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An Internet-only news site devoted to issues regarding Warrenton, Ga., and its environs.

Sunday, June 12, 2005

Prominent people from East Georgia

For no real reason: An attempt to compile a complete list of prominent, famous, infamous, notorious and otherwise well-known people who hail from Warren and the nearby counties. Here's the first try, grouped by topic area:

The arts
Oliver Hardy - Actor, born in Harlem, lived in Milledgeville
James Brown - the Godfather of Soul; from Augusta
Erskine Caldwell - Author of Tobacco Road and God's Little Acre; grew up in Wrens
Flannery O’Connor - a good man is hard to find, but you can find her home in Milledgeville
Pat Mitchell - Head of the Public Broadcasting System and former chief of CNN; from Swainsboro, where she went to high school with my dad
Alice Walker - Pulitzer Prize winner for The Color Purple; from Eatonton
Joel Chandler Harris - author of the Uncle Remus stories; from Eatonton

Politics and religion
Woodrow Wilson - president, founder of the League of Nations; lived in Augusta from about age 4 to 14
Elijah Muhammad - leader of the Black Muslims; mentor of Malcolm X; from Sandersville
William Lowndes Yancey - Confederate leader from Alabama; born in Warren County
Alexander H. Stephens - Vice president of the Confederacy; from Crawfordville

Athletes
Ray Guy - maybe the best punter ever in pro football; went to Thomson High School
Chris Mohr - current punter for the Atlanta Falcons; from Thomson
Eddie Lee Ivory - former Green Bay Packer, from Thomson
Garrison Hearst - current Denver Broncos running back; played for Lincoln County
Herschel Walker - Heisman Trophy winner as a Bulldog; from Wrightsville
Horace Grant -- NBA player from Sparta

If you know of others to be listed, please comment!

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