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Sketch of Perry History Touches Early High Points
CITY NAMED FOR
NAVY HERO
When Houston county was first
opened in 1821 to settlement, a
number of families settled upon
the eastern bank of the beautiful
stream then called by its Indian
name, Ochlahatchie, which means
“Big Indian” and by this letter
name it was called.
The names of some of the first
Perry families are Cobb, Culler,
Cooper, Cox, Duncan, Felder,
Furlow, Mann. McGehee, Scar
borough, Heyward, Rice, Talton,
Hodges, Baskin, Johnson, Smith,
Killen, Outlaws King, Havis,
Strong, Monger, Rudd, Norwood,
Stanley, Belvin, Giles, Chastain,
Spivey. Kelley, Tharpe, Patten,
and others.
This settlement they called
Perry in honor of Commodore
Oliver Hazard Perry, the hero of
the battle of Lake Erie. Shortly
after the incorporation in 1821 of
Houston county, Perry was se
lected as a county site and in 1824
it was incorporated. A wooden
building was used as a court
house until 1856 when a brick
structure was erected on the pub
lic square of the town.
Schools Always Good
Perry from its early history has
been noted for the excellence of
its schools and the culture of its
people. The Perry Baptist Fe
male Seminary—name changed
in 1853 to Houston Female Col
lege was largely patronized by
the citizens of Perry and the
surrounding counties. Perry at
the same time contained an ex
cellent school for boys.
These two separate schools
were combined in 1889 when the
town adopted a public school
system. In 1897 the town purch
ased the property of Houston Fe
male College, enlarged the
grounds, purchased and erected
additional buildings.
Three denominations, Method
ists, Baptists, and Presbyterians,
DANNENBERG’S
1867 FOR 84 YEARS 1951
i
MORE THAN A STORE ... A COMMUNITY INSTITUTION
✓ 1 |
Way back in 1867 ue began to build
our circle of customer-friends. For 34
years Middle Georgi Citizens . . High
and Low . . Rich and Peer . . Honor
ed and Unsung have entered our doors
to complete transactions that were
mutually satisfactory. t-*ach year , . . the number of our
friends has grown until today Dan
nenberg’s stands as a symbol of
Friendship and Service to thousands
of families. More than brick and
stone . mote than shelf and counter
. mere than a store , . .
A INSTITUTION |
iill
At Poplar Macon, Ga.
have from the earliest period of
the history of the town maintain
ed flourishing churches which
have shed their beneficient influ
ence over not only the town but
the surrounding community.
Two Infantry Companies
Perry, at the commencement of
the War Between the States, sent
, tw'o Infantry Companies, one
! called Southern Rights Guards,
commanded by Capt. John A.
Houser, the other called the
Houston Volunteers, commanded
by Capt. Charles T. Goode. The
Southern Rights Guards after
serving for 12 months, the period
of enlistment, disbanded and
from its personnel was organized
a battery of Artillery command
ed by Capt. Joseph ,M. Palmer,
who was its commander until
promoted to major when it was
commanded by Capt. M. W. Hav
is and known as Havis Battery,
and this battery and the Houston
Volunteers served until the final
surrender.
In the latter part of the war
another Infantry Company under
the command of Capt. John H.
Powers was organized and serv
ed until the end of the war. All
of these companies acquitted
themselves most nobly and there
stands a splendid monument
erected by the Daughters of the
Confederacy on the public square
of the town which commemo
rates the services of those heroes.
Rifles Outstanding
In 1886 there was formed by
the young men of Perry, under
the command of Capt. W. C. Dav
is, an Infantry Company called
the Perry Rifles, which in a short
period of time became the best
company in the state, won two
first prizes and one second prize
—and this despite the fact that
all of the others competing were '
from towns of much larger pop
ulation.
Capt. W. C. Davis and Lt. C. E. 1
Gilbert of this company, both i
volunteered and served in the i
Spanish American War of 1898 as 1,
captains of infantry companies.
