1830-1860
1860-1865
1865-1880
1880-1900
1900-1920
1920-1945
1945-Present

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Boom to Bust 1880-1900

The growth in the business district brought the need for some guidelines for growth. The fire had demonstrated the lack of construction control. The city council wrote the first building codes; all storerooms, storehouses and dwellings had to be made of brick. The city limits would be a circle with a radius of one-and-one half miles extending from a point in the middle of the intersection in front of Stafford's Store. Stafford's Store stands today at the corner of Market and Main Streets.

The fire brought new growth in terms of buildings, labors and businesses. A brick factory worked night and day to supply the bricks for rebuilding. In spite of their efforts, hundreds of carloads of Chattahoochee brick were brought into town by rail. Many hired hands moved to town to work for contractors who had arrived by train. Building supplies firms were started up and temporary housing for the hired hands was in demand. Another result of the fire was the erection of a firehouse. This new building would house the city council upstairs, the firehouse on the ground floor and a calaboose (jail) in the rear of the building on Jackson Street. This building faced the old hotel and was located near the center of town at the corner of Forsyth and Jackson Streets. Today this same building houses City Hall. The fire department is now located in new facilities built in 1992 next door. The city clock that kept the business district on time was moved from atop the old hotel in 1932 to the bell tower of city hall. The city built a water works and a new reservoir and erected an electrical plant. A new fire engine was purchased and the town swelled with pride. The Presbyterian Church erected a beautiful house of worship at the corner of Main and Taylor Streets in 1897.

The New South Savings Bank was chartered in 1890 and business was booming until 1901. There was a "general economic depression". The entire southern region was in economic turmoil. Not only did most local businesses collapse; the local banks closed their doors. The banks were reopened under government orders that put them under receiverships. The banks re-opened under the names of Barnesville Bank and the First National Bank in 1902. The New South Savings Bank re-opened under the firm of Citizen's Bank in 1902. The Citizen's Bank first merged with the Barnesville Bank, and later with First National Bank at the time of the "Great Depression', in 1929. During this period the streets downtown were maintained by a street crew. The sidewalks were made with diagonal boards and underlaid with charcoal for sanitary conditions. The area around the depot was made into a park to beautify the arrival area of the train. The Barnesville Blues re-organized during this period and became an active militia unit again. They trained for the Spanish-American War (1898) in drills at the armory that was part of Gordon Institute's campus. This campus at that time was on the original site between Thomaston Street and Greenwood Streets.

Rapid Construction

Most of the town's dwellings were erected during this time period. After the 1884 fire, residential construction was as rapid as was commercial construction. Most of the homes on Thomaston, Greenwood, Holmes, Elm and Forsyth Streets and Brown Avenue were built during this period. Many of the business proprietors were rebuilding downtown and at the same time building residences. A great demand for building supplies was created by the fire. Also construction hands, contractors and a planing mill were in demand. The number of jobs created by the fire brought new residents to town to fill those jobs. Many of those new workers stayed on. Local bricks were manufactured at the Parker place at the end of Elm Street, but the demand was too great. Hundreds of loads were brought in on rail from the Chattahoochee Brick Company of Atlanta.