Legendary Locals

For more than 275 years, the city of Augusta and its citizens have contributed greatly not only to the business, cultural, educational, athletic, and religious lives of both Georgians and South Carolinians bordering the Savannah River but also to people throughout the nation and the world. People and businesses such as Brenda Lee, Castleberry's, Lady Antebellum, James Brown, Club Car, Ty Cobb, Georgia Pacific, E-Z Go, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Bobby Jones, Emerson Boozer, Beau Jack, and Butterfly McQueen, to name a few, all have close ties to the city that once spent a decade as Georgia's capital. This book tells the stories of many people who became legendary locals through their efforts that made the Augusta area a great place to live and work.

On Sunday mornings, church bells ring, calling all denominations, and Savannah's squares are filled with people and activities. The city embraces music, art, and literature, and the historic district welcomes visitors from all over the world. As a port city, Savannah has always embraced diversity, and that is what residents love about it. We are not losing our Southern values and traditions; we are just sharing them. Legendary Locals of Savannah introduces readers to people who braved the Atlantic Ocean to establish the Georgia colony, entrepreneurs who made a fortune in cotton, and black citizens who struggled through slavery and later fought for civil rights. Liberty boys who plotted the Revolution, families who lived in mansions, boys who fought bravely for the Confederate cause, and those who insisted on preserving our beautiful historic district—they all have a story to tell.

In 1834, three men chanced to meet at a spring near where the Oostanaula and Etowah converge to form the Coosa River. Looking at the freshwater spring surrounded by healthy hardwood, they mused that this would make a good place for a community. They got together with two other landowners in the area and decided to start a town. And, of course, they wanted a name for it. Following the democratic process still honored by citizens today, they each chose their favorite names, such as Pittsburg, Warsaw, and Hillsboro. The name drawn was Rome. If the last name had been drawn, which was Hamburg, the town would be full of "Hamburgers" instead of the Romans that reside there today.

When Hardy Ivy built his small cabin on a ridge in the North Georgia wilderness in 1833, no one could have imagined his property would grow to become the internationally recognized city Atlanta is today. Ivy is just one of those whose impact on Atlanta has earned him the right to be called a legendary local. This book includes those with international acclaim like Cable News Network founder and environmentalist Ted Turner, civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and former president Jimmy Carter. No less important, but lesser known, are former slave Carrie Steel Logan, who started the first orphanage for black children in Georgia, and May Belle Mitchell, the mother of Gone With the Wind author Margaret Mitchell. May Belle was a legend in her own right for leading the Atlanta women's Equal Suffrage League in the early 1900s. These stories span centuries, highlighting only some of the true legendary locals of Intown Atlanta.