USA > Georgia > Troup County > History of Troup county > Part 7
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The early records of the city of West Point have been lost or destroyed and as a consequence, the roster of the city officials is complete from 1879 to date with the exception of those mentioned in the subject matter above.
MAYORS OF WEST POINT
1879
W. L. Williams
1896-98
J. J. Smith
1880-82
E. F. Lanier
1899-02
E. J. Collins
1883-84 W. E. White
1903-06
Philip Lanier
1885-86
J. M. Harrington
1907-08
J. H. Booker
1887
J. S. Baker
1909-18
John T. Johnson
1888 T. J. Jennings
1919-20
Mark McCulloh
1889 W. F. White
1921-22
Arch Avery
1890
T. J. Jennings
1923-30
Philip Lanier
1891-92 H. T. Woodyard
1930
H. L. Hill
1893
W. H. White
1931 --
W. E. Booker
1894-95
H. T. Woodyard
CITY CLERKS OF WEST POINT
1879
R. T. Whitaker
1894-95
T. H. Wheat
1880-84 R. A. S. Freeman
1896-98
T. J. Andrews
1885-86 Frank Lanier, Jr.
1899
T. H. Wheat
1887
Henry T. Woodyard
1900-04
H. T. Woodyard
1888 W. G. Schaefer
1905 Ed Houston
1889-90 H. T. Woodyard
1905
Scott Baker
1891 W. S. Jackson
1906-26
L. Strong
1892-93
W. G. Schaefer
1927 --
Novatus L. Barker, Jr.
HOGANSVILLE. The city of Hogansville lies on the line between the Eleventh and Twelfth Land districts. The Calumet Mills and the mill vil- lage is in land lot No. 96, the churches and residence section in No. 97, and the southeastern part of the city in No. 128 of the Eleventh District; the central southern part in No. 9, the business section in No. 10, and the High School and Stark Mills in No. 11 of the Twelfth District; the western side of the city in Nos. 22, 23 and 24 of the Twelfth. The location is that of the intersection of the commercial highway towards Augusta before the coming of railroads and the old Indian trail which connected the McIntosh Reserve with the Creek towns on the lower reaches of the Chattahoochee
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HISTORY OF TROUP COUNTY
and the Flint rivers. At an early date a large part of the site of the city was the property of William Hogan, for whom the town was named.
The early history of Hogansville is a record of a community gathered around the churches and school and the mill of Daniel Norwood on Yellow Jacket Creek near the present station of Trimble. Among the names secured from old deeds and records are found the following pioneers: Uriah Askew, Joseph N. Boyd, John Brooks, Zadoc J. Daniel, Silas N. Davis, Hartsfield Hendon, William Hogan, William Hopson, Martin Jenkins, Mordecai John- son, John A. Jones, James M. McFarlin, William Mobley, Alfred P. Norwood, Daniel Norwood, William D. Phillips, Samuel S. Reid, John W. Scoggins, John Sims, John Trimble, Henry Wideman, and many others whose names were overlooked or not found in the records.
The incorporation of the town was deferred until long after the com- munity was a recognized business center, and was dated October 12, 1870, when James M. Hurst, Joel J. Loftin, W. H. C. Pace, John T. Pullin, Warren Bacchus, and Benjamin W. Morton were appointed commissioners and a body corporate under the name and style of Town Council of the town of Hogansville. The corporate limits at that time were circular with a radius of three-fourths of a mile with the railroad depot as a center; however, the radius was reduced to a half mile on February 28, 1876; and on December 17, 1901, the present rectangular limits were established. The intersection of the center line of the street and the main line of railroad track is the point from which measurements are made. The distance toward the east, south and west is three-fourths of a mile, towards the north seven- tenths of a mile; the sides of the rectangle are due east and west, and north and south.
At the time this community was settled, the whole country was in forest, and Andrew Pickens Norwood used to relate that the only clearing was that of a corn patch located about a mile northeast on the west side of the present highway on land now owned by Warner Smith, which was the site of an Indian village.
