Table of Contents Page 4 County: Historical Society Page 6 : Candi Hannigan Page 7 Ball Ground: Rebecca Johnston Page 8 Canton: Rebecca Johnston Page 10 City of Holly Springs Page 11 Waleska: Rebecca Johnston Page 12 Woodstock: Preservation Woodstock Page 14 Woodstock Mural: AnnaLysa Kimball

Cover photo: Roscoe Spears and Griffin Roberts are ready to greet the public in the parts department of the one-story red brick commercial building they built on East Marietta Street in 1917 for a Ford dealership.

Acknowledgments Cherokee County Historical Society: Stefanie Joyner, Rebecca Johnston Preservation Woodstock: Samantha Daugherty, president Woodstock Artist AnnaLysa Kimball City of Holly Springs: Erin Honea Aroundabout Local Media: Candi Hannigan

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© Copyright AroundaboutLocal Media 2020 The Story of CHEROKEE COUNTY And Its Cities

roundabout Local Media recently celebrated 24 years of serving ACherokee County by bringing uplifting and local news to our neighbors while supporting local businesses. The time we spent looking through magazines dating back to 1996 left us feeling nostalgic. We started to realize that many of our newer residents — and some not-so-new — may not know the county’s history, so we created a lengthy feature in our July issues. With the help of Stefanie Joyner and Rebecca Johnston of the Cherokee County Historical Society, Samantha Daugherty of Preservation Woodstock, Erin Honea of Holly Springs, and artist AnnaLysa Kimball, we pulled together a multi-page history lesson in each magazine, focusing on the localities specific to those distribution areas. Now, we want to share that with you, all in one PDF that you can access online, for reading or printing. Feel free to study it, and impress friends and relatives with your knowledge. Or, maybe you’d like to incorporate it into your home-school curriculum.

Among the fun facts you’ll learn: • Where was Thousand Acre Woods, and what major swim/tennis community was built on it?

• Which city was home to a former U.S. secretary of state, and a renowned physicist and member of the Manhattan Project team that developed the atomic bomb?

• What area was best known for gold mining, long before the Discovery Channel made it popular?

• A descendent of became an influential leader — as a lawyer, physician, preacher and farmer — in which city?

• Which local university once was known by the name Normal College?

CHEROKEE COUNTY HISTORY 3 The story of

CHEROKEEPROVIDED BY THE CHEROKEE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY COUNTY

Native Americans have inhabited the place we call Cherokee County for thousands of years; numerous archaeological investigations reveal Cherokee County was occupied 11,000 years ago by the Paleo- Indians and then by the . During the 1700s, the Cherokee towns were self-sufficient and self-governing, and each person was a member of one of the Seven Clans of Cherokee. Continuing their efforts to adapt to white culture and keep their lands, the Cherokee established a government with the capital at nearby . Despite the national unease over who controlled the Cherokee territory, the white settlers began moving to the area in the mid-1700s and, by 1831, the new Cherokee County was created, which originally encompassed all territory west of the and north of Carroll County. Soon after A train in front of Roberts Marble Company in Ball Ground is loaded and ready to go. the formation of the county, this area was dotted with gold mines creating legislation that took their many as 10 grist mills, 14 sawmills, and encampments of miners. land and forced them out. In 1837, seven flour mills, and 12 distilleries Most miners did “placer mining,” local removal forts were built at Fort and a population of about 12,000. which included surface mining or Buffington and Sixes. In 1838, soldiers The years leading up to the Civil panning for gold in the many rivers forcibly evicted the Cherokee and War were prosperous for Cherokee and . Larger operations sent them to the forts. In Cherokee County. Agriculture was the main concentrated on mining vein County, 950 were sent from Sixes industry in the area and small farms deposits. and 450 from Fort Buffington. They dotted the landscape. As in the The best-known mines were the joined more than 15,000 on the rest of the South, whites purchased Franklin, Pascoe, and Sixes mines, and estimates say that blacks and forced them into labor. which yielded gold and other approximately 4,000 did not survive The slaves in Cherokee County minerals for decades. As the gold the journey west. made up 9% of the population and supply dwindled, many people During the mid-1800s, the of the 150 residents who owned from Cherokee County left for the Etowah Valley became the slaves, most owned fewer than four. west after gold was discovered in industrial hub of north . In Although soldiers fought no California in 1848. addition to gold, other minerals major battles in Cherokee County, During that time, Georgia and mined in Cherokee County included they did frequently forage in the the federal government continually iron ore, copper, titanium, quartz, area for supplies, and there were pressured the Cherokee Indians mica, granite and marble. During many skirmishes between the to give up their lands, until finally this time, Cherokee County had as armies. The order to burn Canton

