History

Troup County was the 70th county organized; it was a landlot county acquired from the Creek Indians in 1826. The county was named for Governor George M. Troup, "The Hercules of State Rights," and an ardent advocate of "Indian Removal" despite being a cousin of Chief William McIntosh.

The county seat, LaGrange, is named for the ancestral home of Revolutionary War hero Marquis de LaFayette. LaFayette Fountain, a replica of the LaFayette statue in LePuy, France, also salutes the Marquis de LaFayette. It stands on the courthouse square in LaGrange.

During the Civil War, the women of LaGrange formed a military company to protect the town from Union soldiers. They named themselves the Nancy Harts to honor Georgia's Revolutionary War heroine. Union troops led, coincidentally by Colonel Oscar H. LaGrange, marched into town on April 18, 1865. The women promptly surrendered after they convinced Col. LaGrange not to destroy the town.

Points of Interest

West Point Lake is located in Troup County. It is a 26,900 acre reservoir on the Chattahoochee River built by the U.S. Corps of Engineers for $155 million.

A National Historic Landmark of note is Bellevue, the Benjamin Harvey Hill House, built from 1853-1855. It is a significant example of the "domesticated temple" form of the Greek Revival style.

Some other tourist attractions include the Callaway Memorial Tower, built in 1929 to honor textile magnate Fuller E. Callaway, Sr. and the Chattahooche-Flint Heritage Highway, a scenic highway that runs through Coweta, Troup, and Meriwether counties.

Higher Education

LaGrange College and the West Georgia Technical College

Annual Events

One of the festivals in the county is the Kaleidoscope Arts Festival, held each June in downtown LaGrange. This event is sponsored by the Chattahoochee Valley Art Association which houses contemporary American works of art in an 1892 Victorian building, originally the county jail.

Mountville Settlement in Troup County

Bellevue Historic Site, LaGrange