Dodge Historical Society, Inc.

06/05/2026

Monday, June 8..5PM The Dodge County Murrell Memorial Library, 531 2nd Avenue, Eastman, Ga.31023

05/06/2026

03/17/2026

FYI...IMPORTANT meeting date changed

Dodge Historical Society recently announced a speaker meeting to be held Thursday, March 26 at 6:30...First Presbyterian Church Eastman social hall, 5334 Oak St, Eastman, GA 31023. Hart Mizell is the featured speaker. Light refreshments will follow the meeting at the Eastman House, 5315 Eastman Street, Eastman, GA. immediately following the meeting. Hart Mizell is the featured speaker. Please join us, membership is not required, though welcomed...cj

Hart Mizell is an award-winning historian, educator, and lifelong resident of Telfair County, Georgia. His primary research focus is the cultural and political development of Georgia’s Wiregrass region. Drawing on years of archival research, fieldwork, and community engagement, Mizell has authored The History of Telfair County, Georgia Volume One: Land Between the Rivers, a comprehensive account of the early history of Telfair County.
A descendant of some of the county’s earliest settlers, Mizell brings both a familial and academic perspective to the story of the "land between the rivers." He is committed to documenting the full complexity of Telfair County’s local history, its triumphs, its contradictions, and its ongoing relevance. Volume One: Land Between the Rivers is the first in a trilogy exploring the broader historical arc of Telfair County.
Mizell is a graduate of Columbus State University and a teacher at Telfair County High School. He and his wife, Corinna, have a daughter, Callie.

03/07/2026

Mark your calendars...

02/23/2026

Dodge Historical Society recently announced a speaker meeting to be held Thursday, March 19 at 6:30PM...First Presbyterian Church Eastman social hall, 5334 Oak St, Eastman, GA 31023. Hart Mizell is the featured speaker. Light refreshments will follow the meeting at the Eastman House, 5315 Eastman Street, Eastman, GA. immediately following the meeting. Hart Mizell is the featured speaker. Please join us, membership is not required, though welcomed...cj

Hart Mizell is an award-winning historian, educator, and lifelong resident of Telfair County, Georgia. His primary research focus is the cultural and political development of Georgia’s Wiregrass region. Drawing on years of archival research, fieldwork, and community engagement, Mizell has authored The History of Telfair County, Georgia Volume One: Land Between the Rivers, a comprehensive account of the early history of Telfair County.
A descendant of some of the county’s earliest settlers, Mizell brings both a familial and academic perspective to the story of the "land between the rivers." He is committed to documenting the full complexity of Telfair County’s local history, its triumphs, its contradictions, and its ongoing relevance. Volume One: Land Between the Rivers is the first in a trilogy exploring the broader historical arc of Telfair County.
Mizell is a graduate of Columbus State University and a teacher at Telfair County High School. He and his wife, Corinna, have a daughter, Callie.

02/05/2026

Reminder...

It's that time of year to renew Dodge Historical Society memberships...$30 for single member and $50 for couple memberships. Please mail payment to Dodge Historical Society, P O Box 163 Eastman, Ga 31023. Your financial support is much needed and appreciated. Persons interested in joining our group are welcomed; please message me with name, email and phone number . Connie Giddens-Jones

01/06/2026

Coming February 7th in Eastman, GA @ the Magnolia Theater...7 until 9
Radio 80s Band delivers a must-see show performing not just the usual Top 10 songs you hear from other 80s tribute bands, but songs that go beyond that and make you realize how much more there was to love about the greatest decade of pop/rock music! You’ll hear the all-time greatest hits by bands like Bon Jovi, Journey, Foreigner and Prince, as well as songs you forgot you loved from artists like Toto, Mr. Mister, Cutting Crew, Duran Duran, Howard Jones and so many more! No silly costumes! No big wigs! No bad spandex! Just amazing vocals, incredibly talented musicians and high-energy fun! Playing all the hits! All the time!! All the best loved songs from 80s Pop/Rock Radio!!!
Click on the TicketLeap link to purchase tickets. $25 online and $30 at door.
https://www.ticketleap.events/events/arts-guild-dodge

12/31/2025

It's that time of year to renew Dodge Historical Society memberships...$30 for single member and $50 for couple memberships. Please mail payment to Dodge Historical Society, P O Box 163 Eastman, Ga 31023. Your financial support is much needed and appreciated. Persons interested in joining our group are welcomed; please message me with name, email and phone number .

09/09/2025

The Dodge Historical Society will meet on Thursday, September 18th at 6:00 pm. at the Eastman First Presbyterian Church Social Hall.

Our guest speaker Joe Luke, Jr. from Fitzgerald, will talk about his recent novel “Southern Tragedy - The Life and Times of Lucius Lazarus Williams”. After the program, refreshments will be served next door at the Eastman House. Guests are welcome to attend.

Joe Luke, Jr. was born in Fitzgerald. He graduated from Fitzgerald High School and earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Phoenix. He served 20 years in the United States Air Force and another 20 years in the Central Intelligence Agency before retiring back to Fitzgerald. He has been researching his family history for nearly 40 years.

On December 24, 1902, Cohen Garrison attended the Christmas Eve service at Blockhouse Church in Jacksonville. As the service ended, Cohen carried his young daughter, Sarah, outside into the crisp night air. He put Sarah down to light his pipe. Before Cohen could savor the moment, his cousin, Bryant Williams, quietly emerged from the shadows and walked up behind Cohen. With a single shot from his revolver, Bryant ended Cohen Garrison’s life.

The above excerpt from the book, reminiscent of the infamous Hatfield-McCoy Feud, is told by Phillip Joe Luke in his debut novel, Southern Tragedy: The Life and Times of Lucius Lazarus Williams. Although presented as a novel, it is rooted in true events from Telfair County, during the late 1800s. The narrative delves into the Dodge Land Wars and the Garrison-Williams Feud, drawing from the lives of Joe Luke’s maternal ancestors.

The novel opens during the Battle of Ox Hill, near Chantilly, Virginia, in 1862. During this Civil War battle, the 49th Georgia Regiment from Telfair County, killed one of the Union Army’s most esteemed generals, Major General Philip Kearny of New York, known as the “One-Armed Devil.”mAmong their ranks was Captain Lucius Lazarus Williams. Captured in Petersburg, Virginia, in 1865, Lucius was released after the war and returned home to Georgia, where he served as the Telfair County Sheriff.