4 CHEROKEE COUNTY HISTORY was issued in October 1864 and at cotton to larger markets and mills least half of the town was burned, flourished. Trains also made it including the courthouse and the possible for marble finishing plants bridge over the . in Ball Ground, Nelson and Canton The order may have been issued to flourish using marble quarried because Georgia Gov. Joseph E. from Pickens County. Brown had lived in Canton. Cherokee County continued For Cherokee County’s enslaved to prosper, and in the 1920s blacks, the end of the Civil War experienced a surge of growth. in 1865 brought freedom and During this decade, the population citizenship. Many former slaves grew to more than 20,000 and new worked as sharecroppers, some on construction flourished throughout the same farms they worked before the county. The new buildings the war. New black communities in Canton included the marble were settled, including Hickory Log courthouse, a post office, Canton near Canton. Some of the land in High School, and Baptist and this area was given to the freed Methodist churches. slaves by their former owners, the After the Great Depression, Keith family. which Cherokee County withstood Life was hard, though, for better on average than the rest almost everyone in Cherokee of the country, the economy County — the was over, slowly began to improve. After boomtown was attracting the attack on Pearl Harbor, men talented people and investment from Cherokee County enlisted dollars from Cherokee County, in the service and in May 1942, and the wounds of the Civil War women could join the Women’s were still fresh. When the railroad Army Corps. While the soldiers rolled into Cherokee County, it were away, the families at home opened new markets to farmers dealt with the stringent rationing and industrialists. In May 1879, of goods; others planted victory the railroad linked Woodstock gardens to supplement their food to Canton and two years later it supply. Numerous women also Construction of the county's marble courthouse. extended to Ball Ground, where went to work to support the war the first train arrived in May effort and their families. Cherokee County was given another 1882. Farmers began to send their The poultry industry that began opportunity for growth with the during the Great Depression grew federal government’s construction dramatically during World War II. of . In 1979, the This continued through the 1950s first stage of I-575 was completed and 1960s, bringing prosperity to Highway 92 in Woodstock and to Cherokee County. During the opened to the following year. late 1950s, Cherokee County was The next section to Highway 20 was known as the “Poultry Capital opened in 1985 and the last section of the World” and billboards to Pickens County was completed proclaiming this fact greeted later. The interstate let Cherokee everyone as they entered Cherokee County residents work in Atlanta, County. The surge of the poultry and made Cherokee County part of industry created much needed the Atlanta metropolis. More and job opportunities in hatcheries, more people moved to Cherokee feed stores, rendering plants, County, by the early 2000s at a rate processing plants and equipment of one new resident every hour. manufacturers. Home to 100,000 people in the year After the turbulent 1960s 2000, Cherokee County currently during the Civil Rights Movement, During the late 1950s, Cherokee County was has more than 250,000 residents. known as the Poultry Capital of the World.

