WOOLSEY, GEORGIA - Friends of Historic Woolsey, Inc

WOOLSEY, GEORGIA

<span>Woolsey, Georgia:</span> About Rev. Woolsey

<span>Early 1950s Aerial View of Woolsey :</span> Courtesy of Sylvia Schell

<span>WOOLSEY, GEORGIA:</span> Woolsey School

<span>Woolsey School - Built in 1929:</span> Photo by Jenny Burdette © 2021

<span>Photos:</span> Courtesy of Bobby Jackson Collection and Linda Blum

<span>Hattie Clair, Winnie, & Addie Grey:</span> Courtesy of Betty Brown

<span>Winnie, Hattie Clair & Addie Grey:</span> James L. Wilcox Collection

<span>Aubry Sams & Bobby Jackson:</span> Bobby Jackson Collection

<span>Photos:</span> Courtesy of Bobby Jackson Collection

<span>HISTORY, STORIES, AND PEOPLE:</span> The Woolsey Family

<span>HISTORY, STORIES, AND PEOPLE:</span> Ferrol Sams – Christmas Memory 1929

<span>Woolsey Centennial Celebration:</span> Photo by James Lovett ©1993

<span>Woolsey Centennial:</span> Photo by James Lovett © 1993

<span>Dedication:</span> Photo by James Lovett ©1993

<span>I. G Woolsey Descendants:</span> Photo by James Lovett © 1993

<span>Woolsey, GA:</span> Photo by Jenny Burdette ©2021

<span>WOOLSEY, GEORGIA:</span> Digital Art

<span>Ancestors:</span> Sellner Quotation

<span>Ferrol A. Sams Jr. "Sambo":</span> From the Sams Family Collection

<span>Ferrol, Mildred, Jimmie Kate, Janice, Sara:</span> Sams Family Collection

<span>Sambo 1939 Inspiration for RwTH Cover:</span> Sams Family Collection

<span>Ferrol A. Sams Jr. in WWII:</span> From the Sams Family Collection

<span>Ferrol A. Sams Sr. "Bear Cat":</span> From the Sams Family Collection

<span>WOOLSEY BANK:</span> The Fayetteville News November 11, 1910

<span>Woolsey Old Store:</span> Courtesy of Artist – Lowell Crawford

<span>I. G. and Arva Woolsey:</span> From the James L. Wilcox Collection

<span>WOOLSEY, GEORGIA:</span> I. G. and Arva Woolsey Home

<span>Winn Jackson in Store:</span> Courtesy of the Bobby Jackson Collection

<span>Erick Peeples & M. G. Sams 1942:</span> Bobby Jackson Collection

<span>M. G. Sams Store:</span> WOOLSEY, GEORGIA

<span>Frank & Steve Cole in front of Norton's Garage:</span> Courtesy L. Blum

<span>Clemanza Lewis Matthews 1898:</span> Courtesy of Erica Roberts Chapell

<span>Isaac Woolsey Lewis:</span> Courtesy of Lyn Lewis Parker

<span>Ada Elizabeth Sams Lewis:</span> Courtesy of Lyn Lewis Parker

<span>Ada Elizabeth Sams Lewis:</span> Courtesy of Laura Lewis Blischke

<span>Margarette J. Hubbard Jones:</span> Courtesy of Linda Blum

<span>Charles Reagan Woolsey:</span> Photo from the Carolyn Lambert Collection

<span>Stella Gay Woolsey:</span> Photo from the Carolyn Lambert Collection

<span>Monroe Haynes and Zeph Woolsey:</span> Courtesy of Gerald Woolsey

<span>H. Lambert, C.R. Woolsey, & J.L. Wilcox:</span> J.L. Wilcox Collection

<span>I. G. and Emeline Woolsey's Children:</span> J. L. Wilcox Collection

<span>Juan Fernandez McLean:</span> Courtesy Linda Blum

<span>Mary Roberts McLean:</span> Courtesy of Linda Blum

<span>John M. & Juan Fernandez McLean in 1906:</span> Courtesy of Linda Blum

<span>John Morgan and Lizzie McLean:</span> Courtesy of Linda Blum

<span>John Morgan McLean Home:</span> Bernice, Joe Glenn & Thomas Bryan

<span>Esther, Ruth & Ralph McLean © 1914:</span> Courtesy of L. Blum

<span>John M. McLean and the mail wagon in 1903:</span> Courtesy L. Blum

<span>John Morgan McLean & Old Lady © 1906:</span> Courtesy of L. Blum

<span>Juan Fernandez, Alice & Miriam McLean:</span> Courtesy of L Blum

<span>Ella Mae Jones and Oliver McLean:</span> Courtesy of Richard McLean

<span>Archibald G. Preston:</span> Courtesy of Virginia Bailey

<span>Martha Emily Preston:</span> Courtesy of Virginia Bailey

<span>Woolsey Gin and Warehouse:</span> Fayetteville News Nov. 11, 1910

<span>Lewis & Matthews:</span> The Fayetteville News, Nov. 11, 1910

<span>J. I. and R. T. Woolsey:</span> From the J. L. Wilcox Collection

<span>James Isaac Woolsey:</span> from the J. L. Wilcox Collection

<span>Robert Toombs Woolsey:</span> from the J. L. Wilcox Collection

<span>Woolsey Train Depot:</span> Courtesy of Frank Carden

<span>Woolsey Train Tracks:</span> From the Bobby Jackson Collection

<span>Linnie, Bobby, & Gladys:</span> From the Bobby Jackson Collection

<span>Bobby Jackson in Woolsey:</span> From the Bobby Jackson Collection

<span>Before Hwy 92:</span> From the Bobby Jackson Collection

<span>Mortimer G. Sams in Store:</span> From the Bobby Jackson Collection

<span>Inside Store:</span> From the Bobby Jackson Collection

<span>Rachel Powell Reeves :</span> Courtesy of Nancy Reeves

<span>Frank P. Reeves at his mother's grave:</span> Courtesy of Nancy Reeves

<span>Walter, Frank, and Robert Reeves:</span> Courtesy of Nancy Reeves

<span>Reeves' Home in 1960 :</span> Courtesy of Nancy Reeves

