Peach County, Georgia: American History and Genealogy Project (AHGP)

Peach County, Georgia

Peach County, once known as a "Peach Paradise," was the last county created in Georgia. It was formed from Macon and Houston Counties in 1924.

As early as 1825, James Abbington EVERETT (1788-1849; a North Carolina native) set up a trading post at the coming together of two Native american trails. He named the place Fort Valley. It was incorporated in 1856.

Everett contributed greatly to the development of the Fort Valley area by donating land and money for the building of a church and school. He also persuaded the Southwestern Railroad Company to run through town. The first train arrived in 1852.

Soon, peach trees were being planted. In 1884, Samuel Henry RUMPH developed one of the most popular peaches of all time. He named the peach he created on his Willow Lake Plantation after his wife, Elberta.

By the early 1920s, one-third of Georgia's peaches were grown in Fort Valley. Businesses sprung up and did well all through the area. After all, they had to accommodate peach inspectors and brokers as well as average consumers and Peach Blossom Festival goers. This eventually declined as the railroad lost importance and much of the peach industry moved to Florida.

Helpful Addresses:

Peach County Probate Court PO Box 327 Fort Valley, GA 31030 Ph: (478) 825-2313	Peach County Clerk PO Box 468 Fort Valley, GA 31030-0468 Ph: (478) 825-2313
Peach County Chamber of Commerce The Troutman House 201 Oakland Heights Parkway PO Box 1238 Fort Valley, Georgia 31030 Ph: (478) 825-3733 Fax: (478) 825-2501	Peach County Historical Society, Inc PO Box 889 Fort Valley, GA 31030

Biographies:
- Descendants of Carolus ANDERSON
- Descendants of James J. ANDREWS

- Descendants of J. Dawson AULTMAN
- Descendants of James BASKIN
- Descendants of Jacob DECKARD
- Genealogy Report for James HARPER
- Descendants of Isaiah Samuel HOLLAND
- Descendants of James Henry MOSELEY
- Biographical Sketches for Selected Members of the PEAVY Family
- Genealogy Report for Charles Hyatt RICHARDSON (with photos!)
- Descendants of J. A. ROBERTSON
- Descendants of Henry VINSON
- Descendants of Berry YAUGHN
- 1934 Members of the American Bar

Reference Books:
- Cities, Towns, and Communities of Georgia Between 1847-1962: 8,500 Places
and the County in Which Located Compiled by Marion R. Hemperley, Deputy
Surveyor General of Georgia

Cemeteries:

Byron City	Cliett	Diamond	Lisenby	Miami
Oak Lawn	Scattergood	Walker	Williams	Willow Lake

- Confederate Cemeteries List

Census:
- 1930 Federal Census (various parts)

- 1930 Census Fact Sheet

Churches:
- The Fort Valley United Methodist Church was the first church in Fort Valley. It was organized in 1840 as the Old Pond Church.
- The First Baptist Church in Fort Valley was organized 21 Aug 1852. The pastor was Rev. J. W. Attaway, & charter members were James P. Allen, D. Jenkins, W. J. Thomas, Erastus Littlebury, Ann Mulkey, & Susan W. Thomas. Julia Flint, daughter of James P. Allen, joined in 1853. Annie Skellie (later Mrs. J. M. Gray) joined in 1855. In 1854 the first Sunday School was organized with Professor U. W. Wise as superintendent.
- In 1866, the first free African-American church was established in Fort Valley. It was named Ushers Temple C.M.E. Church. The first building burned in 1891. After rebuilding in 1895, the church was again destroyed by fire in 1958. A new building was constructed again on the same site. Click here to visit the church website.
- The Presbyterian Church of Fort Valley was est. Dec 1872. The Rev. S. S. Gaillard was the organizing minister. George W. Sturgis & I. N. Sanders were elected ruling elders. Early members of the church were the Edwin M. Browns, their daughter, Mrs. Keen and her husband W. G. Keen; the Hobbs; the Pattons; the J. L. Bozemans; the S. B. Wilsons; the Glen Visschers & their daughter Mrs. Ed Fagan; the J. W. Woolfolks; the J. F. Youngs; the Emmett Housers; & Edmond White. Early ministers include Rev. William McKay, Rev. William McKay Jr., C. B. Currie, & A. G. Irons.
- The Greater St. Peter A. M. E. Church of Fort Valley was began in 1890. Early members were Mr. & Mrs. Richard Hamilton, Mr. & Mrs. George Lightfoot, & Mr. Mrs. Jim Basin. Mr. Wynn was pastor in 1895.
- St. Andrew's Episcopal Church was built in 1897. The building and the determination to have it was the work of cabinet-maker George Harrison, who settled in Fort Valley four years after he left England. He died in 1919, and the church was considered his monument.
- Trinity Baptist Church was organized in 1912 with the Rev. C. S. Wilkins as pastor.
- Chamlee Memorial Baptist Church started as a mission of the First Baptist Church. It was constituted as the Second Baptist Church 29 Jul 1959. The members voted to rename the Church Chamlee Memorial in 1963 in honor of Dr. Aquila Chamlee. He was born in 1869 to George W. & Malinda Robertson Chamlee of Canton. In his freshman year at Mercer Univ. he served as a pastor in Dodge County. After being ordained, the young sophomore preached for churches in Hancock County. He graduated from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY.
Source: History of Peach County, Georgia. Governor Treutlen Chapter, D. A. R. 1972
- Wesley Chapel Methodist Church

