The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1899-06-22
n Letter from Georgia

~ bIle EulUOT OF Inc RepuDllcan.
In closing a short letter to your val
liable journal few months back the
promise was made that i'll a succeeding
letter a somewhat detailed descrip-
tion of our Magic City would be
undertaken. That promise | now
shall try to make good, stopping only
to say that in reference to the great
state within whose bounds we are
located our position is southern
central one. That is, on an east and
west line we are about midway be-
tween the Atlantic and the Alabama
line; whilst measuring the other way
we are about one hundred miles from
the Florida line, and only about one
half way to the center.
1t is of course known to all your
readers that Georgia is state of
magnificent distances and, if one
may safely judge the future by past
and present indications, in genera
tion or two this fifty -eight-thousand-
square mile ''patchI4 in Uncle Sans
great domain will be called a magnifi-
cent state.
But as to our city. the name itself
is mistit and a misfortune. 1t is
chiefly the home of old soldiers, and
If my suggestion had been adopted
we would write it Veteranholm, but
a majority voted for the name of the
founder, hence Fitzgerald. In rela
tion to the sixty or seventy thousand
acres of lands the location is about
central. The surface is slightly un-
dulating, atfording good natural
drainage over a pebbly lawn. The
Mat & of 1,ailac
ment. All the streets run at right
angles. Main E. and W. and Cen
tral avenue On. and s. cross on the
exact center Of the city and are each
100 feet wide, with 20foot sodded
and tree shaded foot-way in the cen
ter and 40-foot outward-sloping drive
ways at sides, and 10-foot pavements.
All the other streets are but 40 feet
wide-too narrOw-save the outside
drives, which are 100 feet.
But it is the street nomenclature
which proves specially interesting to
our visitors generally. 1t is to be
remembered that we are in the
Southland" and at the same time
in large majority Federal soldiers.
So, whilst our patriotic devotion
prompted us to the adoption of a
system of Street naming significant
of old associations, prudence sug-
gested such a style as would have
about it the least amount of often
siveness to our neighbors-the native
Georgians, who, almost to Il man,
from 48 and upwards. were lin it
thirtytive years ago Well. after
careful deliberation the system
adopted was this: All streets run
ming north and south We're named
for prominent generals in the Civil
War; those east of Main for Union
generals, those west of Main for Con-
federate. So we have Grant. Sher-
man, Sheridan, Thomas, Meade. Lo-
gan, etc. And westward from Main,
Lee, Jackson, Johnson, Gordon,
Longstreet, etc. Then. those streets
running east and west north of Cen
trail avenue are named after princi-
pal Georgia rivers, as Ocumulgee.
OcOnee, Suwanee, ending with
Ohoopee. South of Central avenue
botanical names are used, beginning
with Pine; then Magnolia, Jessamine,
Palm, etc. Then finally four splen-
did drives bound the town, named
east, Monitor: west, Merrimac; north.
Sultana, and south, Roanoke.
The larger number of these streets
are opened and whole or part length
handsomely graded up, and work is
progressing on unfinished sections,
and when all shall have been com
pleted there will be nowhere in our
great state so handsome city as our
own Fitzgerald.
J. b. SHOuP.
FITZGERALD. June ii. 1899