A History of Temple, Georgia: A West Georgia Town of Carroll County - Paperback

by Ruth Roberts Holder (Author), Burell Williams Holder (Author)

This book presents the rich and colorful history of a town that developed in the late 1800's--frontier days forever changed with the coming of the railroad and the crowning of King Cotton. It was a time when early settlers battled the elements, Buckhorn Tavern was a busy stagecoach stop, and the perennial clash of good and evil was witnessed in a shoot-out between the notorious horse-thieving Pony Club and their nemesis, a vigilante group called The Slicks. In time, perseverance triumphed over adversity, and honest commerce created a bustling market place. Despite its small size, the town proved quite progressive, with many innovations and personal accomplishments among its citizens; in fact, the town boasts many "firsts" and "famous." Though faced with many challenges through the years, Temple persists and continues to earn its place in history.

Author Biography

Burell Williams Holder, the son of Isaac J. Holder and Edith Marie (Carnes) Holder, was born in DeKalb County, Georgia, on February 21, 1927. His father was a road master for the Seaboard Railroad. His brothers and sister are Floyd, Hazel, Hoyt, Marion, and Lamar. In 1930, the family moved to Cuthbert, Georgia and then to Montgomery, Alabama in 1933. Upon Isaac Holder's retirement in 1939, the family moved to Temple, Georgia. The author was educated in the Montgomery and Temple Public Schools, West Georgia College and the University of Georgia. During World War II he served in the U.S. Navy. He began his teaching career in 1950 at Winder High School, Winder, Georgia. Beginning in1951, he served as a classroom teacher and administrator in the Carroll County School system. In 1952, he was married to Eva Ruth Roberts of the Flat Rock community, Carroll County. Ruth Roberts Holder, the daughter of Samuel Watson Roberts, Sr., a farmer, and Claire Otwell Roberts, was born in the Flat Rock community near Villa Rica. Her brothers are Robert Glenn Roberts and the late Samuel Watson Roberts, Jr. She was educated in the Flat Rock and Villa Rica Schools, West Georgia College, and the University of Georgia where she earned a B.S.Ed., an M.Ed., and her Ed.S., respectively. In 1952, she married B. W. Holder. She served as a teacher and librarian in the Paulding and Carroll County School Systems and retired in 1993 after forty years of service. She and her husband, the late B. W. Holder, authored their first history on Temple in 1976 (updated in 1982).