150 Years and Growing Strong!

City of Jesup celebrates TThehe PPress-Sentinel.ress-Sentinel. 150 years VOL. CLVI. JESUP, GEORGIA, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2020. 1870-2020 NO. 58. The Jesup Sequicentennial 150 years and growing strong! Welcome to Jesup’s 150th birthday sent. Cherry Street will be section of The Press-Sentinel. sake. celebration! closed for the event. Historical photos and James R. Jesup, who was good Founded Oct. 24, 1870, the city of A time capsule pre- artwork are on display friends with Willis Clary and held Jesup is proud to celebrate its sesqui- pared by the in City Hall this title to a large number of lots in centennial this week with a variety of Tourism Board week, and a historic Jesup, has recently been the person events and several online presenta- will be buried in cemetery tour (vir- considered most likely for the honor. tions highlighting its colorful and dy- front of City Hall tual) is on the city James Jesup was affiliated with the namic history as “a railroad town.” as part of the cel- website and social East Tennessee, Virginia, & Georgia Jesup Mayor David Earl Keith pro- ebration Satur- media pages. Railroad, the parent company for the claimed this week, Oct. 18 through day. In addition, a Macon & Brunswick line. The Macon Oct. 25, as the official Jesup Sesqui- A video history mock trial at & Brunswick’s coming through Jesup centennial, and arranged a special of Jesup is being Wayne County boosted the town’s development in photo of living former commissioners presented on the High School is being the early years. and mayors with the current officials. city of Jesup conducted tomorrow An elementary school coloring con- A socially distanced gathering is YouTube channel this (Thursday) to investi- test is also planned for this week, and planned for 10 a.m. to noon Saturday week, and a selection of gate the question of which T-shirts and medallions are being of- at City Hall, and a number of state historical photos and ac- of three possible candidates de- fered as commemorative items. dignitaries are expected to be pre- counts are presented in this special serves to be credited as Jesup’s name- The expansive rail yard and elegant depot in this early photo attest to the importance of the railroads in the early development of the city of Jesup. The history of Jesup—from railroad crossings to pine trees A railroad town By Janet Royal Jesup was known as “a rail- and John Eden road town,” and it was said that most of the people who The city of Jesup began as a lived there were affiliated with railroad town. Though the Al- the railroad in some way. At tamaha River and the longleaf the height of the railroading pine forests inspired most of era, more than 100 trains a the activity in the surrounding day passed through the town, area, it was the railroads that and a very active rail yard de- brought life to young Jesup. veloped at the important inter- From the beginning, Jesup section of the two lines. has been connected by The Savannah & Gulf rail crossties and spikes to the rail- line carried wealthy patrons to roads that crossed within the the resort area in Thomasville city limits. and later into Florida. The Originally known simply as Macon & Brunswick line con- Station Number 6 on the nected the two important north-south line known as the Georgia cities and became Atlantic & Gulf Railroad, Southern Railway in 1894, Jesup was incorporated by the giving the rapidly developing Georgia legislature on Oct. 24, interior region access to the 1870. port in Brunswick. When an east-west line, the The city of Jesup grew up around the crossing of two important rail lines, and the depot was the cen- Passenger fares collected in Macon & Brunswick Railroad, ter of town both physically and economically for many years. At one time, 100 passenger trains came Jesup were reported as $1,000 laid its tracks through the through town every day. per day in the 1890s. town in 1871, Jesup became Movie stars and presiden- an important commercial cen- tial candidates were fairly fre- ter, and its population began eventually became its first long been debated whom of Willis Clary and held title to a quent visitors to Jesup, pro- to grow. mayor, elected at the organiza- three possibilities Jesup was large number of lots in Jesup. moting their movies and It became the county seat of tion of the first board of alder- named for. He also was long affiliated campaigning from the back of Wayne County in 1873. men in December of 1870. Morris K. Jesup (whose fa- with the East Tennessee, Vir- the trains. Though the origin of the Clary’s home sits on City ther apparently spelled the ginia, & Georgia Railroad, the Since 1979, Jesup has been name “Jesup” is unclear, his- Lot No. 1. Located at the cor- name Jessup), a banker and parent company for the Macon an Amtrak stop with two pas- torical records definitely point ner of South West Broad— railroad scion who bought the & Brunswick line. senger trains per day, and to Willis Clary as the founder once the main street in town— Savannah, Florida and West- It was at Willis Clary’s urg- many freight trains still come and organizer of the city, and and Orange streets, it’s now ern out of bankruptcy follow- ing that the Macon & through every day. The Jesup it’s likely his influence is what the offices of the Harris and ing the Civil War, is often Brunswick railroad crossed Depot has recently been reno- brought the second rail line Company accounting firm. cited as the town’s namesake. the Savannah & Gulf line vated and houses the Wayne through the sleepy town. Clary married Lucinda Hall Gen. Thomas Sidney Jesup, (later the Savannah, Florida & County Tourism Board’s of- Lee, widow of Osgood Andrew a hero of the so-called Indian Western and then the Atlantic fices. The first mayor Lee, and the family became Wars who captured the Semi- Coastline) at Jesup in 1871. Two railfan platforms offer Sometime in 1868, Clary the leaders in the new town of nole chief Osceola under a flag The intersection of the two train-watchers the opportu- made his way to Station Num- Jesup. of truce, is another candidate. lines proved to be the most in- nity to observe the rail traffic ber 6 from Appling County and But perhaps the best candi- fluential factor in the growth in safety. began to organize a town. He Origin of the name date is a less well-known rail- of Jesup in the early years. had the town surveyed and In the absence of a defini- road baron, James R. Jesup, tive historical document, it’s who was good friends with ❑ See HISTORY, Page 4C Wayne County Press Established 1960 • Jesup Sentinel Established 1865 • Combined February 1977 • © 2020 Press-Sentinel Newspapers, Inc. 2C Wednesday, October 21, 2020 The Press-Sentinel 150—Celebrating Jesup’s Sesquicentennial Congratulations to the city of Jesup on its 150th anniversary! We’re proud to be a part of the community. Our Vibrant Communities outreach programs are one way we live up to our Corporate Responsibility “Our Jesup mining Commitment. facility represents Chemours employee another great example of how our company is Cody Holland gets fulfilling our Corporate some help from a Responsibility Commitment goals student at Screven and looking at ways to minimize our Elementary School impact on the showing science can be environment.” –David Settles, fun and educational. Jesup Mine Plant Manager The new plant is located at 892 Power Line Road in Jesup. Individuals interested in career opportunities with Chemours are encouraged to visit chemours.com/en/careers for additional information. 150—Celebrating Jesup’s Sesquicentennial Wednesday, October 21, 2020 The Press-Sentinel 3C Jesup City Hall through the years Rendering: LAURA COOPER / Special Photos: ERIC DENTY / Staff These four buildings have served as Jesup City Hall over the 150 years of its history. Above, Laura Cooperʼs render- JOIN US! ing of the original city hall, which served from 1880 through 1925, shows how the The City of Jesup building at the corner of Cherry and Macon streets looked be- fore it was torn down to make Mayor and Council way for the current building at that location (now Southern cordially invites the Charm, 106 Macon St.). That building, below, served as city hall from 1926 through 2005. citizens of Jesup and For part of 1925 and 1926, city hall was located on East the community to Cherry in the building now oc- cupied by For the Love of Yo- gurt, at right, during the con- join us on Saturday, struction of the new city hall. In 2005 city hall was moved to its current location in the old post October 24th at 10 am in front of office building, at bottom, also on East Cherry Street. T-shirts City Hall for a celebration in honor of featuring Cooperʼs renderings of all four buildings are now on sale at Jesup City Hall for $10 our 150th Anniversary! each. David Earl Keith, Mayor Commissioners: Shirlene Armstrong, Commissioner District 1 • Don Darden, Commissioner District 2 Nick Harris, Commissioner District 3 • Stanley Todd, Commissioner District 4 Ray House, Commissioner District 5 • Bill Harvey, Commissioner District 6 Mike Deal, City Manager • Rose Marcus, City Clerk 4C Wednesday, October 21, 2020 The Press-Sentinel 150—Celebrating Jesup’s Sesquicentennial Two of the earliest settlers in this area were Daniel Gibson Hopps and Frances The early days of Jesup were intimately connected with the steam engines that Bennett Hopps, who owned a large farm in the county.

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