In those early days the nearest cotton market was Augusta, and the trans- portation was by means of wagons. These market trips were great events, and there was usually a considerable train of wagons, camping on the road- side by night, for it required several days to make the trip. On the return trip they brought back such necessities and luxuries as would be used for the year until another caravan set forth.
Daniel Norwood, the father of Andrew Pickens Norwood, migrated from South Carolina to Georgia in 1828, and settled about three miles north
59
MUNICIPALITIES
of Hogansville, and built the old Norwood mill about two miles east of Hogansville on Yellow Jacket Creek near the present station of Trimble. The dam was constructed of granite quarried from a large outcrop near the mill. This mill was patronized by the settlers for miles in all directions.
The completion of the Atlanta and West Point Railroad in the early fifties centered the activities of the community near the railroad station, and the town began to attract the settlers from the surrounding country as a good place to engage in different kinds of business.
After the demoralization incident of the War Between the States and the subsequent carpet-bag rule, the community commenced its stride with the incorporation of Hogansville as a town on October 12, 1870, and one of the first enterprises of the new town was the establishment of a supply and general merchandise store by Morton and Trimble, a firm composed of Captain Benjamin Morton and W. S. Trimble, which firm brought the first carload of commercial fertilizer to Hogansville.
This period was also the beginning of tenant farming and crop mortgage system, which grew through the seventies, eighties and nineties, and reached the culmination in disaster in 1920, when post-war deflation, assisted by boll weevil depredations, finished the task of demolition of the farm supply business. During the heyday of prosperity Hogansville became known as one of the best cotton markets in western Georgia, and the merchants of the town sold supplies to a large part of the counties of Troup, Heard, Coweta and Meriwether. It was the nearest railroad point to Franklin, the county seat of Heard County, sixteen miles distant, and also the same distance to Greenville, the county seat of Meriwether County. All freight and passenger traffic as well as the mails for these two towns and the adjacent territory came through the Hogansville offices.
In 1881, R. M. Farrar, T. M. Sikes, Frank Word, John Word and W. S. Trimble incorporated and built the Hogansville Cotton Oil Mill, the first such plant in the county. Soon afterward Edward Atkinson of Boston on a visit to the Cotton Exposition in Atlanta conceived the idea of build- ing a model ginnery, and of setting an example to the cotton farmers of improved ginnery methods, whereby the farmers would get a premium price for their staple. This large plant added to the gins already in opera- tion, and the great facilities afforded by Frank Word's large warehouse, made Hogansville a popular cotton market, both for buyer and for seller.
The merchants and Farmers Bank was incorporated on December 8, 1888, by W. S. Hendon, J. H. Covin, E. Mobley, C. K. Bass and J. F. Mobley, and the Hogansville Banking Company at a later date.
60
HISTORY OF TROUP COUNTY
The oldest business in Hogansville is the carriage and wood-working shop established in 1868 by William Prather, and successively by his son E. C. Prather maintained, and at present by the grandson, O. W. Prather. The drug store now owned and operated by the Daniel Drug Company was established about the same time, but was at first owned and operated by Dr. W. D. Boozer.
The schools of Hogansville have always been the mainstay and pride, and lists among the instructors such substantial and well-equipped men as George Looey, John H. Covin, who taught as many as three generations in some families, A. F. Trimble, W. S. McCarty, H. W. Wooding, and two superior women, Mrs. J. H. Covin, a friend to every one, and Mrs. John Daly, who in her private school, and in many cases without remuneration, equipped large numbers of boys and girls with knowledge to secure positions and to earn their own living.
In 1900 R. W. Trimble established the Trimble Brick Company two and one-half miles east of Hogansville on the railroad with a capacity of eight to ten million brick per year, and giving employment to about fifty men. The clay from which the brick were made was found in the low lands along Yellow Jacket Creek near the station of Trimble. The plant operated continuously for twenty-eight years until 1929, and furnished the brick for nearly all the cotton mills throughout this territory.