CHEROKEE COUNTY HISTORY 5 The story of TOWNE LAKE BY CANDI HANNIGAN Up until the mid-1980s, Cherokee County was a quiet, rural community of rolling hills and a few scattered subdivisions of 50 to 100 homes. Most of its 50,000 residents lived around Canton, the county seat and historic mill town. Southern Cherokee featured a few subdivisions, mostly surrounding Woodstock, and a scant few restaurants and shops. For the most part, the area was dominated by a rolling expanse of heavily wooded acres, close to a large lake, with good road access. If someone was looking to build a large master-planned community featuring golf courses, swimming pools and tennis courts, they would have a hard time finding a better location, only 30 miles MCCULLOCH MICHELLE BY PHOTOS The view from the crest of Eagle Drive at Putnam Ford Road. from a major city. So, Larry Johnson, of the Texas-based Johnson Co., made his move. Semi-retired developer George called West Mill Road, was just a trail, only Johnson’s vision was to create McClure, 70, owned Manchester passable with four-wheel drive. a community of homes, schools, Properties, another of the developers. McClure remembers when a trip to the restaurants and shops that would He also is a pilot, and remembers taking grocery store or bait shop meant driving resemble a small city. The original plans others for a bird’s-eye view of the rocky to Big Star, in the shopping center on the for Towne Lake envisioned 12,000 terrain, which had no roads, county water northwest corner of the Bells Ferry Road homes spread across 3,700 acres, on the or sewers. and Highway 92 intersection. property then known as the Thousand One flyover with John Wieland left the Not everyone was excited for the growth Acre Woods. Eventually, the plan was well-known builder commenting about that Towne Lake would bring. Hobgood modified to approximately 8,000 homes. feeling like he was “in the middle of the recalls quite a bit of opposition; about Arvida was one of the first boondocks.” 300 people attended the meeting when development companies to sign up. Their The property wasn’t completely in the he approved the final plan. The crowd 1,300-home swim-tennis neighborhood hinterlands. While a new interstate, I-575, filled the first floor and balcony of the old helped set the tone, leading the way for brought northbound travelers by the courthouse. other homes, apartments, offices and master-planned community, there was no “When the plans were presented to me, retail centers. direct access to the development. The first I felt very strongly that it made sense to phase of I-575, which stopped at Highway have a large, well-planned community, as 92, opened in October, 1980. The second opposed to what had been developing in phase, taking travelers to Riverstone the southern part of Cherokee County,” Parkway at Exit 20, opened in March, 1985. he said. “Those developments had no Former Canton Mayor Gene Hobgood, connectivity to one another, with many who was sole county commissioner at entrances directly off SR 92 and other the time, said the Georgia Department roads. It just made sense to plan a of Transportation funded construction of community where residents could truly a two- bridge over live, work and play. Towne Lake was truly (on the present Towne Lake Parkway), the first mixed-use development of its kind but the road from I-575 to the schools, in Cherokee County.”

6 CHEROKEE COUNTY HISTORY The story of

EXCERPT FROM “CHEROKEE COUNTY, GEORGIA: BALL GROUND A HISTORY” BY REBECCA JOHNSTON The area around present-day When the railroad came through a prominent location on the hill Ball Ground has been occupied for the county in 1882, Ball Ground overlooking Old Canton Road. The thousands of years by prehistoric and was chosen as a site for a depot. Ball Ground Methodist Church traces historic Native Americans. That decision changed the future its original roots at least as early It was identified as “Battle Ground” of the town. Land was donated by as 1870. M.J. Cavendar donated an on an early map, because it was the families who lived in the area, acre of land for the church in 1874. the site of a divisive battle between including Sarah Carpenter, Martha The first Methodist Church was a log the Cherokee and Creek around Carpenter, Berty Carpenter, J.C. cabin. Then, in 1896, a frame building 1755. However, the city itself was Carpenter, J.W. Byers, Hester Byers, was erected at the same site. Both not chartered until 1883, its growth Ellen Byers, P.H. Lyon, F.M. Waldrup, the Baptist Church and the Methodist fueled by the railroad and the marble A.M.F. Hawkins, and Ancil Bearden. Church were damaged severely by industry. These individuals hoped that, by the tornado of 1915, which struck the Ball Ground was the second largest establishing a town in the place of town. city in the county during the 19th the settlement, their properties The oldest home in Ball Ground is century and for the majority of the would increase in value. Within the Alfred W. Roberts house, which 20th century. Until the time Ball two years of the decision to build was constructed in the 1850s. It was Ground was chartered, however, it the depot there, the city had a built by the original owners as a large was a small settlement of agricultural population of about 296 people in two-story farmhouse. farms, and the town consisted only the 1890 census. The early government of the city of a few homes and two country The Ball Ground Baptist Church consisted of the first mayor, Capt. stores. Its early fame lay in its Native was constituted in 1883. Land for Patterson Lyon, and Councilmen American heritage, and the legends the church was donated by the A.M.F. Hawkins, W.A. Hayes, R.J. surrounding its name. Carpenter family. The church had Boling and J.H. Kilby. J.N. Percell was the town’s top law enforcement officer, the marshal. Ball Ground received a new charter in 1911, to broaden the city’s powers and allow it to maintain a public school system. The main industry in Ball Ground for a number of years, and the one for which it is best known, is the marble- working industry. Three sizable operations included the Consumers Monument Co., the Roberts Marble Co., and the Ball Ground Monument Co. Manufactured from marble quarried in Tate, Georgia, the products of these companies were known and used widely. Today, while the marble-working industry is no longer active, Ball Ground has a thriving downtown and a population of 2,189. Universal Alloy Corp. is the largest employer and opened its local plant in 2017. The town’s population turns out for a celebration around 1900. Notice the city well on the right.

