May 23 through time
100 Years ago – 1925
Mr. L.L. Carter of Martinsville had been working in Detroit as a representative of the Buick Motor Company. He was in Martinsville visiting family. He recently had concluded negotiations with the Packard Co. of Canada for the manufacture and sale of a gasoline-saving carburetor, an invention which he perfected and patented, after much experimentation. The product would be made in Canada. It was said to save 60% on gasoline. Carter owned a large interest in the company which would manufacture it.
Meanwhile, Henry Ford had just bought 10,000 acres in Bryan County, Georgia, and people speculated that he would use to plant and grow rubber trees in efforts to produce enough rubber for his tires. Some, however, speculated that he would use the land to conduct experiments in raising crops and flax. However, what he did do was buy a total of 85,000 acres there. He built a Greek revival style mansion there on the banks of the Ogeehee River in 1936; he and his family named their property Richmond Hill Plantation. He built numerous schools and churches, including a school for black children in Bryan County. Here is an interesting part of history and worth a read: The Ford Motor Company built the Fordlandia and Belterra rubber plantations in Brazil in efforts to have enough rubber for their tires. The communities (of workers) failed due to many reasons, many of which can be summed up in Ford’s strict rules on his employees to ban alcohol and tobacco, to regulate the way food was served, and significant cultural differences that could not be breeched.
75 years ago – 1950
Census leader Stafford Whittle said that the latest census count for Martinsville was 16,032, and 31,129 in Henry County. He estimated that between 400 and 500 people still had not been counted yet. They lived in the areas of Pumphouse Road, Greyson Stret and Figsboro Road.
City Council was given the estimate of $1,150,000 as the cost for a new disposal plant and interlocking sewer system for the primary treatment of sewage. The report was based on the minimum requirements of the State Water Control Board which told the City it had to stop polluting the Smith River by dumping its sewage there. The engineers said an intercept would have to be built along Jones Creek to the western boundary station near DuPont, which would cost another $30,350, and a south trunk sewer line from the pumping station to the proposed site would cost another $336,350. The disposal treatment plant would be located at the intersection of Courtland Road and Dye Plant road, near where Rugg Creek enters the Smith River. A second pumping station was recommended for the Mulberry street area.
50 years ago – 1975
Deals in Globman’s Basement Store: Converse Fast Break Sneakers for men and boys, $5.44; coasters/ash trays made of heavy crystal with thick silver-plate rims, $3.44; vinyl place mats, 4 for $1.96; seamless support stockings, $1.59; binoculars, $19.96; West Bend automatic 25-cup perk coffeemaker, $10.88.
25 years ago - 2000
The Patriot Centre Fire and Emergency Medical Facility was dedicated. It had cost $290,000 to build. Personnel would come from the Collinsville Fire Department and the Fieldale Collinsville rescue Squad. Steve Eanes was Henry County’s public safety office.
— Information from museum records and the Henry Bulletin and the Martinsville Bulletin.