Fort Valley Downtown and Railroad Historic District Listed in the National Register of Historic Places

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ATLANTA (August 27, 2010) - The Fort Valley Downtown and Railroad Historic District,  located in downtown Fort Valley, Peach County, Georgia, was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on August 21, 2010. The district encompasses an area roughly surrounding where the downtown commercial area (i.e., Church Street, Main Street) intersects with the railroad line.

The Fort Valley Downtown Development Authority sponsored the nomination and the preservation planner for the Middle Georgia Regional Commission prepared the nomination materials. The downtown was listed at the local level of significance for its role as the center of commerce, government, and transportation for Peach County and the surrounding region.
 
Fort Valley had its beginnings in 1834 with the establishment of a post office under the efforts of James Everett (1788-1848).  Everett also worked to bring the Southwestern Railroad to town and the line to Macon was completed in 1851.  Officially chartered in 1856, Fort Valley became the county seat when Peach County was founded in 1924.  Fort Valley's growth was based on its role as a hub for the transport of agricultural products such as cotton and peaches.  The Fort Valley Downtown and Railroad Historic District is significant for the role the railroad played in its development, especially after the invention of the refrigerated railroad car made it possible to ship crates of local Elberta peaches long distances without bruising.  Of the 10,000 railroad cars of peaches shipped out of Georgia in 1922, 3,003 came from Fort Valley. 
 
The district is also important as an example of a town that had an established gridiron street pattern altered to accommodate the arrival of the railroad.  The greatest period of growth in Fort Valley was from the 1870s through the 1920s as reflected in the establishment of businesses and construction of buildings during that time.  Fort Valley is the governmental and commercial center of Peach County.  Typically, the county seat provided for the day-to-day needs of nearby rural residents with retail stores, offices, and professional services. Several types of commercial, governmental, and railroad buildings commonly found in small Georgia towns between the mid-19th and the mid-20th centuries are located in downtown Fort Valley.
 
The district is the core of an intact railroad community.  Some of the most significant resources include three historic railroad buildings: the freight depot (circa 1871), the former passenger depot (circa 1906), and the interlocking tower/signal building (circa 1906).  Also near the railroad are the Anthoine Machine Works (circa 1920), the H.V. Kell Building (circa 1910-1912), and a former peach cull building from the late 1800s.  Three mid- to-late-19th-century houses immediately to the east of the tracks are also included in the district.  Other community landmark buildings include: the Coca-Cola Bottling Plant (1930s); the Peach County Courthouse (1936); the former post office (1930s), which now serves as the police department; the former jail (circa 1925-1930); and Fort Valley City Hall (circa 1950).  The central business district consists of two or three main blocks of mostly adjacent, one-, two-, and three-story brick buildings constructed between 1867 and the early 20th century.     
 
The National Register of Historic Places is our country's official list of historic buildings, structures, sites, objects, and districts worthy of preservation.  The National Register provides formal recognition of a property's architectural, historical or archaeological significance. It also identifies historic properties for planning purposes and insures that these properties will be considered in the planning of state or federally assisted projects.  National Register listing encourages preservation of historic properties through public awareness, federal and state tax incentives, and grants. Listing in the National Register does not place obligations or restrictions on the use, treatment, transfer, or disposition of private property. 

The Historic Preservation Division (HPD) of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources serves as Georgia's state historic preservation office. Their mission is to promote the preservation and use of historic places for a better Georgia.  HPD's programs include archaeology protection and education, environmental review, grants, historic resource surveys, tax incentives, the National Register of Historic Places, community planning and technical assistance. 

The mission of the Department of Natural Resources is to sustain, enhance, protect and conserve Georgia's natural, historic and cultural resources for present and future generations, while recognizing the importance of promoting the development of commerce and industry that utilize sound environmental practices.   
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Contact:  Helen Talley-McRae, 404-651-5268 and helen.talley-mcrae@dnr.state.ga.us
 
Photos available upon request.

Congratulations to the City of Hawkinsville which was recently designated a Preserve America community!

First Lady Michelle Obama sent a letter to 29 communities announcing their status as Preserve America Communities. The new communities, from Arkansas to Wyoming, bring the total number of designated communities to 843. Read more: http://www.preserveamerica.gov/docs/29CommunitiesAdded.pdf.

For more information about the Preserve America program and designated communities, please visit: www.preserveamerica.gov.

Saturdays, 9am-2pm - Crawford County Community Market

The Crawford County Community Market is located on the grounds of Knoxville Courthouse Square every Saturday through November.

Vendors are always welcome -- If you made it, if you grew it, you can sell it at the Market! For more information about the Market contact crawfordmarket@ymail.com or 478-957-1209.

The Civil War years and Putnam County, Georgia.

This fall, two books are being published on the Civil War years in Putnam County.  One is a collection of letters written from the battlefield which is being done by one of our members through the Duke University Press and the other is a series of books that will abstract all genealogical/civil war and legal & business notices which ran in The Countryman (the newspaper published between 1862 - 1866 on Turnwold Plantation here in Putnam County).

For more information please contact Jim Marshall, Pres. Eatonton-Putnam Co. Hist. Soc., Inc. at brerfox2@netcommander.com.