This week, it’s an origin story that results in unintended consequences. A loving reminder that a life in pursuit of one’s passion is a life well-spent. We’ll visit a woman who touched Atlantans well beyond what she might have imagined for herself. To this day, her influence contributes significantly to the grace and style of […]
Category: Stories of Atlanta
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The Upstart
There are many factors that can play a determining role in the success or failure of a given endeavor. Most metro Atlanta commuters can probably relate to the well-worn phrase “Timing is everything.” If you’ve ever left 5-minutes later than you normally start your commute, you can certainly understand the value of good timing. But […]
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The first visit
It’s 1844 and a young 1st lieutenant visits the area around Marthasville. It would not be his last visit. Makes one wonder how things might have been different if the residents of the young town had known what the future would hold for the 1st lieutenant.
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A show of gratitude
The Lord works in mysterious ways, as the saying goes, and, were he here today, the Reverend Frank Quarles would, no doubt, offer his personal testament to that adage. Like so many of his time, the Reverend Quarles was a former slave but he had also become an ordained minister and, as a freedman, he […]
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Seem Familiar?
Samuel Spencer was killed at the age of 59. The accident that took his life happened in the predawn hours of Thanksgiving Day in 1906. Spencer and some of his friends were in Spencer’s private rail car headed for a hunting trip in Virginia. While Spencer and his fellow passengers were asleep, his railcar became […]
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Future Atlantans
There is an interesting side benefit to reading about history and it has to do with being able to predict the future. Well, not so much “the” future as “a” future. At various stages along the path of historical research, one becomes familiar with the players in a particular story. When a new character is […]
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Seek and ye shall find
The flood of movie stars visiting Atlanta in recent years not withstanding, Atlanta has had a long history of entertaining visiting luminaries, dignitaries, politicians and a host of other individuals with whom Atlantans generally wanted to be seen. The late 1800s was a banner year for visitors to the Gate City, not the least of […]
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Some improvements were needed
Historically, the jail house has been among the first of the public buildings constructed in most new communities. It is interesting to note that, initially, jails were intended to be little more than holding cells…places to keep criminals until they could be tried. And that is exactly the purpose that led to the construction of […]
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The Augusta Connection
Since officially becoming a city in Georgia, Marthasville had experienced its share of challenges. Growth was slow, real estate sales were sluggish but there were promising signs. A new arrival in 1845 turned out to be just the push the town needed. The spark that ignited a city is the subject of this week’s Stories […]
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The generous Mr. Norcross
You might be familiar with the term “Y’allywood.” It is a nickname that many have recently applied to Atlanta. For those not into, as The Dude would say, the whole brevity thing, perhaps you’re familiar with “Hollywood of the South.” Either way, both of those names will just have to be added to the lengthy […]
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Brick by brick
If you could leave a message, knowing that it would be seen for years to come, what would you say? Thousands of people took just that opportunity before the 1996 Olympic Games came to Atlanta. What they chose to say – and how they said it – is the subject of this week’s Stories of […]
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Little package – Big voice
They say, big things come in small packages and, usually, when a phrase like that populates our lexicon, there is a reason. Most often, that reason is because, more times than not, it’s true. Another such phrase that comes to mind is don’t judge a book by its cover. Whichever phrase you lean to, there’s […]
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Downtown became more challenging
Henry Ford once said, “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.” However, in true Henry Ford style, he did not ask for opinions and what we got was the “horseless carriage.” And the world has never been the same. Americans have long had a love affair with the […]
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We all knew it was wrong
In his epic work “The Souls of Black Folk,” WEB DuBois seems to describe the City of Atlanta in terms that separate Atlanta from what is generally considered to be a traditional Southern city. “South of North, yet north of South lies the city of a hundred hills…” he writes. The image of Atlanta as […]
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A condemned building lives on
Among the more recognizable features of larger buildings constructed in the early twentieth century were the ornamental design elements that often gave buildings their personalities. The material of choice for these elements was terra cotta clay, primarily because it was relatively inexpensive, lightweight and could be easily molded or sculpted. These eye-catching details often elevated […]
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Defying convention
May Irwin was a 19th century actress who starred – with John Rice – in an 1896 short film titled The Kiss. Chances are you are not familiar with The Kiss – or Ms. Irwin or Mr. Rice – but the film’s title holds a special place in movie history as do its actors. Today, […]
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How things get done
In almost every significant step forward, there are the people who get the credit and then there are the people who actually do the work. Sometimes they are the same people and sometimes not. It was Coca-Cola Chairman Robert W. Woodruff who supposedly said, “There is no limit to what a man can do or […]
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The future mayor
With the terminus point finally set, the community officially named and plans for development drawn up, all that was left was to build the town of Marthasville. That effort received a boost when a pioneer citizen arrived to build the one thing the community most needed. We introduce the “Father of Atlanta” on this week’s […]
Posted inStories of Atlanta
Some improvements were needed
Historically, the jail house has been among the first of the public buildings constructed in most new communities. It is interesting to note that, initially, jails were intended to be little more than holding cells…places to keep criminals until they could be tried. And that is exactly the purpose that led to the construction of […]
Posted inStories of Atlanta
A familiar face comes to town
“The play’s the thing.” You’ve heard that phrase. Shakespeare wrote it. Hamlet says it. So it must be true. And, though probably not in the same vein that Hamlet meant it, the play certainly was the thing when it came to 19th century Atlantans. Opera and the theatre captured the attention of 1800s Atlanta in […]