CHEROKEE COUNTY HISTORY 7 The story of

EXCERPT FROM “IMAGES OF AMERICA: CANTON” CANTON BY REBECCA JOHNSTON Canton was formally incorporated the most sensible choice, as the almost centrally located in today’s on Dec. 24, 1833, as the county site was in the most densely settled Cherokee County. The land around seat of Cherokee County under the area of the county, it was already Canton presented prime possibilities name Etowah by the state General being used for official business, for agriculture and farming. Gold had Assembly. The land for the county and the early settlers were quickly already been discovered in Cherokee was carved out of Cherokee Indian proving themselves to be people of County, and the area was rich in other Territory two years earlier. In the enterprise. mineral resources. Timber and water early days of Cherokee County, Many of these early settlers were plentiful, making it a prime the settlement was growing near came from , or some location for the early pioneers to put the Etowah River, and while there older county in , down roots. was some talk about moving the particularly Hall County. Their During Canton’s first 50 years, county seat to another area, leaders, foresight in choosing the site for while it was for the most part a including William Grisham, John P. Canton, which officially obtained that small village, it was the center of Brooke and Judge Joseph Donaldson name on Dec. 18, 1834, was based social, educational, and commercial are said to have prevailed in keeping in wisdom and experience. Canton endeavors for the entire county and it where Canton is located today. The was situated where the Etowah beyond. Because of the caliber of decision of where to locate seemed River curves in a 1-mile semi-circle, those early settlers, the town grew in a cultured fashion. In 1833, a church and a school were established. The school was chartered by the state government as Etowah Institute, and served the needs of the community for the next 70 years. The Baptist church was started with 10 members, and both were founded under the leadership of William Grisham, who came to Georgia in the 1820s, and to Canton several years before the city was incorporated. In 1838, the federal government rounded up all Native American Cherokee still living in Canton and the county and began a removal process that was a dark period in the history of the area. In all, a total of 927 Cherokee were taken into custody by soldiers and most were held at Fort Buffington until they were marched West on what became known as the Trail of Tears. In the years between 1834 and 1850, white settlers poured into Cherokee County and Canton. Census The Cherokee Marble Works was in Canton, which, like Ball Ground, had a thriving industry figures show 1,342 “free, white finishing the stone quarried in north Cherokee and Pickens counties. Jesse McClain, who later inhabitants” lived in Cherokee County. served as mayor of Canton, is second from left. By 1850, there were more than

8 CHEROKEE COUNTY HISTORY Artist Elly Hobgood’s painting, City Fathers/Canton Drug Company, shows many of the city’s leaders around 1931. From left: Hester Dunagan, Stewart Green, Earnest Turner, Dr. B.W. Chandler, Dr. J.T. Pettit, Dave Guyton, Mr. Ponder, Dr. Grady Coker, Dr. W.W. Fincher (pharmacy owner), Whitt Barton and Claude Peacock. Hobgood has painted many historic landmarks, which can be viewed at www.ellyhobgood.com.

