A glimpse into Baxley history
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As the City of Baxley prepares for its sesquicentennial anniversary–or 150th birthday–on November 15, community members have not only the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to commemorate the occasion but to relish in the history of the countryside they call home.
Barnes hotel in Baxley
When Appling was formed, the county was an untouched forest of longleaf yellow pine trees broken only by swampy masses alongside their streams. Originally, these pines were considered “back-country” of lesser quality.
The City of Baxley was not the original county seat, but is now favored in memory to the lesser remembered town of Holmesville. In 1849, Holmesville had a population of 20 people, two stores owned by John Graham and John Comas, and a courthouse. Comas, most notably, was born in Barcelona, Spain. Holmesville was incorporated in 1853, extending 300 yards north, south, east, and west of the courthouse. In 30 years, the population grew by just 10 people. Most citizens had moved to Baxley following the construction of the railroad.
Beginning in Brunswick, the stops were numbered every ten miles, with Baxley and the newly constructed storefront labeled Station Number 7. The town was incorporated in 1875 and named for Wilson Baxley, a successful cattleman and one of the first in the county to carry cattle to sale in Savannah.
In a September 1872 election, the people of Appling County voted 249 for and 121 against for moving the courthouse from Holmesville to Baxley, the county’s new economic and social hub. The first small frame courthouse with a log jail was located on the west side of North Main Street, in the parking lot of what is now First Baptist Church. The courthouse burned just 4 years later, following the move.
Baxley’s oldest business, the Baxley News-Banner (the Baxley Banner), was established in 1884 by Warren P. Ward of Douglas. Coca-Cola was first sold in Baxley in the 1890s, and an established bottling company opened in 1909 as an extension of the McRae Bottling Plant before it was discontinued in 1933 and used as a distribution center.
The earliest schoolhouses did not keep records. In addition to the Baxley Training School, Baxley High School was constructed in 1906 and taken over by the city until it merged with the school system in 1950. The elementary complex did not emerge until the 70s.
The early 20th century gave rise to community organizations, such as the Kiwanis Club in November 1925. The first Boy Scout groups were established a few years later in 1928, but the Girl Scouts did not follow until 1945, before the Baxley Lions Club was chartered in 1947.
Interest in a library was sparked when the Baxley Woman’s Club obtained a loan of 500 books from the Georgia Public Library Commission in 1928. Caroline Miller’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel “Lamb in His Bosom” was published in 1933. Miller returned from receiving the award to over 1,000 people greeting her as she stepped off the train and was swiftly entered into a 50-car parade led by American Legion members.
This same sense of community pride will be on display next Saturday evening with a street dance, shopping opportunities in Historic Downtown, and the long-time Tree Fest band the Swingin’ Medallions.