In 1902, R. W. Trimble developed the quarry near Trimble, which was operated by the Yellow Jacket Quarry Company. Approximately three hundred thousand tons of crushed stone was shipped from this quarry to the Atlanta and West Point Railroad to be used for ballast, and to contrac- tors for concrete mixing. Forty thousand tons were used for the sea wall at Mobile, Alabama. The brick depot built at Trimble to care for the business of the brick-yard and the quarry, was erected on the site of the original Speer's spur track.
On August 12, 1919, the charter of Hogansville was amended by the General Assembly of Georgia, and the town of Hogansville was thereafter known as the City of Hogansville. This city now boasts of a paved street, an excellent system of public schools, water and sewer conveniences, electric lights, and is a real city.
MAYORS OF HOGANSVILLE
1902-03 J. F. Askew
1911-14 W. G. Davis
1904-06 S. A. Davis
1915-22 J. F. Askew
1907-08 Edwin Trippe 1923
J. H. Melson
1909 J. F. Askew
1924-30 G. G. Daniel
1910 J. F. Jones
1931- Charles A. Smith
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MUNICIPALITIES
CITY CLERKS OF HOGANSVILLE
1902-04 W. C. Matthews
1915
J. W. Smith
1904-06 W. D. Zachry
1916-20 R. H. Utting
1907 Thomas J. Jones 1921
M. A. Shackelford
1908-09 W. C. Matthews 1922-23 W. P. Arnold
1910 W. S. Hendon
1924-29 R. H. Utting
1911-14 D. I. Daniel
1930 -- Charles T. Hightower
MOUNTVILLE. Mountville was so named because it is the most elevated spot in the county-a little city set upon a hill. It is located on land lot 202 of the seventh land district, on a part of 183 on the eastern side, and a part of 215 on the west side. Land lot 202 was drawn by Neal McRea in the land lottery on March 12, 1827; it came into the possession of Joseph H. Green, of which transaction there is no public record, and was bought by Daniel Davis on December 4, 1832. The first store of the community was built by Daniel Davis in land lot 202 at the intersection of the old trail from Cowetah Town on the Chattahoochee across King's Gap to McIntosh Reserve in Carroll County and the trail from Indian Springs, the capital, to West Point (Franklin) and Alabama points. This store was also the post office, and Daniel Davis was the first postmaster.
All of the houses at this early period were two-room log cabins with stick and mud chimneys. Other stores were soon built at this advantageous point. All the stores sold whiskey and on Saturday afternoons there was many a "fist and skull" fight in consequence. Horse races were held at Mountville on possibly the first race track in the county.
Daniel Davis donated the site of the first school of the community, and Dr. Joseph Bradfield gave five acres of land on which Mount Pleasant Church was built.
At a later date Isaac Fincher built a two-story wood shop, at which were made wagons, buggies and furniture. Some of the furniture may be found in the homes of Mountville at this day. J. N. Carlton, who came from Vermont, was an assistant in the shop. He also taught school, Sunday School, made coffins and buried the dead. He was also a splendid nurse and ministered to the sick in the entire neighborhood.
At the time of Sherman's march to the sea, a company of his cavalry passed through Mountville just at sunset. Wheeler's cavalry came in ad- vance of Sherman's and had already requisitioned food for themselves and their horses. When Sherman's cavalry demanded and took food for the men and feed for their horses, one citizen, Wilson, objected to supplying them, so they took what they wanted and then burned his house.
62
HISTORY OF TROUP COUNTY
At one time Barnum and Bailey's Circus camped at Mountville over night, and watered the animals from the wells. One of the elephants broke loose during the night and created a great deal of excitement.
Mountville community is probably the oldest settlement of Troup County, although it was not incorporated as a town until November 29, 1897. The settlers are of Anglo-Saxon and Scotch-Irish descent, and have always been noted for their generosity and kindness, for the fear of God, and for the art of plain living and high ideals.
