Milledgeville street names stump clueless residents

    The names of Jefferson, Clarke, Washington and other famous revolutionaries are spoken in Milledgeville every day, despite the fact that many of them never met face to face, and fewer ever visited.
     These men are pertinent in Milledgeville today because they are the basis for the road names in the town.  According to the visitor’s center, the roads all have a common theme to their naming.
     Many members of the community are not aware of the correlation.  Spencer Pucci, a Milledgeville resident for 16 months, did not know who Clarke Street was named for. 
     “I don’t know, but I remember seeing it once,” Pucci said with a laugh.
     Likewise, many residents did not know of the overall theme either, though many had guesses.
     “I guess political history,” Pucci said.  “I only say that because of Washington Street and Jefferson Street.”
Darryl Robertson, who has lived in Milledgeville for nine years, had another theory.
     “Probably some Confederate Generals or Confederate troops,” Robertson said.
     Brent Ray, who moved to Milledgeville a year ago, found an interesting correlation while referring to Wilkinson Street.
“Is it based on Wilkinson County?” he had asked himself hypothetically.
     Ray was correct.  With the exception of Liberty Street and Columbia Street, all the roads in downtown Milledgeville are named for counties.  These counties were in turn named after famous revolutionary figures, both on and off the battlefields.
     Franklin Street was named for Benjamin Franklin, a noted inventor commonly known for his experiment with a kite in a thunderstorm.  Franklin also worked closely with the Declaration of Independence.
     Wilkinson Street was named for James Wilkinson, who served on the council of war after the end of the Revolution.  He fought as a soldier during the war.
     Wayne Street was named for General “Mad” Anthony Wayne, who helped to corner the British forces and end the Revolution.
     Elijah Clarke was an explorer who traveled throughout Georgia, and also fought in the southern theatre of war during the Revolution.
     Greene Street is named for Nathanael Greene, a general who forced the occupying British forces out of South Carolina.
Washington and Jefferson streets are named after former presidents George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.
     Columbia Street and Liberty Street are not named after counties, but also share revolutionary roots. 
     Though it is jested by many as being named for its drug traffic, Columbia Street is actually named after the nation’s first national anthem, “Hail Columbia.”  This anthem was written by Joseph Hopkinson in 1798, and was sung at the inauguration of George Washington.
     Liberty Street is named for the ideal of the revolution, where the 13 colonies rebelled against Great Britain for their personal liberty.  Liberty Street also has a second, darker meaning behind it, according to some Milledgeville residents.
     Michael Clay, a patrolman for the Milledgeville Police Department, said the name of the street was based on prison and death.
     “There’s a cemetery at the end of the road,” Clay explained.  “When a prisoner died, the pallbearers would walk the coffin down the street to the cemetery.  It was the prisoner’s last bit of liberty before they were buried.”
     Memorial Hill cemetery does lie at the end of Liberty Street, and the current location of GCSU had once been called Penitentiary Square.
     Information about many of these famous revolutionaries, and  about Milledgeville itself, can be found at www.ushistory. org. 

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Feb 9 2007. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry