged in a private and unincorporated business.
LAGRANGE BANKING AND TRUST COMPANY. Chartered in 1871 by H. S. Wimbish, John F. Moreland, John A. Speer, John R. Broome, S. W. Swanson, T. J. Thornton, W. F. Spalding, John H. Glanton, A. D. Abra- ham, and James F. Ogletree. The capital stock was fixed at $50,000.00 with the privilege of increasing to $100,000.00. This corporation for a long time was the principal commercial bank of the county, and the closing of which almost paralyzed the commercial interests of LaGrange. Among those who presided over this bank are noted the names of Major A. D. Abraham, George A. Speer, Thomas J. Thornton, Joseph E. Dunson, Sr., and Joseph E. Dunson, Jr. It is now in procees of liquidation.
MERCHANTS AND PLANTERS BANK OF WEST POINT. Chartered Septem- ber 29, 1883, by J. J. Hagedorn, A. M. Eady, Daniel Merz, W. B. Higgin- bothem, J. R. Scott, W. E. White, J. M. Reed, J. W. Smith, B. L. Harris, Lawrence Smith, and William Collins. This bank enjoyed a long period of prosperity, but like many others of our country, succumbed under the pressure of the twentieth century depression and shrinkage of values.
FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF LAGRANGE. Chartered December 20, 1883, by L. J. Render, B. C. Ferrell, F. M. Longley, J. G. Truitt, W. C. Yancey, W. O. Tuggle, J. M. Barnard, and H. H. Cary. This bank continued to operate until 1890, when it was converted into a state bank. The exactions of a national bank, which did not permit more than 10% of the capital stock to be loaned to one customer, did not permit the bank to finance the LaGrange Mills for their sufficient operation, as the capital stock was only $50,000.00. Some of the currency of this bank is still in circulation, but largely kept as keepsakes.
BANK OF LAGRANGE. Chartered in 1890, by L. J. Render, J. G. Truitt, F. M. Longley, J. M. Barnard, B. C. Ferrell, and H. H. Cary. The business of the First National Bank above mentioned was carried on by this bank without interruption, the change being made between the close of business on Saturday and the opening on Monday morning. This bank, too, felt the iron hand of depression and was closed and liquidated.
128
HISTORY OF TROUP COUNTY
BANK OF WEST POINT. The personnel of this corporation is not avail- able, but it was a factor in the commercial life of the community, and like so many other institutions was forced into liquidation.
FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF WEST POINT. This bank like the First Na- tional of LaGrange found itself unable to continue its operations, and was put into liquidation.
HOGANSVILLE BANKING COMPANY. The leading spirit in the organiza- tion of this bank was J. F. Askew, but it like many others fell victim to the dark days of the depression and was forced to close.
MERCHANTS AND FARMERS BANK. Hogansville. The organizers of this bank were J. P. Mobley and N. H. Hight, and enjoyed an era of prosperity but was unable to cope with frozen assets and likewise closed.
LAGRANGE NATIONAL BANK. Chartered by United States May 29, 1905, by F. E. Callaway, C. V. Truitt, J. G. Truitt, W. A. Holmes, S. H. Truitt, F. M. Longley, and P. H. Hutchinson. One of the few institutions that remained closed only during the bank holiday, or moratorium, declared by President Roosevelt. The handsome structure on Main Street in the city of LaGrange is the home of this institution. The presidents of this bank in their order are Fuller E. Callaway, Ely R. Callaway, and Henry D. Glanton.
CITIZENS BANK AND TRUST COMPANY. This company represents the banking interests of the city of West Point, since the closing of the other banks.
CITIZENS BANK OF HOGANSVILLE. This is not a bank strictly speaking, but conducts the present business of the city of Hogansville as a sort of clearing house for an Atlanta bank.