Among the early settlers are noted the following: William Beasley, Hiram Bird, Nathan V. Boddie, Thomas Evans, William Evans, Benjamin Fincher, Cornelius P. Marchman, Daniel Owens, Jacob Thrash, David Wat- son. To these were added at a later date: G. V. Boddie, Dr. Joseph Brad- field, John Carlton, Robert and Millard Fincher, Judge Hightower, Wilson Partridge, Boss Woodward, the families of Florence, Harmon and Nance and many others.
ANTIOCH. This former thriving community, wishing to have power to control the sale of whiskey in their vicinity, secured an act of the legislature for the incorporation of the little town on December 30, 1851. The town was located in land lot 30 of the 15th district, and the radius of its circular limits was one-half mile with the store of Pitts and Glass as the center of the circle.
The pioneers selected this particular locality on account of the large size of the trees, which indicated to them a great fertility of the soil. The names of the early citizens include many families, which took an important part in the development of the county. Associated with this community are the names of Robert Allen, Jack Bassett, J. T. Boykin, G. W. Birdsong, H. H. Cary, W. P. Edmondson, Jacob Freeman, Wash Formby, Thomas M. Floyd, Henry Goss, Willis Greene, Smith Horsley, Wade Hill, Jack Hender- son, B. C. Johnson, James Mallory, Elihu Pitts, Wiley Rowland, E. A. Reid, J. B. Reid, William Strong, William Samples, James Taylor, Jerry Tucker, Charles Vickers, Archie Whatley, Willis Whatley, John Wilkes, Hamp Wis- dom, J. T. Whitley, Thomas Winn, James Wilder, L. H. Young, and many others.
The first settler on the west side of the Chattahoochee River was Abram Ingram; Captain Jack Estes was the second, and Nimrod B. Yarbrough was the third. The first white child born on the west side of the river was Frank Johnson.
VERNON. The town of Vernon, which the promoters hoped would be the county seat of Troup County, was laid off in land lot 256 of the 5th district, and was on the river front of the east side of the Chattahoochee. The promoters were Wiley J. Sterling, John E. Gage, an Inferior Court
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MUNICIPALITIES
judge, and Henry Faver. The number of citizens purchasing lots are not known, but the following secured deeds to lots in Vernon: John E. Gage, Wiley J. Sterling, James M. Rawson, Henry Faver, John Bostock, Josiah M. Bonner, Nancy Banks, John Lassiter, William A. Lyle, Robert Alexander, Robert Benton, James M. Ransom, Willis Benton, William D. Sherod, Willis Currey, Ira Allen, Abner C. Dozier, and perhaps others not recorded.
A church lot was deeded for the organization of a congregation; an academy was chartered as Vernon Academy; a ferry was put into operation, the approach to which can still be seen on the edge of the Meadors Camp.
Imagination alone can picture the transformation that the disagreement of five Inferior Court judges circumvented: the river transportation, the deviation of later railroads, and a host of other changes in the present Troup County, had Vernon been chosen as county seat.
Just north of the crossing of the A. B. & C. Railroad over the Chatta- hoochee River once was the site of the forgotten town of Vernon, and the only present reminder is the names of two militia districts, East Vernon and West Vernon, but the promoters and owners and the town are among the things gone and forgotten.
CHAPTER VIII. TROUP COUNTY LOCALITIES
OR THE convenience of those who have little familiarity with the various places or localities in the county, the following list includes most of the places, some of which have almost lost their identity.
ABBOTTSFORD. In L.L. 66 of 15th district, a station on the A. B. & C. Railroad. Take the McGee Bridge Road, turn left just across the bridge; about ten miles. Or cross Glass Bridge and take first right. Further.
ANTIOCH. In L.L. 30 of 15th district. Cross McGee Bridge and go straight ahead, at ten miles turn left. About fifteen miles.
BIG SPRINGS. In L.L. 252 of 7th district, a station on A. B. & C. Rail- road. Take No. 1 highway south, cross Long Cane Creek, then take the first left; straight ahead at church, do not turn right. About nine miles.
BRIDGES ON THE CHATTAHOOCHEE. See each of these in their alphabetic order: (1) McGee, or Sterling, Bridge; (2) Mooty Bridge; (3) Glass Bridge; (4) West Point Bridge.
