Godfrey
The town of Godfrey was incorporated by the Georgia Legislature on July 25, 1906. However, this community has much older roots. Local lore places the earliest geographic reference to a community in this area called Hamburg. By the early 1800s the community was known as Antioch, for the original Antioch church built there around 1809. By 1839 the area was known as Evansville, perhaps for a local academy that existed there.
One of the earliest industries in the area was a grist mill operated by the Walton Family known as Walton´s Mill. It was eventually destroyed by fire around 1950. Mary Perkins Walton, a descendent of the Walton Family, married Dr. James Ervine Godfrey, a former Confederate surgeon. Dr. and Mrs. Godfrey acquired land in this area through her family and owned a plantation called Egypt. For a time, this community was identified with that plantation and called Egypt. The community was later named after Dr. Godfrey around the time the post office was opened in the late 19th century.
By 1867 two Baptist churches and one Methodist church had been established. The first school within the community was established in the early 1900s. At its economic peak the town included eight stores, bank, barber shop, livery stable, icehouse, cotton gin, warehouse, peach shed, railroad depot, post office, and Walton´s Mill. Godfrey depended on the Central of Georgia Railroad for passenger service, mail service and transportation of commodities such as cotton and lumber to and from the market. Though no longer incorporated, because of the individuals who take pride in this community, Godfrey is recognized as a significant part of our county history.
Morgan County Bicentennial Committee 2007
Plaque courtesy Lat34North.com.
Original page, with additional info, here.
Photo credit: David Seibert.