12,000. The settlement included grist his brother, James Rice Brown, newspaper, mercantile stores mills, sawmills, and mining projects. to Canton. Lewis paid for both and churches helped strengthen The town had a livery stable, several men to attend Yale University and the fabric of the community. general stores, and other enterprises. supported them in their efforts Canton provides a chronicle There was a courthouse, a jail, and a to be admitted to the bar. Joseph of life in Georgia that is second number of lawyers. Brown was elected governor in to none, from the earliest Another settler of note was Dr. John 1857 and served throughout the settlers to the burning of the Washington Lewis, who moved to Civil War years. city during the Civil War to days Canton in 1838 and built the house The coming of the railroad in of significant growth and impact on what would eventually become 1879 brought an economic boon. as a thriving city. Its history is known as the Brown Farm. He is said In 1899, Canton Cotton Mills was among the most colorful and to have been a descendant of George founded and gave a new direction complex in the state, and the Washington, and was a lawyer, to Canton. The city was shaped county seat continues to grow physician, Baptist preacher, and by the mill, which continued in and hold a place of prominence farmer. Dr. Lewis was instrumental business until 1981. Canton was a in the metro region today. in bringing Canton’s most notable thriving epicenter of resident, Joseph Emerson Brown and during those years. Banking, a

CHEROKEE COUNTY HISTORY 9 The story of

PROVIDED BY THE CITY OF HOLLY SPRINGS HOLLY SPRINGS At the close of the Civil War, North and miners had a much larger customer depot housed City Hall, the mayor’s Georgia had suffered great loss of life, scope now that goods could be stored at office and the police station. Renovations prosperity and economy, and Holly the depot, while waiting to be shipped included adding additional walls to make Springs was no different. Despite a grim longer distances than the distance offices and indoor restrooms. City court outlook, residents of Holly Springs, a horse-drawn wagon could deliver took place where passengers once waited including men returning from the war, them before they spoiled. Residents for their train to arrive, and where today, picked up the pieces and pressed forward and merchants could enjoy shopping residents of the city and county can hold in hopes of rebuilding a thriving economy. for goods from the local general store, private events. By the 1870s, the population began without having to wait for catalog orders increasing, due in part to the arrival of to arrive. The ease of transportation of Renovations of 2001 the Marietta and North Georgia Railroad. goods and people made Holly Springs In the 1990s, the city, heartbroken over (Louisville and Nashville Railroad, or L&N, a very attractive home for families and the state of disrepair at the Depot, due acquired the rail line in 1902.) industry alike. to the lack of funds available for upkeep, For many years, there had been The depot was similar to other L&N applied for and received a grant from the discussion of bringing the railroad depots built throughout the South, with National Transportation Enhancements through Holly Springs, effectively linking Folk Victorian architectural elements. Fund. This grant, along with cash Marietta with Canton and points farther Waiting rooms were small, and stark; contributions and the donation of manual north. By 1878, railroad tracks were L&N reasoned that, in rural areas, labor from local citizens, brought about laid through Holly Springs, and reached there was no need for large waiting the restored depot as it stands today, in all Canton, the county seat, by 1879. areas. Restrooms were not a part of the of its former glory. In fact, the renovation By 1887, the tracks reached as far north original layout, but later were added. went so well that the project was as Murphy, , and eventually The one-story building showcases a wide featured in the National Transportation with the Western & Atlantic Railroad, roof overhang, with large triangular Enhancement Clearinghouse’s publication. making it possible for local industries to knee braces, decorative beams under Not included in the grant was money to thrive, by transporting their goods to the the gables, large platform porches and add new terracotta roof tiles, because rest of the country. Freight leaving Holly double-hung sash windows. the city could not prove that the original Springs included serpentine rock, granite, roof was tile, before a composite shingle City of Holly Springs City Hall, 1981 agricultural goods and lumber. In later roof was added. J.B. Owens, the last ticket years, poultry was also exported from the On June 4, 1974, L&N Railroad Co. sold agent for the depot before it closed, community. the depot to the city of Holly Springs for contacted the city about a picture he had By 1910, there were 63 households in $800. The original bill of sale is framed found, proving that the original roof was in Holly Springs. The development can be on the wall of the depot today, and the fact tile. With an additional $100,000 from attributed to the depot, making Holly signatures of the original railroad agents the National Transportation Enhancement Springs not just a place to load stone etched into wood have been preserved in Fund, plus a $25,000 match from the city, blocks, but also a place to store freight the wall and lit for generations to see. the depot’s roof was restored as closely as and transfer all types of goods. Farmers From 1974 until the late 1990s, the possible to its original design. In 2001, City Councilman Ben Barnes told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “When we’re done, about 95% of the building will be as it was originally.” Today, the depot continues to hold a special place in the hearts of Holly Springs residents. Many residents have lived in Holly Springs their entire lives, and can recall fond memories of the depot when it was owned by the railroad. For newer residents, it often is used when trying to give directions around the city. The Holly Springs Train Depot is one of only two depots left in the county. L&N train depot, c. 1910, is one of two depots left in Cherokee County.

