By CAROLYN CARY
Contributing Writer

Once a teeth-jarring reality in these parts, unpaved roads are fast disappearing from Fayette County and its cities, taking with them the flavor and feel of a rural past.

It has been only 63 years since the first road in Fayette County was paved, and the pavement extended only 7.5 miles, from the Old Courthouse east along what we now call Ga. Highway 54 toward Jonesboro.

According to an article by Jim Minter (Atlanta Constitution Feb. 22, 1996) that first paved road came about only because Gov. Ellis Arnall, newly elected in the early 1940s, had several changes he wanted to bring about and the only way that could be done was to create a new state constitution to replace one written in 1877.

To get this done, he needed the support of Col. J. W. Culpepper, Fayette County's representative in the Georgia House of Representatives.

Knowing he couldn't get a new constitution over Culpepper's opposition, Arnall drove to Fayetteville.

Culpepper made a compromise — if the governor would pave those 7.5 miles of Hwy. 54, he would support the new constitution. Arnall agreed.

But the Atlanta Constitution got wind of the deal and its owner and publisher, Clark Howell, was paid a visit. The ending scenario is this: Fayette County got its paved road, Georgia got a new constitution and the publisher of the newspaper got a road named for him.

The next paved road came in 1945 when Hwy. 54 was paved west to the Coweta County line. What is now Ga. Highway 85 followed shortly after.

Currently in Fayette County, there are 61.3 miles of unpaved roads, according to assistant public works director Zachary Taylor. “We will be paving two roads this year,” he said, “Friendship Church Road and Swanson Road, each of which is 1.8 miles long.”

Since that first paved road in 1936, 393 more miles have been paved, bringing the current total to 400 miles paved in the county.

Public works director for Fayetteville, Charles Stanley, said there is only one unpaved road left in the city, Whitney Street, which is just under a half mile long.

Peachtree City's public works director, Colin Haldeman, said there are three unpaved roads left in that city, but two of them are being paved this year: Holly Grove Church Road and Sumner Road. Only Old Stagecoach Road, (formerly known as Davis Road) remains, which is a half mile long.

The town of Tyrone has nine dirt roads, measuring a total of seven miles, according to Barry Amos, town manager.

Ever wonder why Stonewall Avenue is designated “Hwy. 54 Alternate”? That's because the city of Fayetteville wanted to pave it about 40 years ago and didn't have the money. They appealed to the state, which ruled that the street had to have a state route designation for state funds to be used. Very quickly it became Hwy. 54 Alternate.

One final story: when the time came about 40 years ago to consider paving what is now Ga. Highway 92 north to Fairburn, one of the “coffee clatch” gentlemen found each morning at a local barbecue restaurant commented, “Now why would they want to do that? Nobody needs to go to Fairburn.