Bennett’s Mill Middle School is named for the Bennetts who came here in the late 1820s and early 1830s. One of them, William Bennett, and his son, Cam, are the ones who created Bennett’s Mill, which is now known as Crystal Lake.
The Fayette County Burchs are descended from these Bennett’s
Robert J. Burch Elementary School is named for our very own famous author of children’s books. He and his four brothers served in World War II and all came back safely. Each became well known in the county for their chosen field of endeavor.
Crabapple Lane Elementary School is named for the street it is on in Tyrone. I do not know how long the street has had that name nor who may have named it.
Flat Rock Middle School is named for an old community with that name in the upper middle section of Fayette County.
Huddleston Elementary is named for “Mr. Bob” Huddleston, who owned about half of the acreage that became the city of Peachtree City in 1959. There have been Huddlestons in this county for many years.
Inman Elementary was named for the community on the eastern side of our county which extends over to the Flynt River. When a train first came through our county from the late 1880s to 1939, it came through Inman.
Kedron Elementary School – in the mid 1850s there was a community just over the Fayette-Coweta line called Kedron. You will find it also as an old community name in the Bible.
Oak Grove Elementary is named for an old school name on the western side of our county.
Peachtree City Elementary was named for the name selected to call the new city formed in Fayette County in 1959.
Sarah Harp Minter was named for a beloved school teacher who lived in Inman. The Harps had lived in the town from the early to mid-1850s.
Whitewater Middle and Whitewater High were named for the Whitewater River coming down through Fayette County beginning just north of us and extending all the way past the mill at Starr’s Mill.
Starr’s Mill High School was named for the mill sitting at Ga. Highways 74 and 85 . Starr was an owner of the mill in 1866.
Peeples Elementary was named for the family who lived in the big white house behind it for many years. This school, along with Rising Starr Middle and Starr’s Mill all sit together on a section of the Peeples land.
Rising Starr Middle School was named after a nearby church. The church originally sat in Spalding County but was difficult to reach on rainy muddy days. The preacher built a church in south Fayette County and declared it to be a “rising star” in the community.
Spring Hill Elementary- I also had a part in naming and it was after an old school in the Woolsey area.
I heard that the Board of Education has said it will no longer name schools for Fayette County old schools or its citizens. We have a lot here to be proud of and I declare this a bad idea.
When I came here in 1966 the total student population was 2,000 students. Last week, 1,600 seniors graduated in the county.