10 CHEROKEE COUNTY HISTORY The city of Waleska and Reinhardt College prospered together in the late 1800s. Left, a battalion drill takes place in front of the administration building on the campus when it was Reinhardt Normal College.

Warluske. Her family name was Walaska, which means frogplace or Frog Town in Cherokee. The girl could read and write Cherokee. When she and her family were taken to Fort Buffington to be relocated West on the march known as the Trail of Tears, Lewis Reinhardt renamed his settlement Waleska in her honor and memory. In 1834, Lewis Reinhardt founded the first church in the settlement, the Reinhardt Chapel, a Methodist Church. He was known as a religious and well-respected man and The story of got along with his Native American neighbors, who had great respect for him and his family. In 1855, another family that would have great influence on the community of Waleska moved in and WALESKAEXCERPT FROM “CHEROKEE COUNTY, GEORGIA: A HISTORY” opened a store and a and BY REBECCA JOHNSTON tobacco factory at the crossroads. Three brothers from South Carolina, The city of Waleska grew out of the Reinhardt, relates that in 1837, the John J.A. Sharp, White Sharp and work of two early pioneer families, family attended a Cherokee ballgame Joseph Sharp were the trio who the Reinhardts and the Sharps. and dance at a Cherokee ball field would make their mark on the Families who first settled the area near Waleska. “I was at a large region. The three siblings established were of German descent and many, Indian ball-ground near Father’s. their homes and businesses in the such as the Clines, remain there The exercise opened with a game years leading up to the Civil War. today. One of the first settlers in the of ball in which the men actively When they returned after serving area was Lewis W. Reinhardt, who participated. The trees over and in the conflict, the economy was came into northwest Cherokee in around the playground were filled in dire straits. One of the largest 1834. Reinhardt, whose grandparents with women, children and spectators contributions that the Sharps made to had emigrated from Germany to the looking on.” the area was in educational and moral , was born in North The younger Reinhardt goes on development of those living near Carolina and later lived in . to relay that 1838 was, “A very them. Col. John Sharp owned a large In 1830, he moved to Hall County, cold winter. An immense number number of books that he would loan Georgia, where he married Jane of pigeons flocked over the woods; to the young men and women of the Harbin. Reinhardt and his family the Indians killed great numbers of area. He also helped start a Sunday settled on Shoal Creek and built a them. Father brought me a bowl of School and other endeavors. That gristmill and a farm there. He traded Indian connahaynee of which I was love of learning would eventually help with the Cherokee and ground their quite fond.” found the college that would become grain. Waleska is supposed to have the town’s chief attraction. In 1835, he built a log cabin on a gotten its name out of the Reinhardt Normal College was tract of land on Pine Log Road. Pine relationship the Reinhardts had opened in 1883 by Captain Augustus Log Mountain is the second highest with their Cherokee neighbors. M. Reinhardt and John Sharp in a elevation in Cherokee County. Soon The story goes that in those years one-room building on Cartersville Reinhardt was keeping a tavern and a leading up to the , Street. Today Reinhardt University roadhouse for travelers. An excerpt of the Reinhardts were friends with a enrolls more than 1,400 students and a diary of Reinhardt’s son, Nathanial young Native American girl named is the largest industry in Waleska.

CHEROKEE COUNTY HISTORY 11 The story of

PROVIDED BY WOODSTOCK PRESERVATION WOODSTOCK Pioneers began to settle in wide. There would not have been a manner of businesses, from cotton Woodstock in the early , shortly City of Woodstock had there been no brokers to bankers, blacksmiths, and before the time that the Native rail line. Cityhood was inevitable, and barbers, lined the west side of Main Americans were being removed on Dec. 8, 1897, Georgia’s legislature Street, while cotton warehouses from the area. Postal records show granted a charter and Woodstock occupied space on the east side. Woodstock had a postmaster became an official city. The census North of town, on Little River, beginning in 1833, and other of 1900 showed the population to Woodstock’s first industry used documents confirm the organization be 276. Boundaries were set at ¾ cotton to produce rope, and the of churches in the area at the time. mile north and south of the depot, remains of the Rope Mill can be seen The first settlements were near and ½ mile east and west of the today. All over town, beautiful homes waterways, Little River, Rose Creek, railroad tracks, making the depot the began to take shape, complemented Rube’s Creek, and Noonday Creek, exact center of town, literally and by a school and churches and in-town where pioneers farmed the land and figuratively. A new depot was built in farms. were largely self-supporting. While 1912, a combination station offering Throughout the decades since, the there were nearby skirmishes, the freight and passenger service. It was town’s residents have enjoyed the area escaped major destruction in operation until the 1950s. many positive aspects of small town during the Civil War because there The town prospered and grew. All life, while continuing to progress with was no rail line to serve as a target. the times. From the paving After the railroad and its depot of Main Street in 1925 to the became a reality in 1879, the little arrival of Interstate 575 in village came to life. The railroad 1982, and from the notoriety was a lifeline, bringing industry and of native son Lew Carpenter entrepreneurs, and allowing farmers as the Southern League’s to ship their cotton to mills far and Atlanta Crackers’ 1940 Star Pitcher to the national spotlight as President George H. W. Bush kicking off his 1992 re-election campaign from a makeshift stage on Main Street’s sidewalk, Woodstock has made a name for itself. Two native sons, Dean Rusk and Eugene Booth, were Rhodes Scholars. One would become the nation’s Secretary of State, and the other would be a renowned physicist and a member of the Manhattan Project team who developed the atomic bomb. The town has been blessed with dedicated physicians throughout its history. Perhaps the one doctor who stands above others is William Hiram Dean. Having moved to the Main Street in downtown Woodstock in 1949. Top right, Keenum Rexall Drug Store in the 1960s area around 1850, he soon began a was next door to the current visitors center, at 8590 Main St. medical practice while also serving

12 CHEROKEE COUNTY HISTORY Woodstock’s historic train depot in the early 1970s. Notice the telephone booth.

Left, the north side of the Main Street/Arnold Mill Road/Towne Lake Parkway intersection. The Johnston cotton warehouse, demolished in the late 1960s, was on the east corner. The building just north of the auto parts store, originally the post office, was a jewelry store here, and is occupied today by Rootstock & Vine. Right, a 1960s view of Main Street includes the W.B. Anderson Feed & Poultry Co. and Woodstock Gas & Coal Co. Copies of “Images of America: Woodstock 1860-1970” are available for $22 at the Woodstock Visitors Center.

