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According to our oldest state records, the land now embracing the town of Wrens, was first owned by John Wren, grandfather of W.J. Wren, Sr. Tradition has it that he traded for the land, giving two blind horses, valued at $25.00 as full payment for the same. During this early period the community center of this section was Pope Hill, an Inn on the stage line of the old Quaker Road leading to Savannah. Wrens as a town had its beginning in 1884 with the building of the Augusta Southern railroad. At this time W.J. Wren, for whom the town was named, built a home and a store here. Dr. C.H. Raley, W.H. Beall, C.J. Fleming and others located here and the Wrens community life began its growth. The town is located at the physical junction of the Augusta Southern and the Savannah and Atlanta railroads, 32 miles from Augusta, 200 miles from Savannah and 148 miles from Atlanta. The town just above the
meeting of the Piedmont and Tidewater regions, on the great divide between the Savannah and Ogeechee Rivers. This location gives it an altitude 300 feet higher than Augusta or Columbus, 110 feet higher than Macon or Milledgeville, higher than Athens and about the same altitude of Rome. A resident physician said that if his practice depended alone upon the sickness of Wrens, he would starve to death. Among the first buildings erected in Wrens was a building for the
public school. For several years this building served the double purpose
of church and school. The first church built in Wrens was built by the
Associated Reformed Presbyterians in 1895, and the first sermon delivered in Wrens was preached by Dr. D.G. Phillilps, Sr. The Baptists built a church in Wrens the following year, and the Methodists located a church here in 1904. As the town has grown in population, it has also grown in industry.
The first suction gin of Jefferson County was located in Wrens in 1896. In 1900 a large flour mill was built in Wrens and a woodwork factory was added. And later to these industries were added: a cottonseed oil mill, a machine shop, an ice factory, a lumber factory, and a Coca-Cola bottling plant. From the beginning, Wrens has been noted for its church life, its observance of the Sabbath Day, for its moral tone and for its schools. Wrens Institute was organized in 1899 and was accredited as a high school in 1909. Wrens is where Erskine Caldwell began his literary career writing for a local newspaper. He and his parents did much exploration of the farming country around Wrens and his novel Tobacco Road was based on his observations during this period of his life. The site of his childhood home remains unmarked. Wrens is fortunate to have the largest gourd farm this side of the Mississippi. The farm is located on Highway One and is a gem in our
community. It attracts many people and is well known all over the globe.
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Jefferson County, ca. 1930. John P. Rabun standing in a field of cotton. The sign he is holding reads, "Side Dressed with Arcadian Nitrate of Soda." Mr. Rabun owned a service station and may have been a farmer as well. During the early 1930s he served in the Georgia House of Representatives. |
Wrens, ca. 1930s. Interior shot of Reese Grocery Store. Left to right: owner Liton Reese, J. A. Wren, Charlie Philips. |