BAUGH CROSSROAD. In L.L. 181 of 4th district. On the Whitesville, or old U. S., road, the second crossroad after crossing Long Cane Creek. About nine miles.
BROWN CROSSROAD. In L.L. 181 of 12th district. On No. 1 highway north at intersection of Philpot Ferry Road from Hogansville. About eleven miles.
CANNONVILLE. In L.L. 96 of 5th district. Take No. 14 highway west for seven miles at filling station, turn left then straight ahead across one crossroad. About twelve miles.
CENTER SCHOOL. In L.L. 191 of 5th district. Take No. 14 highway west for about eight and one-half miles. On highway.
GABBETTVILLE. In L.L. 187 of 5th district, a station on A. & W. P. Railroad. Take No. 14 highway west, and take left about a half mile beyond Long Cane churches. About eleven miles.
GLASS BRIDGE. In L.L. 302 of 5th district. Take No. 14 highway west for six miles (not Teaver Road at five miles), turn right and straight ahead. About nine miles.
GRAY HILL SCHOOL. In L.L. 37 of 5th district. Take Whitesville Road at six miles, turn right (Hardin Crossroad) and straight ahead. May also be reached from Gabbettville. About ten miles.
HARDIN CROSSROAD. In L.L. 155 of 4th district. Take Whitesville Road, the first crossroad after passing Long Cane Creek. About six miles.
HARRISONVILLE. In L.L. 119 of 12th district. Take Young Mill Road, straight ahead for eleven miles to crossroad. About eleven miles.
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TROUP COUNTY LOCALITIES
HILLCREST SCHOOL. In L.L. 219 of 12th district. Take No. 1 high- way north, on the highway. About seven miles.
HOGANSVILLE. In L.L. 10 of 12th district, a station on A. & W. P. Railroad. Take No. 14 highway north. About thirteen miles.
KNOTT. In L.L. 158 of 6th district. Take road to southeast that passes Georgia Power station, keep left or due east. About seven miles.
LAGRANGE. In L.L. 109 of 6th district. Intersection of railroads and of No. 1 and No. 14 highways.
LIBERTY HILL. In L.L. 79 of 14th district. Take Mooty Bridge Road, and first left beyond the river, then straight ahead. About fourteen miles. Or McGee Bridge Road to Antioch, but do not turn left at ten miles.
LONG CANE. In L.L. 214 of 5th district. Take No. 14 highway, on highway two churches at crossroad. About ten miles.
LOUISE. In L.L. 3 of 6th district, station on A. & W. P. Railroad. Take No. 14 highway northeast. About seven miles.
LOYD CHAPEL. In L.L. 152 of 5th district. Take Glass bridge road, note church and cemetery. About seven miles.
MCGEE BRIDGE. Also called Sterling Bridge. In L.L. 146 of 5th dis- trict. Take No. 14 highway west to city limits; just across railroad take right and keep to right for all forks and turns. About six miles.
MIDWAY. In L.L. 121 of 14th district. McGee Bridge Road, then straight ahead with no turns. About thirteen miles.
MOOTY BRIDGE. In L.L. 263 of 12th district. Take No. 1 highway, take the left beyond cemetery in city limits, keep the main road straight ahead to river, passing Ware Crossroad. About nine miles.
MOUNTVILLE. In L.L. 202 of 7th district. Due east on Greenville Street the highway is No. 109. About ten miles.
OAK GROVE SCHOOL. In L.L. 170 of 3rd district. Take No. 1 high- way, turn right at seven miles (Pleasant Grove); cross Flat Shoals and Polecat creeks and then take the first left. About fifteen miles.
PLEASANT GROVE. In L.L. 86 of 4th district. Take No. 1 highway south, on highway. About seven miles.
PLEASANT HILL SCHOOL. In L.L. 86 of 15th district. Take road to Abbottsford, on the north side of road in the town. About eleven miles.