as a Baptist minister. His only son, The circular hospital structure others now house businesses. A Will Dean, also became a doctor and had been on display at the 1964 few treasured homes still serve as was on Woodstock’s first city council. World’s Fair as the “Hospital of the residences, some for descendants He opened Dean’s Drug Company on Future,” featuring computers and of the original owners. The oldest Main Street in 1906, but died soon microwaves, novel items at the house in Woodstock is the Dean afterward. The store serves today time. The grand opening was held House, the former Cherokee as the Woodstock Visitors Center, July 20, 1969, the day Americans Ledger-News office beside The Park preserving relics of days gone by. first landed on the moon. at City Center on East Main Street. During the following years there were Although some visible Woodstock The city celebrated its centennial several other doctors in the area, landmarks remain, many survive in 1997 with parades and activities, but the name most often mentioned only in memory. Towne Lake including a Centennial Quilt, the is that of Dr. T. J. VanSant, who Parkway was once Church Street, development of the City Park, practiced until retiring in 1962. Dr. a narrow lane leading to “parking installation of plaques on historic Evan Boddy then opened a medical lots” for the churches where structures, and the publication of center, and in 1969 the Cherokee early worshippers tethered their a history book. That group is still Atomedic Hospital was added to the horses and parked their buggies. involved with historic preservation complex, which would later include While many original homes have and operates as Preservation an apothecary and a nursing home. succumbed to the wrecking ball, Woodstock, Inc.

CHEROKEE COUNTY HISTORY 13 The Woodstock Community Mural was completed in 2018. Artist AnnaLysa Kimball Coloring Pages of shares some of the stories behind a few of the panels from the mural, which includes past and present life moments in our city. There are OUR HISTORY many historical details within the masterpiece.

The Woodstock Railroad opened in 1879.

Miss Magnolia Thomas was a greatly respected teacher in 1917. First Baptist, one of the first churches built in Woodstock in the 1830s, is in the picture frame.

This is the hand of Lew Carpenter with the famous knuckleball that he pitched in the Southern League in 1945. Connect the dots and color for the bigger picture.

14 CHEROKEE COUNTY HISTORY Draw yourself on the wall eating your favorite ice cream with these kiddos!

Eye Spy in the Mural Take this list with you to visit the mural, and see how many you can find.

1. How many dogs do you see? 2. Red train (tip: It is not where you expect it to be). 3. A melted lollipop. 4. An American flag. 5. Garden seeds. 6. Woodstock School students from the 1930s. 7. Bob the Turkey (possibly the hardest to find).

This big dog you see on the mural wall is Jackson. To get him to pose, AnnaLysa had to plop peanut butter on the wall for him to lick off.

CHEROKEE COUNTY HISTORY 15 The Crescent Farm Historical Center (the Rock Barn) is a treasured landmark, constructed in 1906 by Augustus Lee Coggins.

Dig deeper into Cherokee County’s origins,Explore with the help of the CherokeeMore! County Historical Society. The museum and visitors center in Canton (at 221 East Marietta St.) will be growing: plans are to open a 6,000-square-foot exhibition space in 2021. Another resource is the 20-plus history books for sale, on topics ranging from the Canton Cotton Mills, , the Trail of Tears, archaeology and the Civil War, as well as locally made products including soaps, jams, honey and T-shirts.

Cherokee County Historical Society Aroundabout Local Media www.rockbarn.org www.aroundaboutlocalmedia.com PO Box 1287, Canton, GA 30169 770-345-3288 ALM President Patty Ponder [email protected] Executive Director Stefanie Joyner [email protected] Executive Editor Candi Hannigan [email protected] Cherokee County History Museum and Visitors Center 221 East Marietta St., Canton, GA 30114 Graphic Artists: Laura Latchford, Michelle McCulloch Crescent Farm Historical Center (the Rock Barn) Managing Editor/Social Media Strategist Jackie Loudin Open to the public by appointment. [email protected] Available for special events. 658 Marietta Highway, Canton, GA 30114