<span>Grey, Rachel, and Frank Reeves:</span> Courtesy of Nancy Reeves

<span>Katie Amanda McLean Romer:</span> Courtesy of Richard McLean

<span>Woolsey School 1st grade 1933:</span> Courtesy of Teresa J. Roby

<span>Thomas & Mattie McLean:</span> Courtesy of Faye McLean Gresham

<span>Robert T. & Alice Woolsey Children:</span> J. L. Wilcox Collection

<span>Hattie Clair Woolsey Wilcox:</span> J. L. Wilcox Collection

<span>Charles, Marcus, & Gerald:</span> Gerald Woolsey Collection

<span>Juan Fernandez & Esther McLean:</span> Courtesy of Richard McLean

<span>Mortimer Sams' Racecar:</span> Courtesy of Mort Sams

<span>Bobby Jackson & Mary Jane Sams 1937:</span> B. Jackson Collection

<span>Pre Hwy 92 Woolsey, GA:</span> From the Bobby Jackson Collection

<span>Depot Agent Charles Thomas Woolsey :</span> Courtesy of Teresa Roby

<span>Annie Bryant Fendley Woolsey:</span> Courtesy of Teresa Roby

<span>Woolsey Sandlot Baseball Team - C. Woolsey:</span> From T. Roby

<span>Charles Thomas Woolsey:</span> Courtesy of Teresa Roby

<span>Gladys Goodman McLean:</span> Linda Blum-Barton Collection

<span>C. R. and Ruby Woolsey:</span> J. L. Wilcox Collection

<span>Clemanza Lewis Matthews:</span> Courtesy of Erica Roberts Chapell

<span>Mary Jane & Mary Ellen Sams:</span> From the Bobby Jackson Collection

<span>1958 Woolsey Baptist Church Play:</span> Courtesy of William Ballard

"Woolsey was a cotton town, a real
thriving community then. We had a big
cotton gin, and folks were raising a lot
of cotton, and trains stopped right here
and loaded up bale after bale."
– John Ballard McLean, Atlanta Journal and Constitution, 1996

"Old places foster community by giving people a sense of shared
identity through landmarks, history, memory, and stories."
– Thompson M. Mayes, Why Old Places Matter

Named in honor of Rev. I. G. Woolsey, MD, a minister, doctor, farmer, landowner, and philanthropist, Woolsey, incorporated in 1893, was a thriving town in its heyday.

Depot Agent - C. T. Woolsey
Grandson of Dr. I. G. Woolsey

The town had a train depot, school, bank, post office, jail, millinery, blacksmith shop, cotton gin, peach packing plant, doctor’s office, lumber business, general store, and church. Trains from the Atlanta-Hawkinsville Railroad Company carried cotton, peaches, and other crops north to Atlanta. President Franklin D. Roosevelt would frequently stop in Woolsey on his train rides to Warm Springs, Georgia.

Storytelling, an integral part of history, teaches, inspires, motivates, and can even caution. Stories tell where a town's citizens have been and where they hope to be in the future. Along with the preservation of the church and cemetery, Friends of Historic Woolsey's goal is to preserve and promote the stories of the people who lived in, settled in, and built the town of Woolsey, Georgia.

With people moving to the counties surrounding Atlanta, both Woolsey and Fayette County continue to grow. Today, Woolsey has 206 residents. The town’s motto is “Where Life is Slower and Simpler.” Woolsey is the smallest town in Fayette County, one of the 28 Metro Atlanta counties.

In addition to working with national, state, and/or county historic preservation organizations, Friends of Historic Woolsey also works with the mayor and the town council in Woolsey’s historic preservation efforts providing current residents of and visitors to Woolsey with historic, educational, and cultural opportunities to learn about the town and the surrounding area.

WOOLSEY, GEORGIA AND ITS PEOPLE

A Hundred Families in Fayette by Mrs. Hill P. Redwine (Lucy Reagan)

Woolsey Dots, The Fayetteville News, July 19, 1895
Woolsey's First Literary Society, The Fayetteville News, August 09, 1895

Woolsey News Items, The Fayetteville News, September 13, 1895
Woolsey Literary Club, The Fayetteville News, October 18, 1895

Woolsey Dots, The Fayetteville News, November 01, 1895

Woolsey Literary Club, The Fayetteville News, November 01, 1895

Woolsey Literary Club, The Fayetteville News, November 13, 1895

Woolsey Literary Club, The Fayetteville News, November 22, 1895

"I. G. Woolsey Family Reunion at Woolsey," The Fayetteville News, 18 December 20, 1895

"Round about Woolseyville," The Fayetteville News, March 08, 1889
Dr. I. G. Woolsey Obituary, The Fayetteville News, September 19, 1902
Death of Dr. Isaac Gray Woolsey
Lutie Lee McLean, handwritten obituary, August 13, 1905
Mary A. McLean, handwritten obituary, August 16, 1905
Application for a Bank Charter, The Fayetteville News, August 02, 1907
Application to be Incorporated, Farmers Warehouse, The Fayetteville News, Aug. 27, 1909
Petition to be Incorporated, Woolsey Gin Co., The Fayetteville News, April 08, 1910
J. T. Lewis Woolsey Gin and Warehouse Co. The Fayetteville News, November 11, 1910
Woolsey Bank Established 1907, The Fayetteville News, November 11, 1910