Anyone with an interest in Troup County’s history has heard about Fuller Callaway, Horace King,
Benjamin Harvey Hill and the legend of the Nancy Harts. Every day, we drive by landmarks that are part
of the fabric of our community, but we rarely think about their origins. In these articles we’ll explore
some less well known individuals, the “what’s-his-names”, whose roles in our history are not well
documented, and we’ll investigate the origins of some of our cherished institutions.

Disclaimer:
Documentation is an important concept for conscientious historians. Archivists tell us, “If it isn’t
documented, it didn’t happen.” Primary sources, that is, firsthand accounts and contemporary
documents, are the mainstay of accurate history. It’s just about impossible to write history without
making assumptions, but all too often, legend and speculation are published as fact. We attempt to
avoid that pitfall. The result is that sometimes we find worlds of information resulting in a lengthy
biography, and other times there is a dearth of material from which we can write only one or two
paragraphs. We publish these articles with the disclaimer that this is the story as it now stands.
Additional research might alter our interpretation. We encourage you to undertake your own research
and delve deeper into the history of these individuals and institutions.