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Soperton...A
New Town
Following the Civil War,
a new tenant system emerged, replacing the larger
plantations of the antebellum South. Atlanta began
to develop as a major transportation hub, and from
there developed a more extensive railway system--a
development that brings us closer to our own immediate
history. The June 19, 1902 issue of The Montgomery
Monitor tells of a new town in Montgomery County
"on the Macon, Dublin, and Savannah (Rail)Road,
near Lothair." The article described the town
as having several families, one general store, and
two or three others under construction. Lothair was
a more settled area than this new town called Soperton
(named for railroad superintendent Henry Soper), but
the placement of the railroad here created the potential
for growth.
The town grew rapidly.
The Oct. 16, 1902 issue of The Montgomery Monitor
reported, "Soperton is on a boom, it is only
about three months old and has five stores now and
three more storehouses going up, and several dwellings
going up." The town was granted its first charter
by the legislature in 1902. In 1910 the charter was
amended to add a town school board; and again in 1914
to construct and operate water, sewer and electrical
power systems.
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