Search the ArchivesNavigation Contact InformationThe Citizen Newspapers For Advertising Information Email us your news! For technical difficulties |
The REAL father of Peachtree City Sometimes people can fool themselves into believing just about anything if they keep saying it enough. Truly, parties can become too ambitious with their storytelling in an attempt to persuade others of an altered reality, a shift in historical fact. Our beloved city, the planned community, is upon its 50th anniversary. While some of the features we enjoy were planned, others occurred organically, but we love them nonetheless. Much like any other city, Peachtree City’s history can sometimes be a moving target. As a history enthusiast, I take pleasure in reading of the unique characters and circumstances that shaped our world. I am also keenly aware that historical perspectives often are fashioned by those who live the longest. Truly, an honest appraisal, if there ever was one, on the viewpoint of constructing history in one’s own image was Winston Churchill, saying, “History will be kind to me for I intend to write it.” And Churchill did write it. Even though 50 years is not considered a significant block of time from a historical point view, our city’s history includes some distressing omissions already. Nowadays, it is impossible to read a magazine or newspaper article on Peachtree City without the “founders” being cited as Joel Cowan and Floy Farr. Unfortunately, these citations are incorrect. Undoubtedly, whilst Cowan and Farr played a significant role in the history of Peachtree City, the true title of founder goes to Pete Knox, Jr., a name almost completely unrecognized by the city’s inhabitants today. While mayor of the city, I received an email from an inquisitive student asking for the skinny on the history of our successful community, requesting the name of the founder and various other details. In reply, I typed in “Pete Knox, Jr.” as founder. The student countered, saying he found a newspaper article stating Joel Cowan was the founder, obviously worrying about my reference giving him a failing grade. Let’s make sure we have an honest account of our history. I have uncovered a treasure trove of documentation and solicited interviews on the early history of Peachtree City. Please consider this column a brief overview of those early days and watch for more to come. Before there was a Joel Cowan, Willard Byrd, a landscape architect, was designing golf courses and subdivisions across the Southeastern United States. Byrd designed and remodeled more than 100 golf courses; among the courses credited to his firm were Atlanta Country Club, Atlanta, Ga.; The Country Club of North Carolina, Pinehurst, N.C.; Heather Glen Golf Links, Myrtle Beach, S.C.; Wild Wing Plantation, Myrtle Beach, S.C.; and Willow Creek Golf Club, High Point, N.C. Byrd hired a European named Walter Hunziker who studied architecture in Zurich, Switzerland and later moved to the U.S. to complete several degrees at Georgia Tech. Hunziker suggested to homebuilding clients of Byrd’s firm to examine the process of building new towns instead of hundreds of scattered subdivisions, which was the norm. Hunziker, who served in the Army Corps of Engineers in Europe, obtained his inspiration from the New Towns movement in Great Britain for improving urban conditions on a grand scale. The father of the British New Town movement was the Victorian Ebenezer Howard, author of the book “Garden Cities of Tomorrow.” One specific client of Willard C. Byrd & Associates was the only one willing to listen to the wild idea of forming new towns, and his name was Pete Knox, Jr., owner of Thompson, Ga.-based Knox Homes. According to Hunizker, “He [Pete Knox] asked us where he should buy the land. I made a study on land values around Atlanta, with contour maps on acreage prices, and we found out that Fayette County was the low cost region, because there the rail line was away from major roads and thus there were fewer industries. The site of PC was chosen for that, low land cost, available large acreages near railroads, away from existing towns. The key was also to incorporate the city to make it independent of existing political structures and vested interests.” Byrd and Hunizker went on with their business activities and never heard another word about the concept of building a city from Knox. “[Then] Pete Knox went out to buy the land without saying anything to anybody. After about a year, he showed up with hundreds of deeds and map-like things ... and said; ‘Here is the land for your new town ...,” Hunizker said. You will notice that most of the earliest conceptual drawings of Peachtree City have Hunizker’s name etched on them. Most people do not know that among the small band of investors compiled by Knox to assemble and purchase the land was the legendary Tom Cousins, easily one of the most significant developers in the history of Atlanta and now one of the biggest development names in the nation. Cousins worked for Knox Homes and viewed Pete Knox, Jr. as a mentor and friend. Cousins became the point man for wrenching loose monthly payments from investors. In a telephone interview with Cousins, he revealed that Knox had brought a junior at Georgia Tech named Joel Cowan onboard as the first employee of the newly-formed Fayette County Development Corporation. Cowan was the fraternity brother of Knox’s son, Peter Knox III. It was the younger Knox who suggested to his father that Cowan be considered as someone who could help the project along. Peter III was not able to assist with the project as he was accepted to Harvard to work on an MBA. (Note: Peter III would later become a highly successful businessman and developer in his own right.) Cowan was able to find another investor looking for a major stake in the project. Cousins did not believe the property was ripe for development and the original investors, including Knox, were willing to be bought out of their interests. As it turns out, Cousins’ intuition proved to be on target, as the development of the city would take decades, even suffering bankruptcy, before gaining traction. Walter Hunizker left the Peachtree City project after the conceptual design stages. He left Willard C. Byrd & Associates and Atlanta, and was given a contract to design the first Hilton Hotel in Zurich, which began his career as a hotel architect in Europe and later in Africa, Asia, South America. He currently resides in France. Willard Byrd died in 2004 at the age of 85 leaving the legacy of a very distinguished career. Peter S. Knox, Jr., the man who was crazy enough to think a new town could be planned and constructed from scratch, willing to take significant risks, founder of Peachtree City, died on May 27, 1993 at the age of 81. He was buried in a pine box constructed by his sons Peter III and Boone. On their father’s grave they cited Shakespeare: “His life was gentle, and the elements; So mix’d in him, that Nature might stand up; And say to all the world, ‘This was a man!’” “His legacy is truly in people and things,” Peachtree City first mayor, Joel Cowan, wrote at the time of “Mr. Pete’s” death. “His vision and resilience, both physical and emotional are the stuff of legends. He inspired me, molded my early business character, and created a bond that lives forever in my memory” (Build a Good House, Jim Garvey). If there had not been a Pete Knox, Jr., there would be no Joel Cowan to keep the city building going, and there would not have been a Peachtree City. More details to come. This is the beginning of a periodic series I hope to give you on one of the best places you could ever want to live. [Steve Brown is the former mayor of Peachtree City. He can be reached at stevebrownptc@ureach.com.] login to post comments | Steve Brown's blog
|
Copyright 2010 - Fayette Publishing, Inc. | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use Policy
Server 4
