Lowndes County

Dr. Joseph A. Tomberlin

• Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
• Year: 2007
• Print ISBN: 9780738543765
• eBook ISBN: 9781439633618
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: North American History
• Index: History

Lowndes County, located deep in the wiregrass region of southern Georgia, has been continuously occupied since ancient times. Through the centuries, various Native American tribes inhabited the region, but they lingered relatively briefly and left few tangible traces. The areas written history began with the establishment around 1623 of the Spanish mission of Santa Cruz de Cachipile in southern Lowndes. Georgias general assembly created Lowndes County from the southern half of Irwin County in 1825 and named it for William Jones Lowndes of South Carolina. The present county seat, Valdosta, dates from the construction of the Atlantic and Gulf Railroad across Lowndes from 1859 to 1860. Ultimately the county was to have five railroads, which, combined with U.S. Highways 41 and 84 and Interstate 75, were to be major factors in dramatic local growth."

One

SCHOOLS, STUDENTS, AND EDUCATION

In a photograph from prior to 1921, the essential parts of the independent Valdosta City Schools are shown. The street is West Central Avenue, and on the left is the former Valdosta Institute, then serving as a grammar school and later to be the Valdosta Junior High School until 1950. To the right is Valdosta High School, which was replaced by a new building on Williams Street in 1921 and subsequently became an elementary school, a junior high school, and again an elementary school.

This is an undated classroom scene in the Valdosta Institute prior to its becoming a public school belonging to the City of Valdosta. The notable aspect of the image is the well-dressed appearance of all the students, which indicates the affluence of their families.

The young women shown above are the 10 members of the 1905 graduating class of the Valdosta Institute. The small size of the class is a reflection of the institute’s status as a private school prior to its joining the independent Valdosta City Schools.

This small but apparently well-kept building was a school in the Lowndes County System. It was situated in the county, south of Valdosta and in the direction of Statenville. The date of the picture is uncertain, but it appears to be from the 1890s or perhaps early in the 20th century.

These are the students and teachers of a small rural Lowndes County school; the date probably is late in the 19th century, but the precise location in the county is unknown. The school structure is unpainted and appears to be quite primitive and basic.

The wooden structure pictured above with its students was the Clyattville School in southern Lowndes County. The image bears a message about how strapped for cash many school systems in the South were in the 1920s. The building is badly in need of paint and seems generally to be in a state of deterioration.

Shiloh School was situated in northern Lowndes County near the town of Hahira. The neat, seemingly well-kept building once was considered to be the largest wooden school edifice in the state of Georgia.

Seen here are the students of the small home school of Annabelle Myddleton at 409 North Troup Street in Valdosta. Annabelle Myddleton is the woman at the left of the picture.

In 1915, students from Corinth School in the northern section of Lowndes County prepare to participate in a parade in Valdosta. Standing on the east side of North Patterson Street, they are holding a rope so as to stay in line. Given the date, the occasion may have been a “preparedness parade” in support of Pres. Woodrow Wilson’s program of military preparedness because of the Great War then raging in Europe.

These are students and faculty members of Corinth School in north Lowndes County. The date of the photograph is May 6, 1913. From the evidence presented by the picture, Corinth was a small school, but it seems to...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
• INTRODUCTION
• One - SCHOOLS, STUDENTS, AND EDUCATION
• Two - TRANSPORTATION
• Three - AGRICULTURE, BUSINESS, AND INDUSTRY
• Four - CHURCHES AND RELIGIOUS LIFE
• Five - PEOPLE, HOMES, AND LIFE IN THE COMMUNITY