History

Submitted by admin on Mon, 03/22/2010 - 5:46pm

Located in the heart of central Georgia, Peach County, our 161st county, was created from parts of Houston and Macon counties in 1924. Named for the area's abundant peach crop, Peach County is Georgia's newest and geographically one of the smallest counties in Georgia. Fort Valley was established as a trading post in the early 1820's by James A. Everett and incorporated as a city in 1856. Byron, like many other towns, grew up around a railroad. The community was a flag-stop known as "Number One and One-Half Station." The town was incorporated in 1874 and named for Lord Byron, the English poet. The village of Powersville was first named Station One when the Southwestern Railroad was being built from Macon to Albany in 1852. Then its more suitable name was given in honor of Col. Virgil Powers, a civil engineer for the railroad.

The most famous employer in Fort Valley, as well as one of the largest, is Blue Bird -- founded in 1927. The American Camellia Society, founded in 1945, maintains its national headquarters at Massee Lane Gardens in Peach County. Some of Peach County's earliest schools were the Fort Valley Academy founded in 1836, the Wesley Manual Labor School founded in 1837, Fort Valley Female Seminary founded in 1852, Byron Academy founded in 1885, and the county's well-known university, Fort Valley High and Industrial School (FVSU) founded in 1895.

Historical Photos
Everett Square School	Homecoming Court '65
Greenwaves Marching Band	Fort Valley Greenwaves Defensive Line up
Byron High School	South Pacific 1959
FVHS & Coca-Cola	Fort Valley Debate Team
Physics can be Phun! Class of '66