Thomaston-Upson Archives

08/06/2026

As a follow-up to last week's post, look at this AI generated cleanup of the County's 2nd courthouse!!! Ignore those power lines of doom! I'm not sure how in the world all of those were generated.

Is this a perfect cleanup? I would say no, but it certainly helped me to see little details in the original that I hadn't noticed, such as the pointed top on the gazebo.

For background: The country's second courthouse was built in 1852 after officials realized the first courthouse was in poor condition, with "Cracks appearing up the walls." Still, the 2nd structure was allegedly built with some of the original's remaining material.

The clocktower you see here wasn't erected until the latter part of the 1880s and faced the East side of the square.

The gazebo was actually a well cover, as numerous wells filled the square and can be seen on Sanborn maps! They served a vital purpose as public drinking water, and were also utilized for the livestock that once filled every other shop during the town's "Mule Days".

I'd date this image sometime between 1901, when electricity was brought to downtown, and April of 1908, when this courthouse was razed in order to construct the county's third courthouse.

08/03/2026

Check out today's feature from the Georgia WWII Heritage Trail which tells the story of Thomaston's very own Shirley Temple - Mrs. Charlotte M Hancock !!

During the war, Mrs. Charlotte was dressed by her aunts as the nation's favorite child star. At only three years old, she'd dazzle and dance on the rooftop of her aunts' beauty shop, which is today's Slices Pizzeria.

Soldiers who were bivouacked at Hotel Upson caught notice of the little one and eventually two came over to meet her! Little did Mrs. Charlotte know, her dancing would change the lives for two of her aunts forever.

The union of Joseph Orosz and Charlotte's aunt Inez resulted in the birth of their daughter Judy, who became a doctor. I can't help but wonder how many lives were saved because she was brought into this world. 🥰❤👩‍⚕️

For more on this story, please visit the Archives to see our panel, or check out our interview with Mrs. Charlotte! https://youtu.be/nNXtfUa112M?si=3PvwiuCs5GMo393G

07/24/2026

If you know me at all, you'd know I'm not the *biggest* fan of Chat GPT. Even I can admit however, that it did a wonderful job at cleaning up this image! 😍 See side by side.

This is a recently scanned negative from our Shed Carswell 1940s Collection. Mr. Carswell was the co-owner and co-editor of the Thomaston Times.

No, I do not know the identity of these people. The envelope this negative was found in was marked "Straight News." They are standing on the south side of the courthouse square.

07/14/2026

Today we had the pleasure of seeing one of our most frequent visitors, 10-year-old Lucas Austin and his mom Shelley!

For those who have not yet visited, Lucas and his dad created the "Old Thomaston Photos and Stories" Facebook group. At nearly 4,000 followers, their page is a huge success, and it’s all thanks to one young man with a love of history.

Last week I told Lucas I would show him one of our most interesting holdings, a ca. 1860s daguerreotype. Today, we showed him not one, but two!

Pictured is Lucas holding a daguerreotype of Mr. William Gaines Andrews, a pioneering citizen of Upson County whose family is the namesake of Andrews Chapel Road. William’s son Thomas was the original builder of Andrews Academy, later known as Andrews Chapel School.

With gloved hands, we talked about the nature of daguerreotypes, which was the first publicly available photographic process. The silver-plated copper has a mirror like finish, with glass needed to protect the image from tarnishing when exposed to oxygen. Although William's image may be hard to see in these photos, it is clearly visible when turning the image in the light. The second daguerreotype we handled was of William’s wife Elizabeth Smith Andrews. As shown here, her image has unfortunately become increasingly tarnished as her case is missing the protective glass cover. Of course, Lucas’s first instinct was to ask how it can be fixed!

The answer is not an easy one. We would need help from a professional conservator who can use specialized methods like electrolysis to remove the tarnishing. Thankfully, Elizabeth’s likeness is still intact, under the almost black tarnish.

From there, Lucas and I looked at William’s 1807 Cyphering Book, a treasure to the Andrews Family, which was also used as a math textbook in the Andrews Chapel one room schoolhouse until its closure in the early 1940s!

