In 1897 Samuel Lonas purchased a mill at this site during Joseph Maphis’ bankruptcy sale. The “Maphis Mill” as it was commonly called had been constructed shortly after the Civil War when Joseph Maphis had acquired the land and rebuilt a mill…

This structure housed the Zion Baptist Church for the first half of the 20th century. The property was home to a school for local African American students in 1868. This institution was sponsored by the American Missionary Association that hired…

According to local legends, an individual named William Powell settled in the northern end of Fort Valley during the mid-18th century. A wide array of stories has emerged about his life. Some of these are: -He was a stage coach robber who used his…

The Pearl White Theater opened on Main Street in Edinburg sometime in the 1920s showing silent movies for between 10 and 20 cents a show. Before it was completed, movies had been shown in the town hall. Electricity for this theater was provided by a…

Sometime after the Civil War, Levi Rinker of Mt. Jackson donated a plot of land to that town’s African American community to serve as their cemetery. Later, an additional lot owned by Amanda Thorpe was also deeded to the cemetery. This separate…

The original immigrants to this area arrived in the mid-18th century. Early immigrants to the area included the Neff and Baughman families. Originally the community was called Georgetown and land speculators may have considered founding an…