- Current Church List for Byron
- Current Church List for Fort Valley

Cities, Towns, and Communities (Past and Present):

Byron

Clopine

Echeconnee

Fort Valley

Grogan

Myrtle

Powersville

Funeral Homes:

Byron Funeral Home
239 Ga Highway 49 S
Byron, Georgia 31008
Ph: (478) 956-4993

Rooks Funeral Home
109 White Rd
Byron, Georgia 31008
Ph: (478) 956-4242

Government:
- Among the first county officers were Sheriff George D. ANDERSON, Clerk of Superior Court Emmett HOUSER, Ordinary M. C. MOSELEY, Tax Receiver C. N. ROUNTREE, Tax Collector T. E. THARPE, Treasurer C. E. MARTIN, Coroner W. H. HAFER, and surveyor T. F. FLOURNOY.

Industry/Agriculture:
- Lane Southern Orchard
*founded in 1908 and was originally named Diamond Fruit Farm
- The Georgia Peach Council
- Dickey Farms established 1897
- History of the Blue Bird Bus Company
*the first school bus was built in 1927

Libraries:
- Peach Public Libraries
- Henry Alexander Hunt Memorial Library

Lookups:
- Georgia Search Angels

Peach County Mailing List

Military:
- Maj. Micah J. Jenkins Camp, Sons of Spanish American War Veterans
- World War II and Korean War Casualties

- Richard Davis (18 February 1918 - 30 January 1943) of Fort Valley, one of the original members of the 99th Pursuit Squadron, was a pilot before joining the Army. At Tuskegee, Alabama, he graduated with Class 42G, the 5th class of Tuskegee Airmen to complete training for their Army Air Force pilot wings. While waiting at Tuskegee to go overseas, he was killed in a P-40. His brother Moses, a civilian aircraft mechanic, was on duty at Tuskegee the Saturday night Richard crashed. He is buried in Fort Valley.

Miscellaneous:
- Georgia Tornadoes
- Historical Georgia Newspaper Items

Neighboring Counties:

Newspapers:
- The Fort Valley Enterprise, abt 1888
- The Fort Valley Ledger, appeared Aug 1866, published by Dennis W. Booley.
  It was later sold to J. W. Love and renamed The Fort Valley Gazette
- The Fort Valley Mirror
  est. Dec 1871 by W. T. Christopher; operations suspended Apr 1889
- The Leader Tribune
  109 Anderson Avenue
  Fort Valley, Georgia 31030
  Ph: (478) 825-2432
  ltpeachpub@aol.com
- The Nineteenth Century
  Published by Lafayette Cherry 1858 - after 1860
- The Peach County Enterprise
- The Southwest Georgian, edited by Joel R. Griffin 1870-1871

