My Hometown, LaGrange

“The Greatest Little City”

I have lived in LaGrange for the last 16 years of my life until coming to Georgia Tech. From obvious personal experience I believe LaGrange offers an exemplary example of the perfect southern town. Although referred to as, “The City of LaGrange” I believe that it is more town-like when compared to cities like Columbus and Newnan Georgia which I differentiate by a feeling of small town attitude and architecture (even if it is a little ‘Disneyland’ like). Southern culture there is epitomized by a practice good manners, more churches than all the other structures combined, pickup trucks with elaborate suspension kits and giant swamping tires (ironically no real swamps exist anywhere in the vicinity) and just some plain southern people.

The layout of the city also lends well to ‘southerness’ it so accurately represents. The epicenter consists of a statue of LaFayette, the founder of the city, surrounded by small private businesses you’d find in most small towns. Down the road one would find a small Liberal Arts College, LaGrange College, and further past this you would enter the nice part of town where old plantation homes stand against a small road. After these homes one reaches the suburbs which are but small subdivisions scattered through vast tracts of country land. In between and past these you would find immense farms which stretch on till the next county.

Having lived in LaGrange for a large portion of my life allows me insight into what southern identity, to myself, is representative concerning cities/towns. Thus I believe that LaGrange is the epitome of a Mayberry-like southern town.