Bleckley County

By William Lonnie Barlow

In 1868, Dykesboro was incorporated as Cochran. The Macon and Brunswick Railroad enabled the community to ship cotton and corn and receive needed goods. As the town began to grow, education was always promoted by the churches. Ebenezer Academy, founded in 1884, became Middle Georgia College. In 1912, Bleckley County was created, and the county courthouse began operation on January 1, 1914. The local economy was good, and World War I brought a period of prosperity due to the need for food and fiber. In the 1920s, the boll weevil devastated the agricultural cotton economy and the Great Depression brought loss of economic wealth and financial hardships that were not relieved until after World War II.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
• Release date: May 10, 2010
• ISBN: 9781439626245

William Lonnie Barlow

Lonnie Barlow is a Cochran native who has practiced law in Bleckley County since 1971. He is a graduate of Cochran High School, Tulane University, and Mercer Law School. He served four years in the U.S. Navy. In October 1993, he appeared before the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of Hall versus Bleckley County, in which the sole commissioner form of government in Bleckley County was upheld in a 5-4 decision. He was named the official historian of Cochran and Bleckley County by proclamation issued August 26, 2004, by Cochran mayor Charles D. Killebrew and Sole County commissioner Billy R. Smith.

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INTRODUCTION

The building of the Macon and Brunswick Railroad resulted in the small rural town of Dykesboro being incorporated in 1868 as Cochran. With north/south rail traffic bringing resources and people to the new town, Cochran was able to develop by exporting agricultural crops of cotton and corn. Naval stores were exported by trail and ship. The need for lumber also increased the shipment of timber from vast virgin forests. When the east/west railroad connected Cochran with Dublin and Hawkinsville, further economic development allowed the shipment of goods, cotton, and timber by water along the Ocmulgee River and the Oconee River to coastal ports at Darien and Brunswick for shipment to New England and overseas to Liverpool. Cochran continued to grow and entered the 20th century with new homes, downtown sidewalks, running water, and telephone service. Education was always promoted by the City of Cochran and by the area churches. Ebeneezer Academy, founded in 1884, became Middle Georgia College in 1931 and is a unit of the University System of Georgia. In addition to the excellent local schools, Middle Georgia College promotes Cochran, Bleckley County, and the middle Georgia area as a learning center for students beyond high school.

Bleckley County was created by the State of Georgia in 1912; the jail and courthouse were built in 1913, and the county courthouse began operation on January 1, 1914. The local economy was good, and World War I brought a period of prosperity due to the need for food and fiber. The 1920s brought the devastation of the agricultural cotton economy due to the bowl weevil. The Great Depression brought loss of economic wealth and financial hardships, which were not relieved until 1941 when the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor brought another national war effort for food and fiber. The rural economy of the state of Georgia was best suited to fill this need with cotton, corn, and timber, leaving Cochran almost daily to aid the war effort. The post–World War II era has been the greatest period of peace and prosperity for America in general and for Cochran and Bleckley County in particular.

Home, church, school, and government are the four institutions on which society is built. Home and church are created by God. Government and schools are instituted by men. All four are necessary for a group of people to live in a community, work together, marry, raise families, and enjoy what Thomas Jefferson called the pursuit of happiness in this life. In Cochran and Bleckley County, Georgia, these four have, for 160 years, provided a wonderful place to live, which is worthy of remembrance in the pages of this book.

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GOVERNMENT

In 1996, Marcia S. Manning painted an oil depicting, from left to right, the Mullis-Howard home (built in 1910), the Bleckley County Courthouse (built in 1913), the Cochran Elementary School (1940–1964), the city hall and city auditorium (built in 1928), and First Baptist Church (built in 1917).

The Bleckley County Courthouse was built in 1913 on Second Street, Cochran, Georgia. It has continuously served Bleckley County to the present time. The photograph above, taken in 1941, shows the Toombs Kimborough Standard Oil service station sign across the street. (Courtesy of Cochran-Bleckley Chamber of Commerce, Kathryn Davis Fisher, director.)

The Bleckley County Jail was built on Beech Street in Cochran in 1913. It was the home of the sheriff until the 1950s and housed all prisoners until 2007, when a new law enforcement center was built.

The original Cochran City Hall (1869–1928) was housed in this building on First Street (the present location of the State Farm Insurance office).