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In 1830, settlers in Woodstock first cleared the land for crops and livestock. Paths were crude and rough. In the mid- to late 1800s, the small, agricultural community grew into a town with grocers, blacksmiths, mills, and livery stables with help from the railroad, which was a trading and communication line to the new town. Before the Civil War, the cotton industry boomed; in 1860, there were 33 cotton mills in Georgia employing about 2,800 workers. But by the 1930s, Woodstock had suffered the drastic effects of the Depression, and the cotton industry declined. In the 1940s, after the Depression left many farmers broke, poultry became the new thriving business. The depot, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, was built in 1912 by the Louisville and Nashville Railroad to replace the depot of 1879. It served as the center of shipping and receiving freight and the arrival and departure point for civilian passengers and military personnel.

Few historical events shaped the city of Atlanta more than World War II. A hub for the Civil Rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s, Atlanta is now home to over four million people and serves as national headquarters for a dozen Fortune 500 companies. It would never have developed to such prominence, however, without the Allied victory in the global conflict. From the social reforms of the New Deal to the economic impact of war industries, to the early gains of the Civil Rights movement, World War II in Atlanta illustrates the transformation of the city from a regional Southern town into a major industrial metropolis. Through images selected from the collections of the Kenan Research Center at the Atlanta History Center, this volume examines the war's role in creating today's vibrant, sprawling megalopolis with its diverse population. View photographs of wartime president Franklin D. Roosevelt during his visits to Atlanta and other Georgia cities. Pictures from the homefront include war bond advertisements, Bob Hope at a USO show, and victory garden promotions. The two warships named Atlanta as well as the Liberty ships named for famous Atlantans illustrate the symbolic connections between the city and the war. In addition, portraits and personal stories of some of Atlanta's sons and daughters who served in the war highlight the human side of the conflict.

While grits and peanuts may seem synonymous with any Southern community, they carry a special weight in Worth County, Georgia. Established in 1853, Worth County emerged from small train depots, old roads, and villages into a group of lively communities whose agricultural heritage is recognized with the Georgia Peanut and National Grits Festivals each year. And Worth County also catches the eye of every supermarket shopper in the country, as each jar of Peter Pan Peanut Butter is produced within its county lines.

Worth County also possesses a quiet history marked by the footprints of legendary travelers such as Hernando De Soto and Gen. Andrew Jackson, as well as Native American inhabitants.