Dr. L. A. Felder, a member of
the Perry Rifles, also served in
this w’ar as a surgeon with the
rank of captain. The company
was commanded by Capt. R. L.
Cater from 1900 to 1908 the year
oof its voluntary disbandment.
f When the U. S. entered World
War I against Germany, Perry
furnished not only its quota of
men but an active and enthusias
tic chapter of the Red Cross was
formed. Large contributions were
made by this chapter for the sol
diers and to those who suffered
by the war.
World War I Officers
Perry furnished the following
officers: Col. Courtney H. Hodg
es of the regular army; Capt.
Samuel N. Hodges, brother of
Col. Hodges; Lts. S. A. Nunn, E.
Holtzclaw, Ben C. Holtzclaw Jr.;
and T. Cater Rogers.
Col. Troup Miller of the reg
ular army and Major James
Palmer of Macon, Ga., both vet
erans of World War I, were born
In Perry.
The Masonic Order in Perry
has always had a large and
active membership and in 1893
erected a large two-story brick
building part of the upper story
of which is used for lodge pur
poses, the remainder for offices
and mercantile establishments.
The Daughters of the Confed
eracy and Daughters of the Am
erican Revolution have large and
active memberships.
Public Figures
Perry has furnished to the state
numbers of men who have rank
ed high in its legal, educational
and civil life: Howell Cobb, au
thor of Cobb’s Statutes and
Forms; James M. Kelly .first re
porter of the Supreme
Gen. Eli Waren, a distinguished
lawyer; Judge C. C. Duncan, who
wrested the county from carpet
bag rule during the Reconstruc
tion Period after, the war, while
a member of the Legislature;
Judge IT. M. Holtzclaw, president
■ (jSi s J&iCKL |
POINT PETER IN 1911—This mammoth oak stood at the corner
of Houston Lake Drive and Swift Street. It was 90 years old at
the time the picture was taken. The circumference of the trunk
was 20 feet and of its foliage 286 feet. It died and was removed
during the 19205.
MARBLE GROUNDS
A favorite place of the Perry
youngsters shooting marbles sev
eral years ago was on the side
walk on Ball Street beside Dr.
R. L. Cater’s drug store and of
fice—the building since occupied
by Kicklighter-Akin Drugs be
fore they moved into their new
place. A big chinaberry tree
made the marble ground shady
and cool.
of Houston Female College; Bu
ford M. Davis, one of the great
lawyers of the state; Judge A. L.
Miller, distinguished lawyer, jur
ist and statesman; Judge W. D.
Nottingham, lawyer and jurist,
Thomas S. Felder and Warren
Grice, prominent lawyers who
were born in Perry and held the
office of Attorney General of the
state; and many others.
The railroad from Fort Valley
to Perry, a branch of the Central
of Georgia Railroad, was built in
1872. Perry is also at the junc
tion of two national highways.
Routes 41 and 341, and State
highway No. 7.
"Gassin' Up',
Was Big Job
In Old Days
Back in 1910, when the “tin
lizzies” were just coming out and
only a few people were sporty
enough to try one, they used
some peculiar gasoline pumps
that looked like they should be
out behind the house. There were
two or three of these around Per
ry.
The pumps housed in a little
wooden shed and would deliver
a few gallons at a time, either
through a hose or into a can,
which then was poured into the
Model T.
Dr. B. C. Holtzclaw was credit
ed with having the first gasoline
pump outside of his drug store
and doctor’s office.
In those days the problem of
getting five gallons of gas into a
car was pretty serious. Every
body on the front seat had to get
out. The seat had to be removed
so the gasoline man could get to ,
the tank. He took off the tank |
cap. went into the pump shed,
unreeled the hose, went back into
the pump house and started
pumping until the clock-like reg
ister showed the desired gallon
age.
Then he came out, reeled in the
hose, put the, cap on the tank, re
placed the seat and pronounced
everything in readiness for the
riders to return to the front seats.
Back in those too, Tom j
Anderson, father Aubrey An- i
derson of Perrv. Stand
ard Oil —the first tr i,
come to F : s deliver} I
method was a mu la -driven tank ;
that carried 1 40 gallons. He later ,
switched to a motor-driven tank
truck.