CHAPTER XVII. EDUCATIONAL
AGRANGE FEMALE COLLEGE. This institution has the unique distinction of having its origin in the first institution in America chartered for the instruction of women. The originator of such a revolu- tionary idea was Thomas Stanley, who conducted a small school in the village of LaGrange. He held the then unpopular opinion that girls should be given the same educational advantages that their brothers had long en- joyed. How revolutionary this idea was, may be learned from the fact that only a few years prior to this time, the General Assembly of Georgia had refused to permit the establishment of "Female Academies." However, Stanley and his friends persisted in their efforts, and possibly brought some political influence to bear on the legislative body, for on December 26, 1831, a charter was granted to LaGrange Female Academy, designating the follow- ing board of trustees: Wilson Williams, Julius C. Alford, Rufus Broome, James Herring, John L. Gage, William A. Redd, and Joseph Poythress.
As there were in existence no institutions for women empowered to con- fer degrees on women, the term academy was used to designate an institu- tion, in which the higher branches of learning were taught, but without authority to confer degrees. They were the finishing schools of the day.
This academy was established on the lot set apart by the Inferior Court of Troup County for an academy, when the town of LaGrange was laid out by them. It is shown on the plat of original LaGrange as the southwest corner of No. 11 Commons, and is the present site of No. 406 Broad Street, known in later years as the Turner home.
The academy was presided over by Thomas Stanley as first principal for two years. At the death of Stanley in 1833, John Park was chosen to succeed him, and served eight years, assisted for a time by Mrs. Ellen Stanley in the conduct of the school.
In 1843, the academy and the present site of College Hill were purchased by the Montgomery brothers, Hugh B. T., Joseph, and T. F., and the dormitory was located on the hill, and the academy building used as class- rooms.
In 1847, an application for a fuller charter was made, and was granted on December 17, 1847, and the name changed to LaGrange Female Institute. The institution retained this name until a charter amendment on December 26, 1851, when it received the present designation of LaGrange Female College.
In 1851, the "new building" was erected on the college hill for the accom- modation of classes and administration of college affairs; the cornerstone was laid on July 4, 1851, with masonic ceremonies. It was an imposing
130
HISTORY OF TROUP COUNTY
structure built on the model of the Temple of Diana at the site of the present building.
In 1857, on the 29th of January, the Montgomery brothers sold the properties to the Georgia Conference of the Methodist Church, South, and by an act of legislature of December 19, 1859, the trustees were authorized to sell the property of the Stanley buildings and site.
Fortunately this sale was not immediately consummated, for on March 28, 1860, the entire plant on the college hill was consumed by fire during the night following a concert held in the auditorium. Classes were resumed in the Stanley Building, and plans for rebuilding were at once made. The dormitory, the northern end of the present Oreon Smith Building, was com- pleted by December 20, 1860. The college building was to be completed by May 15, 1861, but the confusion from the incipient war prevented the immediate completion. The masonry work was completed, but the floors and roof unfinished. Benjamin H. Cameron was the contractor, and his corps of workmen were negro slaves trained for the work.
In 1879, the college building was completed and the classes have been held in this building since that time. This reconstruction was due to the untiring efforts of J. R. Mason, president at the time.
In 1885 began the remarkable administration of the beloved Rufus W. Smith. This covered a period of thirty years and witnessed great improve- ment in the curriculum and equipment, and a wonderful broadening of purpose and quickening of the spirit of the institution. A regular depart- ment of education was established. An annex of twenty-eight rooms, a dining hall and a modern kitchen were added to the dormitory. Electric lights were installed in 1888. Running water and bathrooms were added to the equipment. The Harriet Hawkes Building was erected in 1911 through the generosity of A. W. Hawkes in a gift of $10,000.00 for that purpose. It was during this regime that William S. Witham established a loan fund of $10,000.00 for the aid of worthy students. Alwyn M. Smith and his wife (Miss Laura Crain), both graduates of the Leipzig Conserva- tory of Music, were instrumental in placing the department of music upon a high plane of excellence.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.