Lauren Storey
Senior Reporter
On an old dirt road in an unknown corner of southeast Georgia, there sits a house with no address to be given and no inhabitants to speak of.
The wood has turned grey in its weathered age, and the rocking chairs on the porch have begun to splinter and crack in the ever-changing Georgia weather.
It’s the kind of house that kids tell ghost stories about. It’s the kind of house where you expect to see the reclusive character Boo Radley peeking out of the window. It’s the kind of house that holds the stories of a bygone age and the feelings of determination of one small town to keep its history and legacy alive.
Named after the town founder, Manassas Foy, the Foy-Hodges house sits in the small town of Manassas, Georgia and stands as a testament to the history of the town in which it exists.
“When the rail came through Tattnall county, I think everyone was putting in a station about every seven miles, and Manassas was one of them,” said Tattnall county manager, Frank Murphy as he sat behind his antique wooden desk in the historic Reidsville courthouse.
Frank Murphy, an older gentleman with a calm demeanor and a love for local history, explained that the existence of Manassas was undoubtedly tied with the history of the railroad as it made its way through rural Georgia enroute to the coast in the early 1900s.
Each small town thought the railway would be their ticket to growth and economic prosperity. Many of these towns were met with disappointment, and much like Manassas, they continue to barely exist as recognized communities.
“The towns at the intersection of train lines grew and probably had 30 years of their prime railroad history,” Murphy said. “Then the Depression came and the war, and by the time that was over, transportation and delivery were done by motor. I guess you could say that the heyday of Manassas was the few years that the train was delivering the mail and coming and going.”
Frank went on to explain that Manassas Foy realized that growth was not coming to the town which he gave his name. Foy ended up moving further north to the Ellabell community. Today, Ellabell is home to many of Foy’s descendants. However, Foy’s story itself actually ends in Statesboro, Georgia in 1903.
According to Foy’s obituary in the Statesboro News, after amassing wealth in the range of $200,000, Foy and his wife Maxie constructed their mansion on Savannah Avenue in the year 1902. Foy lived there until his death the following year, but his wife Maxie remarried and continued to reside in the house until it burned down in May of 1916.
Though Manassas Foy was responsible for founding Manassas, Georgia, the people more commonly associated with the community is the Rogers family. Sandra Wingate, the manager of the Tattnall County Archives, pulled book after book from the shelves of the small archives office as she searched for information on families associated with the community of Manassas. Wingate is a local historian and genealogist in Reidsville and she prides herself on offering the best help for those in search of local history.
“I love helping people when I can, because that’s what it’s all about, really,” Wingate said as she placed a book of Tattnall County history on the table.
Sandra and her volunteer peers, Olafay Rumpf and Steve Anderson, explained that Wanda Rogers was the current mayor of Manassas and, her late husband’s family had been involved in Manassas essentially since its founder Manassas Foy had left.
According to the archivists, the Rogers family was directly responsible for the community’s incorporation as a legitimate town in Tattnall County. The records at the Reidsville county archives read that for three generations, the Rogers’ men including Grady Rogers and his son, Grady Mack Rogers Jr., were mayors of Manassas.
Following Grady Mack Jr.’s death in 2004, his widow, Wanda Rogers, stepped up and is still the town’s current mayor.
Despite having a population of 98 people and only occupying a space of 494 acres, the town has managed to stay incorporated as a city for over 100 years. As the title of mayor passed from one Rogers to the next, the city has managed to survive without a single city election since its incorporation in 1920.
Bernie Anderson, a former resident of Manassas and small business owner in the neighboring town of Bellville, said that the people of Manassas are really dedicated to their town and its history.
As he stood in the produce section of his general store, Anderson spoke of stories from his childhood and the simplicity of the time. His eyes lit up as he spoke of the old depot downtown that served as the mayor’s office and the headquarters of Grady Mack Jr’s fertilizer business.
He smiled with his eyes as he told stories of his business, his father, his grandchildren, and his own great legacy in this corner of the world.
“I feel right at home here,” Anderson said as he glanced to see one of his granddaughters talking to a customer at the front of the store. “I guess this is where I would always be. My family is here. My life is here.”