W, F. Bennett was the first
gasoline man in Perry and ho
used the mule-driven tank meth
od, too.
New Courthouse
Is Third One
For the County
The new $325,000 Houston co.
courthouse is the third court
house that the county has had.
First courthouse was a tWo
i story frame structure built in
1824 and 1875 by James H. Kil
len, uncle of W. F., T. M., and
G. W. Killen. The brick to under
pin this courthouse were made in
the street at the site between
where the residences of William
Brunson and T. M. Killen were
later located.
This wooden building was used
until 1856 when a brick structure
was erected on the town square.
It was that brick building whose
■ foundations and walls were
crumbling away when it was
torn down in 1948 to make way
for the new.
Mrs. Edith Bossier
Is County Nurse
Mrs. Edith H. Rossier, Regis
tered Nurse, is the county health
nurse, operating the health pro
gram since March 2, 1950.
She was a native of Indiana
and lived in Perry since during
the war, while her husband, Hen
ry B. Rossier, was employed at
Warner Robins Field. He is again
working at Robins Field.
Mrs. Rossier is a member of
the Baptist Church, the Red Cross
and of the Georgia Nurses Associ
ation, and the State Public Health
Association.
HOME JOURNAL, PERRY, GA., THURSDAY, JULY 19, 1951
Ist Stage Coach
Forerunner of
Modern Transport
Since the first stage coach
into Perry was greeted in 1849
by wide-eyed crowds who had
never seen anything like it, the
history of Perry has been close
ly tied to highway transporta
tion.
Four horses, driven by John
Gordon, came rolling and
rocking in from Hawkinsville
in 1849. It was the first stage
coach seen in Perry and it was
part of the coach line running
from Macon to Tallahassee,
Fla.
As the junction of two major
national highways, U. S. Routes
41 and 341, and State Highway
7, Perry has long been an im
portant tourist stop, providing
excellent hotel and tourist court
accommodations.
Greyhound busses provide
several schedules a day to both
north and south main lines and
business and industrial inter
ests are served by many truck
and transport lines running
through the city.
Dr. Kenneth J. Foreman
One of the nation’s recognized
Biblical authorities writes about
t
"The Bible Speaks "
THIS WEEK
’ "'pr- -
•I ‘ ’ ■ *
\ Gcwfdime* of
I
I Burden-Smith & Co.
"Macon’s Own Store"
*
y
I Headquarters for:
... Men’s, Women’s,
Children’s Apparel
... Accessories
... Piece Goods
... Homefurnishings
... 1 inens, Domestics
352 Third S;reei
Office Dial 5-57 i 5
.
Mrs. Dobbins,
Mrs. Andrew Due
Appreciation
To Mrs. H. P. Dobbins and Mrs.
C. B. Andrew, the editor and
publisher of The Home Journal
acknowledges with deep gratitude
the great amount of work they
did in gathering and supervising
the History of Houston County as
written by the late Judge War
ren Grice of Macon, former Geor
gia Attorney General whose fore
bears made many contributions to
this area.
It would not have been pos
sible to have put together this
anniversary edition without the
notes that they furnished us and
without reference to the only
copy of the History now known
to be in Houston county. Another
copy is in the library at Mercer
University, Macon, Ga.
Among the many who assisted
in gathering material for that
history, we were interested in
noting that Miss Norine Swanson
and Felton Norwood read the
files of The Home Journal back
to 1870 —a voluminous collection
which the present editor and pub
lisher has not had time to read
entirely but which we hope to do
some day.
We think all of the people of
Houston county and many who
have gone out from this county
owe a great debt of gratitude to
Mrs. Dobbins, Mrs. Andrew and
all who had a part in putting to
gether this fascinating historical
material.
According to the U. S. Weather
Bureau, when the weather report
is given as “scattered showers,"
approximately 30 to 45 percent of
the area mentioned will probably
get rain.
Say you saw it in The Home
Journal.