Bookshelf

Here are 15 works essential to understanding the origin and development of Columbus, Georgia. We compiled the list from 35 recommendations we received from a range of experts – historians, preservationists and librarians. All of the works are available at the Columbus Public Library, 3000 Macon Road.

In alphabetical order, by author:

Grant, Judith. Black America Series: Columbus, Georgia. (1999)

The rich African-American heritage of Columbus, Georgia, comes alive in this engaging collection of images and stories. From the town’s early days when pioneers settled along the Chattahoochee River to its present status as a thriving metropolitan community, Columbus boasts an eventful history, one that would not be complete without the hard work and extraordinary achievements of its African-American community. – Amazon

Harris, Roger. Our Town: An Introduction to the History of Columbus, Georgia. (1992)

This illustrated history of Columbus, Georgia, and its accompanying coloring book are intended for use in the schools, an example of what author Harris calls “heritage education.” But no adult should ignore either book, as both are sophisticated in approach, detailed in description, and accessible to young and old.

Hyatt, Richard. 100 People to Remember. (2000)

Newspaper columnist Hyatt prepared these profiles for a Ledger-Enquirer special section celebrating “people to remember” at the turn of the century. Editor Mike Burbach told readers the profiles “reflect the richness of local history, the diversity of its influences, [and] the rainbow of ways in which the individuals make a difference in the character of their community.” Watercolor portraits by Don Coker.

Kane, Sharyn and Keeton, Richard. Fort Benning: The Land and the People. (1994)

This illustrated works “tells the human story of the hundreds of generations who lived on the grounds of the U.S. Army post, as well as the proud history of the Infantry, which calls Fort Benning home. This is the first complete record of the many archeological and historical studies conducted on Fort Benning, located in West Georgia and east Alabama.” – From the book cover

Kennedy, Linda K. and Galer, Mary Jane. Historic Linwood Cemetery. (2004)

As the city’s oldest graveyard, Linwood Cemetery bears witness to the city’s rich history. Graced by over 100 monuments signed by their 19th-century carvers, Linwood is more than a cemetery: it is a virtual outdoor museum. Historic Linwood Cemetery transforms the old gravestones into flesh-and-blood stories of the people who once walked the streets of Columbus. – Amazon

Kyle, F. Clason. Images: A Pictorial History of Columbus, Georgia. (1986)

Images is a volume of more than 500 quick glimpses into the crowded montage of life as it has been lived on the banks of the Chattahoochee since 1828; of the warts and dimples of human experience, and of the warp and woof of a vigorous population, all the while tracing the main patterns of the economic, cultural, and industrial fabric of the community. – From the dust jacket

__________. In Order of Appearance: Chronicling 135 Years on America’s Most Celebrated Stage. (2006)

Since its rescue from demolition in 1963, the Springer Opera House in Columbus, Georgia has listed over its stage door some of the famous folk who have trod its boards. Here are 108 profiles, plus critical appraisals of their appearances, of the great and to be greats who provided this small industrial city with the cream of celebrity. – From the dust jacket

Laufer, Marilyn and Pound, Murphey G. The Architectural Styles of Our Town: Columbus, Georgia. (1996)

The authors trace architectural styles in Columbus, Georgia, from Federalist homes in the 1840s to Post Modern buildings 150 years later. Laufer wrote the text. Pound produced the drawings. This work is part of the “Our Town” series published by preservationists for use in the schools to “instill a sense of place and a sense of pride in this community.”

Lupold, John. Columbus, Georgia, 1828-1978. (1978)

This illustrated history of Columbus, Georgia, was written by an associate professor of history at Columbus College in observance of the city’s sesquicentennial. The work is both scholarly and accessible, and builds on earlier, centennial histories.

__________ and French, Thomas. Bridging Deep South Rivers: The Life and Legend of Horace King. (1994)

Horace King, 1807-1885, built covered bridges over every large river in Georgia, Alabama, and eastern Mississippi. That King, who began life as a slave in Cheraw, South Carolina, received no formal training makes his story all the more remarkable. This is the first major biography of the gifted architect and engineer who used his skills to transcend the limits of slavery and segregation and become a successful entrepreneur and builder. – Amazon

Martin, John H. The Making of a Modern City: Columbus, Georgia, 1827-1865. (1972)

Martin’s almanac-like approach to the development of Columbus embraces history and genealogy. The year-by-year history is a telling of official acts by the local governments. Births, marriages and deaths are a year-by-year compendium of vital statistics.

