1858

(Side 1):
Thomas and Elizabeth Almond settled in this area with her orphaned brother Thomas Daniel Fortson in the 1830s. In 1858, as a prominent farmer, Fortson built this Greek Revival Georgian Cottage, its surrounding outbuildings and cotton terraces. He also ran a gristmill on the nearby Heiferhorn Creek during the Civil War. His son, Thomas Willis Fortson, established a general store and was appointed Station Agent and Postmaster for Fortson, Georgia in 1885. The Fortson House has remained continuously in the family and was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.

(Side 2):
The Fortson Community

Originally called Blanchard's Crossing, this area was renamed Fortson in 1885 when the Columbus & Rome Railroad built a station on Fortson property. Thomas Willis Fortson established the Fortson General Store and Post Office, housed from 1904 in the brick building adjacent to the tracks. Luther Getzen Fortson operated the store and post office until 1963. Across the tracks from the store, the Getzen House, built in 1882 for T.W. Fortson's sister, was the home of his in-laws, Samuel Luther and Fannie Mealing Getzen, who organized the Getzen Memorial Baptist Church in 1904.

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