Echoes from the Valley

“Echoes from the Valley” steps back into history to relive the storied past of one of Georgia’s most unique cities--Fort Valley, U. S. A. Once the “Peach Capital of the World,” Fort Valley was renowned for its peach festivals during the 1920s. During that era, 40 to 50 thousand visitors converged on Fort Valley annually to behold the vast sea of peach blossoms, to witness extravagant parades, and to eat free barbeque. The railroad arrived during the 1850s, establishing Fort Valley as a railroad community and populating the Byron and Powersville whistle stops along its path. Fort Valley proudly boasts of Blue Bird Body Company, the nation’s premier bus manufacturer, started when Lawrence Luce built his first school bus in 1927, and Fort Valley State University, founded in 1895. Fort Valley is replete with historic landmarks such as Everett Square, Bliss, Sylvan Dell, and Dope Hill. The book also chronicles the founding of Fort Valley, Byron, Powersville and the creation of Peach CountyAs historical research unfolded, it became increasingly apparent that Fort Valley, during its early days, was not the sleepy, tranquil, uneventful, little hamlet that had been envisioned, but at times was a community where murders, criminal acts, and misdeeds were occurring with appalling frequency. Murders committed during the 1930s and 1940s were so sensational and shockingly gruesome that they remain hot topics of conversation to this day. Covered in-depth, based on police records, is the horrific 1986 slaying of Denise Murray Allison, whose needless murder, the most savage and brutal killing in Peach County history, has never been prosecuted. Her demonic, yet unknown killer walks among the citizens of Fort Valley.