PYNE. In L.L. 198 of 5th district, a stop on A. B. & C. Railroad. Take the McGee Bridge Road, and take the left at four and one-half miles at Tatum School. About six miles.
ROSEMONT SCHOOL. In L.L. 51 of 4th district. Take No. 1 highway south, on highway. About eight miles.
SALEM. In L.L. 40 of 4th district. Take No. 1 highway south, turn right at Pleasant Grove; keep right at forks, crossing Flat Shoals, Polecat,
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HISTORY OF TROUP COUNTY
and Turkey creeks, passing Smith Mill; then keep left and straight ahead. About fourteen miles.
STERLING BRIDGE. Also called McGee Bridge, which see.
TATUM SCHOOL. In L.L. 137 of 5th district. Take McGee Bridge Road, in sight of road on left. About five miles.
TROUP FACTORY. In L.L. 15 of 4th district. Take No. 1 highway, located on highway at Flat Shoals Bridge. About ten miles.
TRIMBLE. In L.L. 34 of 11th district, a station on A. & W. P. Railroad. Take No. 14 highway north, turn right from pavement about two and one-half miles above Hogansville.
UNION, OR JONES CROSSROAD. In L.L. 199 of 4th district. On the Harris County line. Take Whitesville Road straight ahead. About thirteen miles.
VERNON. In L.L. 256 of 5th district. Take road to Pyne, and straight ahead to overhead bridge over railroad, take road through gate just this side of above bridge, and keep left to river. About eight miles.
WARE CROSSROAD. In L.L. 248 of 12th district. Take Mooty Bridge Road to the first crossroad. About six miles.
WEST POINT. In L.L. 58 of 16th district, terminus of three railroads. Take No. 14 highway west. About sixteen miles from LaGrange.
WHITFIELD CROSSING. In L.L. 29 of 6th district, on highway. Take No. 14 highway north, first crossroad. About six miles.
CHAPTER IX. TROUP COUNTY MILITARY
IMI ILITIA. The original military plans of the State of Georgia included the idea of companies formed in communities. The membership of each company was limited to citizens of a given militia district. There are fourteen of such districts in the county at present, but the number of militia companies was probably twelve. Salem district was created in 1910 as No. 1689, and had no company. Pool's Mill District was created in 1853, and the existence of the thirteenth company in this district is doubt- ful. There was in the county a full complement of the battalion and regi- mental officers, such as Adjutants, Majors and Colonels.
The companies were required to assemble for drill at intervals, the mini- mum of which was once each quarter of the year, and the date was called "Muster Day." The roll was called and absentees summoned and punish- ments meted unless sufficient excuses were rendered. Drills were conducted in the school of the soldier and in the manual of arms and also included the use of the bayonet for such soldiers as possessed such a weapon. Many a huntsman appeared at muster with his own long rifle with the hexagon- shaped barrel, while others brought their short carbines, and during the manual of arms, a queer ragged line of long and short weapons was dis- played. Nevertheless, the American soldier of early days was ever a hunts- man, and each man was a crack shot with his own pet firearm. The drill- masters were chosen from the veterans of the Revolution, or of the War of 1812, or the Texas War of Independence of 1836. The Mexican War of 1848 added to the military experience of those who volunteered for that service, among whom may be mentioned James A. Norwood and James R. Gates. The manual of tactics used at the time of the Civil War was that of Captain Hardee, which was later replaced by that of Upton.
UNIFORMS. The uniform of the commissioned officers was distinctly different from that of the rank and file, which difference, together with the bearing of side arms, made officers an easy mark for sharpshooters, and accounts for the relatively heavy mortality among the officers in all major engagements. In addition to the fatigue uniform, which was used for active duty, many companies boasted a dress uniform for parades and state occasions, and Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like some of these: brilliant colors, waving plumes and numerous rows of shiny brass buttons. The Confederate uniforms were gray, and that of the Union soldiers a dark blue. The World War soldiers used a khaki uniform. Swords were dis- carded, and shoulder straps and chevrons made less conspicuous during the World War, especially during active duty.
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