History presentation imparts knowledge

Amateur historian Susan Christopher gave a presentation on the history of Houston County Monday evening at the Perry Historical Society meeting.

Christopher has lived in Houston County since 1980, and is retired from her storage manager position at the Air Force Reserve Command on base.

“Down in very south Houston County by the railroad tracks, I found an arrowhead,” Christopher explained on why she decided to research the history of Houston County. “I wondered why it was in that spot, why was the arrowhead there, why the railroad was there. It opened up all these questions.”

Her interest piqued, Christopher started her research. She worked for several years on the personal project, starting from when ancient Native Americans occupied the lands now known as Houston County, Ga. Her history narrative continues up until Warner Robins Air Force Base was built.

“It’s a 45-minute presentation that goes from very early when Indians settled it until the base was brought here. The goal was to teach people in Houston County something they never knew about Houston County,” Christopher said.

While both Perry and Warner Robins have historical societies, Christopher said she wanted her topic to focus on the smaller places within the county.

“There was the old GS&F [Georgia Southern & Florida Railroad] that went bankrupt. It was sponsored by Macon people, so we’ve always had a lot of support from Macon,” Christopher said. “The reason we got the base here was because of the railroad and the inexpensive work force. It all leads up to what we now have at the base.”

Christopher’s presentation also spoke of some of the more famous historical figures that have been in Houston County.

“It [the presentation] goes through the Civil War period,” Christopher said. “I just learned the other day that when the Union captured Jefferson Davis, Wilson’s raiders came down 247. We don’t hear about Wilson’s raiders much, but they came through Houston County, and Davis spent the night in one of the Feagin houses here in Warner Robins.”

A cavalry operation led by Civil War Brig. Gen. James H. Wilson, Wilson’s Raid was meant to destroy an arsenal and other prime Confederate military targets. Opposed only by Confederate Lt. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest, who later founded the Ku Klux Klan, and small militias, the raid was a spectacular success. It also avoided the massive collateral damage that characterizes Sherman’s March to the Sea, as Wilson did not tolerate looting or other uncontrolled behavior from his men or liberated slaves.

Wilson and his unit fanned out to help capture fleeing Confederate officials after Civil War hostilities ended, and Confederate president Jefferson Davis was captured May 10, 1865, near Irwinville.

Christopher’s presentation also touches on why Warner Robins is so named.

“The site of the old post office is where Wellston Station is,” Christopher said, explaining that Warner Robins was originally named Wellston after an engineer named Wells. “The base was Wellston Army Air Depot, but the first commander wanted to name the base in honor of [Gen. Augustine] Warner Robins, who is considered the [Air Force’s] father of logistics.”

Christopher said that the Air Force had a rule that stated the base would be named after the closest city. The first commander of the base got the people of Wellston to rename the town Warner Robins so that the base could be named after Robins.

This presentation is Christopher’s first major published historical work, and she said she may decide to do more research on parts of Houston County. She said she is interested in churches in the area as well as street and bridge names.

“There’s really a lot more here to dig out if I wanted to,” Christopher said. “It took two years to gather the data for this one, and putting it in the right order to make it interesting so people wouldn’t get bored to death,” she joked.

Christopher said creating the presentation was a labor of love due to her enjoyment of history.

Ellie Loudermilk, president of the Perry Historical Society, authenticated the work after being approached by Christopher to give her presentation.

“I asked her to let me proof it because we have to authenticate and verify the history. She provided a copy of it to me, and I found she was right on,” Loudermilk said.

“Communities here used to be vibrant and no longer are, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t important,” she added. “A lot of people coming into this community don’t have a clue when people refer to Wellston or Grovania. This will be a wonderful acclamation to different areas of the county, and it’s an excellent opportunity for those who are new to the community to become acclimated.”

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