Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Photo Number Ninety-Three



Mildred was so kind to mail me a couple of old photos. She wrote..
The two photos are from around 1900.  My great grandpa would have been 25; my grandpa would have been about 2 years old.  (Interesting to note that Margaret Mitchell - Gone With The Wind" author was born in 1900).

What is now Alpharetta, GA (my hometown) was located on an Indian trail between the north Georgia mountains and the Chattahoochee River.  Originally called New Prospect Campground, it consisted of a trading post with tents, a log school, and farms (mostly cotton).  During the 1900's, my great grandpa owned a huge farm where our regional hospital is now located.  Unfortunately for my great grandpa, he lost everything in the Depression.  He worked hard until the day he died when he was kicked by a mule and died from his injuries - I was two (1959).  He is credited with saving the lives of two young sisters from a fire at the local hotel during the early 1900's, where he received burns on his face/hands. 


In 1857, the town was named Alpharetta meaning First Town.  By the Civil War, Alpharetta had built a courthouse/jail for $2,400, 3 hotels, several mercantile shops, churches and a school.  Cotton was the biggest crop for the many family owned farms and very few of the farms owned slaves.  Alpharetta was virtually untouched during the Civil War.  The next town, Roswell, had a large cotton mill and railroad and sustained much damage during the war.

Alpharetta's population today is around 50,000 people.  The downtown street scene I am sending you still has many of the same buildings as in the photo. 


Thank you Mildred for sharing your photographs with me. I found the history behind them very interesting. It looks like both photographs were an event..with the number of people standing on the edge of the street. Mildred has a blog called Mildred's Menagerie...she is one of my most faithful readers and almost always leaves me a comment..Thanks Mildred!

Thanks for stopping by, do come again:)

6 comments:

  1. I love looking at old street scenes and imagining the place as it was. One thing I notice almost all the time is the width of the streets and how empty they are. Is it because the photog has cleared the road for the picture or just because there wasn't much travel way back when. Great photos!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you Connie for posting these old photos. Funny thing about Norkio's comment...my grandparents lived just 300 ft. from the scene in the second photo. Grandpa could easily count the cars that went by on a Sunday afternoon in the '60's. Today, my grandparents house is still standing as a business and the estimated daily population of Alpharetta is 350,000!!! I imagine he would be shocked today. I especially love Shorty - the man third from the right in the 2nd photo! Thanks again Connie.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I MADE A MISTAKE IN MY HISTORY - GREAT GRANDPA WOULD HAVE BEEN 25, GRANDPA WOULD HAVE BEEN TWO IN 1900. MILDRED

    ReplyDelete
  4. It is nice seeing old photos like this that give a glimpse into everyday life in the past. It is striking that outside the courthouse there are only men - no women allowed back then. We have an old museum that has the same architecture as that courthouse. It must have been a standard design of that era. Thanks Mildred for sharing and thanks for posting it Connie.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I really like seeing the old town buildings. They are built so quickly with a fancy brick front and the rest a common building. The big brick building was fancy.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I change the ages Mildred..all is right with it now:)

    ReplyDelete

Hi, Thanks for the comments, your input on these old photos is appreciated! English only please! All comments will be moderated! Connie