Queries:
- Genealogy Message Board GenForum
- GenForum Message Boards - Obituaries
- GenForum Message Boards - Religions
- GenForum Message Boards - Wars

Schools/Education:
- Austin's Private School, operated by Mrs. D. N. Austin
- Fort Valley Academy, chartered 24 Dec 1836
  Trustees named in charter: James A. Everett, John P. Allen, Hardy Hunter,
  Henry Kaigler, John Humphries
- Fort Valley Elementary, constructed 1955
- Fort Valley Female College, chartered 1860
  Trustees: William Skellie, James P. Allen, T. N. Killen, W. T. Thomas,
  Malachi Patterson
- Fort Valley Female Seminary est. 1852
  Board of Trustees: George W. Persons, John J. Hampton, William Asbury
  Mathews, Adolphus D. Kendrick, Miles L. Greene, William J. Anderson, D. N.
  Austin, Judson Kendrick, William H. Hollinshead, Mathew Dorsey, Benjamin
  Barnes, Robert M. Patterson, James Miller.
- Fort Valley High School (later Peach County High) was built in 1927
- Fort Valley Junior High, finished in 1967
- Fort Valley Primary (Public) School, built in 1912
- Fort Valley State University
  1005 State University Drive
  Fort Valley, GA 31030
  *The only 1890 land grant school in Georgia
- Grady Institute (Fort Valley public school), 1886
- H. A. Hunt Elementary School, built in 1954
  (Peach County Elementary School for African-Americans)
- Hunt High School (later Peach County Kindergarten), first occupied 1954
- Hunt Junior High (later L. R. Bywaters School), built in 1965
- Kay Trainable School, started in 1960
- Russell's Private School, operated by Professor Thomas Baker Russell
- Scroggs Private School, operated by Mrs. Scroggs (wife of Professor W. J.
  Scroggs, a principal of Grady Institute)
- Wesley Manual Labor School (of the County of Houston) est. 1837
  Board of Trustees included the following: James A. Everett, Alexander
  Smith, Carlton Wellborn, Donald B. Jones, Joel Walker, James Wimberly, Noah
  Long, Reuben E. Brown, James Dean, Isaac H. Smith, Daniel F. Wade, Samuel
  Jenkins, Isaac Taylor. This school was of a type popular in the 1870s.
  Since churches were too poor to finance successfully church schools for the
  training of the ministry, they adopted the idea, prevalent in England, of
  having students bear the cost of their education by "working out" their expenses.
  Source: History of Peach County, Georgia. Governor Treutlen Chapter, D. A. R. 1972

Social History:
- Crime in Georgia
- Social History Books and Links for the Georgia Researcher

Georgia Travel:
- Georgia Travel Information Guide to Historic Sites, Trails, and Parks (by county)

Submit Your Peach County, Georgia Information!
Hi! My name is Stephanie, and I have been researching my family history for several years. As time went by, I became increasingly interested in the total history surrounding my family, the places they lived, the things they experienced, and so on. This then spilled over into a general love of history, whether it involves my family or not! Therefore, by hosting Peach and several other counties in Georgia, I am fulfilling my passion. Hopefully, I am helping you fulfill yours, as well. However, we cannot do it alone. If you have information, transcriptions, photos, or just about anything you would like to submit to the Peach County, Georgia American History and Genealogy Project, please email me. I guarantee you will retain all rights to your submissions.

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Genealogy Links for Georgia Researchers
Uncover Your Peachy Past!

Awarded to Stephanie Lincecum for her AHGP Georgia Counties
August 17, 2002

This Award is given to a Georgia American History and Genealogy Project
County and it's host for Excellence in Ongoing Research and for all the
tireless hours of compiling and gathering information to be put on the
internet to help other researchers. Thanks for a job well done.

Award designed by Rhio Gillis. To see more of her work, go to Rhio's Sampler.

The American History and Genealogy Project is an unincorporated, not-for-profit network of independent sites devoted to History & Genealogy. For more information about our group, including how you can join us, please see our About page.

The American History and Genealogy Project is an unincorporated,
not-for-profit network of independent sites devoted to History & Genealogy.
For more information about our group, including how you can join us, please
see our About page.