A street by another name, still a street

Perry’s main street is not Main Street or to put it another way: Perry’s Main Street is not its main street.

The genesis of this column was my long-time wondering as to how Perry’s main street, Carroll Street, got its name. I’ll share my theory (or hunch) about Carroll Street’s name and some good information from Perry historian, Ellie Loudermilk, at the end, but lets start with other streets and information from others before ending with Carroll.

Bryant Culpepper, always interesting, had information. He started by telling me that Fort Valley’s main street is Main Street. Then he told me that he had read that the most popular street name in America was Second Street. I have read the same thing, but I wonder: How dated is this finding? Today, I would expect that Dr. Martin Luther King Drive, or some derivation of it, is the street name found in more cities and counties than any common street name in our country. Almost all cities and towns now have this name in some form.

Bryant then told me that Martin Luther King Street in Ft. Valley used to be Second Street and that the old First Street is now Chamlee Drive. A street by another name is still a street.

I wanted to know more about Watson Boulevard in Warner Robins, so I telephoned my great friend, Sonny Watson, and asked him about Warner Robins’ main street.

Watson Boulevard, which was still a dirt road into the 1940s, was named for Sonny’s Grandfather, C.B. Watson. The “C” stood for Charles, the “B” stood for Bostick and the Watson became the name of this most significant street in dynamic Warner Robins.

Incidentally, C.B. Watson’s “Bostick” name became to the natives “Boss,” as in Boss Watson. I had always thought “Boss” referred to Mr. Watson’s political prominence as Warner Robins’ first Mayor, but according to Sonny, it came from Bostick. So much for Watson Boulevard, Boss and Sonny Watson.

Charlotte Moore is always informative. I asked her about Montezuma’s main street, which Charlotte reminded me was Dooly Street. I asked, “Is it because it runs towards Dooly County?” Her response, “I don’t think so, but I do think it’s named for the same person Dooly County is named for.”

Dooly County was named in 1821 for Col. John Dooly. Dooly was a neighbor of woman patriot, Nancy Hart. I’ll bet that Dooly Street in Montezuma was also named for Col. John Dooly, or, perhaps as I speculated, it was named for Dooly County, which was named for John Dooly.

As I said, Charlotte Moore is interesting. She’s smart, too! During our conversation, she told me that Pio Nono in Macon was named for Pope Pontius Pilate, IX (Pope from 1836 to 1878) and that some of the Baptists in Macon had a portion of Pio Nono changed to Pierce Avenue because they didn’t want their Baptist Church on a street named after a Catholic Pope. Some things never change, do they?

While still on Macon: I guess Cherry Street is its main street. But, what about Mulberry Street, which has more Cherry trees on it than Cherry Street. Right? So much for these Macon Streets.

Now, back to Perry’s main street, Carroll. No one, not even Ellie Loudermilk, seems to know how it got its name. Like Dooly in Montezuma, I have done a little research and have a theory.

I looked up Carroll County, and it was named in 1826 for Charles Carroll of Maryland, the last surviving signer of the Declaration of Independence. Ellie says “it looks like” Carroll Street’s name was given “after” Perry’s 1836 survey was made – the first mention of it was in 1838, “but we cannot find an individual associated with that name.” Could it be that Carroll Street and Carroll County were both named for the last surviving signer of the Declaration of Independence? You decide.

Here are some more interesting Perry street facts from Ellie.

• In March, 1826, Main Street was known as Broad Street.

• In 1830, William Ball lived where the Swanson restaurant is located. Ball Street is named for William Ball according to family history. I always thought it was named for the ball playing activities as described by my Mother, now 93, who grew up on Ball Street.

• In 1831, Washington Street was known as Academy Street.

• At one time, Carroll Street was known as Main Street. Well, it is the main street, you know.

So much for Ellie’s expert help. Do you think there will be someone around 100 years from now to tell folks where Sam Nam Boulevard and Courtney Hodges Boulevard got their names? I’ll bet they’ll know.

But then there’s Larry Walker Parkway. It’ll probably be harder to get information about the street name, and it could be changed by then. But, so what: A street by another name is still a street.

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