McCullers, Carson. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter. (1940)

Columbus-born Carson McCullers became a literary sensation at age 23 with the publication of her first novel, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter. With its profound sense of moral isolation and its compassionate glimpses into its characters’ inner lives, the novel is considered McCullers’ finest work, an enduring masterpiece, published in 1940. – Amazon

Winn, William W. The Old Beloved Path. (1992)

The Old Beloved Path is a study of the various means which the native people of the Chattahoochee region used to subsist from the land. It describes the plants they gathered and cultivated, the animals they hunted, and the materials they collected for food, clothing, shelter, and tools. It describes a culture that flourished here for centuries and that was a primary contributor to the frontier experience that is our region’s cultural legacy. – From the Foreword

__________. The Triumph of the Ecunnau-Nuxulgee: Land Speculators, George M. Troup, and the Removal of the Creek Indians from Alabama and Georgia, 1825-1838. (2015)

Triumph of the Eccunna Nuxulgee is the first book to chronicle the tragic saga of Indian Removal with a specific focus on the Chattahoochee Valley of Georgia and Alabama. With candor and objectivity, William W. Winn chronicles the duplicity, political maneuvering, and military force through which the native Creeks ultimately lost their lands, illuminating latent issues of morality, sovereignty, cultural identity, and national destiny the affair brought to the surface.

Youngblood, Shay. The Big Mama Stories. (1989)

These folktale-like stories, told by a young woman about her “mamas” – the several women who raised her following the death of her mother – capture the dialect and climate of the black South of the ’60s. Each work centers around one of the mamas; the narrative voice throughout is intimate and assured. Youngblood maintains a near-flawless cadence and a consistent tone with subtlety and grace. – Publishers Weekly

For additional reading, feel free to consult the other recommended works, listed below:

Clarke, John Hendrik. The Boy Who Painted Jesus: A Short Story. (1940)
Evans, Augusta J. St. Elmo. (1896)
Fussell, Fred. A Chattahoochee Album: Images of Traditional People and Folksy Places around the Lower Chattahoochee Valley. (1999)
Hall, Jacquelyn Dowd et al. Like a Family: The Making of a Southern Cotton Mill World. (1987)
Hyatt, Richard. Richard Hyatt’s Columbus: Remembering 40 Years of Daily Newspapering. (2011)
Kuspit, Donald and Byers, Jack. Bo Bartlett: Paintings 1981-2010. (2011)
Lane, Mills. The Rambler in Georgia: Travelers’ Accounts of Frontier Georgia. (1973)
Lieb, Sandra. Mother of the Blues: A Study of Ma Rainey. (1981)
Lloyd, Craig. Eugene Bullard: Black Expatriate in Jazz-Age Paris. (2006)
Mahan, Joseph. Columbus: Georgia’s Fall Line Trading Town. (1986)
Mahan, Katherine Hines. Showboats to Soft Shoes: A Century of Musical Development in Columbus (1968)
Mitchell, George and Fussell, Fred. In Celebration of a Legacy: Traditional Arts of the Lower Chattahoochee Valley. (1999)
Mitchell, Susan (Ed.) A Southern Collection: Then and Now. (1997)
O’Connell, Deidre. The Ballad of Blind Tom, Slave Pianist. (2009)
Owings, David M. Columbus. (2015)
Porter, Horace A. The Making of a Black Scholar: From Georgia to the Ivy League. (2003)
Roddenbery, S.A. I Swear by Apollo: A Black Surgeon in the Deep South. (1993)
Telfair, Nancy. A History of Columbus, 1828-1928. (1928)
Thomas, Kenneth. Columbus in Vintage Postcards. (2001)
Tuck, Stephen. Beyond Atlanta: The Struggle for Racial Equality in Georgia, 1940-1980. (2003) Willoughby, Lynn. Fair to Middlin: The Antebellum Cotton Trade of the Apalachicola/Chattahoochee River Valley. (2009)
Whitehead, Margaret L. City of Progress: History of Columbus, Georgia. (1979)
Worsley, Etta Blanchard. Columbus on the Chattahoochee. (1951)

Our thanks to the following for their recommendations:

• Alice Budge, former president, Muscogee County Friends of Libraries
• Sylvia Bunn, librarian, Columbus Public Library
• Justin Kreig, preservationist, Historic Columbus Foundation
• F. Clason Kyle, historian
• Gary McCullough, librarian, Columbus Public Library
• Callie McGillis, librarian, Columbus State University
• Claudya Muller