Memoried Glances: LaGrange in 1915 — Roads get markers, taxes go up

Published 12:00 am Saturday, August 1, 2015

Memoried Glances

Julia Dyar

Contributing columnist

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Augusts past, 100 years ago.

From The LaGrange Reporter, 1915.

Front Page News

Cross Roads in Troup Are Marked — At every fork and cross in the public roads of Troup County designation posts are being placed so that in the future people who travel the roads of this county will be saved a maximum amount of trouble and loss of time in search of directions.

The little white posts are about 3 feet high and the cross bars bear the names of the town in black letters to which the road leads.

The carrying out of this excellent idea is being done by county funds at the rate of $2.50 per post. About 250 posts will be used throughout the county and the total cost will sum up to something like $625.

This work has been underway during the past 10 days and will probably be completed in the next two weeks.

Troup Tax Rate Will Be Raised This Year — The Troup County tax rate has been set at $8.50 for this year — $1 more per thousand than was charged last year.

The state rate has not yet been set, but a slight raise is also expected in that. The state rate last year was $4.50 and this will probably be raised to $4.75 this year, making the total tax rate for residents of Troup County about $13.25 per thousand.

The raise in the Troup County tax rate this year was made on two divisions, as follows: 50 cents added for the upkeep of public roads and 50 cents added in the appropriation for the expenses of courts, payments of jurors, coroners, public officers, litigations and quarantines. The appropriations for these two divisions last year did not cover the expenses.

On account of the decrease of $192,281 in Troup County values this year and on account of the roads throughout the county needing work this year, the additional dollar was necessarily added to the rate.

The Court House Blossoms Anew — About three or four weeks more and the Troup County court house will wear a fresh coat of “Pee Gee” Flatkoat throughout all of the interior rooms.

Most of the rooms bear new ivory coats with moss green finishings, while in a new of the rooms, other colors have been used.

Big Improvement at A. & W.P. Depot — The Atlanta and West Point Railroad Company has already begun a considerable improvement at the depot in LaGrange. The entire triangular block on which the depot is located will be tiled and the street bordering it will be paved. A granite outline has been laid and the work will be rushed to completion as soon as the making of the tiles is completed.

On account of the mud during rainy weather, the flat site of the depot has been a very undesirable place to visit. When this improvement is completed this block will be one of the prettiest in LaGrange. The work is much in keeping with the up-to-date methods by which the officers of the A. & W.P. Railroad Company have steered their road to success.

The work is being done by Nicholas Construction Company of Atlanta.

Electric Trains Placed in Service This Week — The new electric passenger service was placed in effect this week by the Macon & Birmingham railroad between Sofkee and LaGrange. The trains will be known as Nos. 5 and 6.

The new service will be operated between Sofkee and LaGrange on the same schedules as before.

It is expected that the new service will be a great improvement over the steam trains and is in line with the purpose of the M&B to give its patrons the best service it can afford. Dirt, dust and smoke, disagreeable features of the steam trains will be eliminated.

Annual Barbecue Big Event — The annual Ridley-Morgan Barbecue was held Thursday at 12 o’clock in Mr. T. A. Glanton’s Grove about 3 miles east of LaGrange on the Mountville Road.

Judge Freeman allowed an extra quarter of an hour for the dinner recess at the Troup County court house so that the jury and all could have an opportunity to attend the feast in the grove.

Pike Brothers Secure Important Contracts — In recent months Pike Brothers Lumber Company, one of the leading enterprises of LaGrange and the largest business of its kind in this section, has secured a number of important contracts.

Among these contracts awarded the local company are: School building, $40,000, Cedartown, Georgia; Auditorium, $18,000, West Point; School building, $8,000, Albany, Georgia; School building, $15,000, Hawkinsville, Georgia; Library building, $7,000, Eatonton, Georgia.

Established about 25 years ago by Messrs. F. J., J. A. and C. N. Pike, the business has made a remarkable growth and is a monument to the ability and integrity of its founders.

Julia Dyar, a retired journalist, is active in the Troup County Historical Society.