Newspaper Page Text
Perry
Advances in communication and
transportation positively impacted
the struggling economy. In 1870,
John T. Waterman established the
first newspaper, the Home Journal,
still in business today. In the same
year, a telegraph service and a spur of
the Southwestern Railroad connect
ed Perry with outside markets.
Diversified farming replaced the
dependency upon cotton for money.
The Home Journal, Jan. 16,1875, lists
in addition to cotton, cash crops of
rice, wheat, rye barley, oats, sweet pota
toes, Irish potatoes, wine, cane syrup,
clover hay, tobacco, peanuts, vegeta
bles, berries, dried apples and peaches.
The propagation of the Elberta
peach coupled with advancements in
refrigerated rail cars created a com
pletely new farming industry. Fresh
peaches could then be shipped north
where there was money and a ready
market. Many small farms included
peach orchards and packing sheds.
With economics improving, there
was some time again for aesthetics.
The Houston Literary Association
formed a public library and reading
club stocked with 900 books at
Library Hall. In 1879, Houston
County celebrated its first well-pub
licized Agricultural Fair in Perry, a
cooperative project. When the
Methodist South Georgia conference
met in Perry, families of every
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f73c*f \s4 , JHS€V4? to its citizens
You are invited to the big party!
2:00 - 3:00 p.m., Friday November 19,1999 at City Hall
Governor Roy Barnes, Honored Guest
Special Music provided by the Award Winning
Perry High School Pride of the Crossroads Band
denomination entertained its dele
gates in their homes. Ladies who
accompanied their husbands here
met at the Perry Presbyterian Church
and formed the Methodist
Missionary Society.
In 1887, sons of Confederate vet
erans organized a local military unit,
the Perry Rifles. They operated
much as the old militia units had
with monthly meetings and summer
encampments. In 1898 the unit vol
unteered for the Spanish American
War, but were not called. Even so,
many individuals served in Cuba as
members of the Georgia Volunteers
and volunteered again for service in
World War I with more than 600
men from Houston County.
On the home front attention
turned to needed publish services. In
1889 the Perry Council petitioned
the Legislature for two tax-supported
schools, “one white and one colored”
according to the laws of Georgia.
That year Perry’s first street lights
actually 11 kerosene lamps were lit in
the evenings and turned off each
morning. Children, enchanted by
the nighttime glow, often followed
lamplighters Bill Harrison and Bill
Russell as they lit each lamp. In 1895
the people of Perry voted to issue
bonds for the installation of the
town’s first waterworks.
Another definite sign of progress
was the emergence of banks. The
Perry Loan and Savings Bank opened
in 1889 with an authorized capital of
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Hometown Heros - This 1947 Perry High basketball team was the first team from Houston County
to win a state championship. They were coached by Eric Staples, Americas winningest high school coah,
who led teams to eight state championships and 16 regional championships, winning 924 games, and
losing only 198. Staples was inducted into the Georgia Prep Sports Hall of Fame in 1957.
City of Perry 175th Birthday, Nov. 17, 1999, Houston Home Journal
$25,000 after operating two years
without stock and with only $2,000
in deposits. This financial institution
Continued from page 2B
later merged with Houston Banking
See PERRY, Page 1 IB
3B