The world needs more young minds like Lucas. We’re always glad to see him and are so happy he’s helped make history COOL again!

05/21/2026

*As a preface, please note the Archives will close tomorrow, 5/22, from 1:15-3:15 for the visitation and services. We apologize for any potential inconvenience.*

On behalf of myself (Jamesan), Jessie, and Lisa, we at the TU Archives are profoundly saddened by the passing of sweet Mr. Walter Brown.

I had the great pleasure to serve with him on the Archives Records Advisory Board, for which he was a longtime member, and the City's Historic Preservation Commission.

Like many have said, Mr. Walter was a fantastic human being. He always had a neat story to tell about local history, was usually the first person to give a compliment for a job well done, and never hesitated to volunteer his help. I remember several years ago I needed some assistance in cleaning out our storage room at the Archives, so I asked my board members if any were interested. Mr. Walter and Mr. Jimmy McKinley (both in their 80's mind you), offered. Of course, that is just the type of people they were!

Mr. Walter's dad owned the City Dairy, with the first location on Church Street, where Peacock Feathers is today, and later with a much larger location on the site of what is today's Thomaston Hardware. The enlarged plant also featured Freezer lockers, the first location of its kind in town!

He was so proud talking about his daddy, Mrs. Mary Jo, and his family.

If any Boy Scout or Girl Scout troops happen to read this, I'd like to mention an idea of his, mentioned several times over the years. As a boy, Walter was neighbors with Mr. Shed Carswell, who was the co-owner and co-editor of The Thomaston Times. MANY of our historical images of the town taken during the 1940s came from Mr. Carswell. We wouldn't have these wonderful views of many old businesses if it weren't for him. For that reason, Mr. Walter thought it would be great if scouts could continue taking pictures downtown over time, so they can be preserved for posterity. :)

Lastly, I'd like to share the sweetest little article I'd found while rummaging through the 1945 Thomaston Times. Given Mr. Walter's family relationship with Shed Carswell, I think it was out of fondness this was published on the front page. I'd shared this with him years ago when I first found it, and remember he was so tickled to read it. (I'll post the actual article in the comments)

"Melon Produced Overnight Makes Walter Happy" - Walter Brown, 5-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. Lewis Brown, who is cultivating 8 watermelon hills in his backyard was quite happy Sunday morning to find a full grown and ripe melon in his patch. It didn't make any difference to him that the vine was not attached, it was in his patch. And it is presumed that it would not have made any difference if he had known his daddy had bought it and placed in the patch the night before, because he still got it from his patch.

We will greatly miss you, Mr. Walter! Prayers to Mrs. Mary Jo and family.

View Mr. Walter Lewis Brown, Jr.'s obituary, send flowers, find service dates, and sign the guestbook.

04/22/2026

Come out this Friday to join the Girl Scouts of Thomaston Troop 23019 and the City of Thomaston Tree Board as they hold their Arbor Day Tree Dedication and celebrate the history of girl scouts in Thomaston!

Did you know the first girl scout troop was started here in 1924 by Miss Weaver Dallas?

In their early days, Weaver and her sister Kathryn Dallas taught the young girls to sew as well as make their own papier-mache masks and puppets which were used across the country in the Dallas Sisters' Famous Rag-Bag Alley Puppet Theatre! Pictured are the sisters as well as a group of girl scouts performing somewhere in California, underneath a giant redwood!

To learn more about girl scout history, visit them this Friday, April 24th, at 4:00PM.

04/02/2026

The Gold Star Memorial Marker Dedication Ceremony will be held THIS Saturday at 10:30, on the grounds of the Pettigrew-White-Stamps House Museum at 800 S. Church Street.

Following the ceremony, the Upson Historical Society will provide tours of the historic 1833 home!

COME BE A PART OF HISTORY!
There will be a Gold Star Memorial Marker Dedication Ceremony on Saturday, April 4, 2026 at 10:30 a.m. at the Pettigrew-White-Stamps House Museum located at 800 South Church Street in Thomaston. This event is sponsored by the Green Thumb Garden Club and the Upson Historical Society.